Key

Chris waited until everyone was paying attention before a grin spread across his face. "We're playing..." He paused just long enough for the anticipation to build. "...Capture the Flag." The reaction was immediate. Cheers erupted around the clearing. Several campers exchanged excited looks, others practically bounced where they sat, already throwing around ideas before the explanation had even begun. You couldn't help smiling. Leon glanced sideways at you. "I knew you'd like this one." He whispered. "Oh please." You smirked. "I'm going to destroy you." A quiet laugh escaped him. "You say that like we're not on the same team." You simply looked at him sideways. "See?" he teased. "Already planning to betray me." You nudged his shoulder with yours, earning another soft chuckle before Chris cleared his throat dramatically to regain everyone's attention.

"The rules are simple," he explained, waiting until the murmuring settled again. "You'll be split into two teams. Each team will have a flag hidden somewhere in the forest surrounding the camp. Your objective is to find the opposing team's flag and bring it back to your own base before they steal yours." Claire stepped forward, pointing to different areas on the map she'd unrolled. "Your flags have to stay visible," she added. "No burying them underground, no hanging them thirty feet up a tree, and definitely no hiding them inside someone's backpack." Some campers laughed guiltily. "I was literally thinking about the backpack thing," someone admitted from the back. "I know," Claire replied with a knowing smile. "That's why I mentioned it." Carlos let out a snort beside her.

"If a member of the opposing team tags you while you're on their side of the field," Chris continued, "you're captured." Jill picked up the explanation without missing a beat. "You'll have to stay in your team's jail until one of your teammates reaches you and frees you. No running away, no pretending you weren't tagged, and no arguing with the counselors." She looked pointedly towards a group of boys who suddenly found the ground incredibly interesting. "I wasn't going to argue..." One of them muttered. "You were absolutely going to argue," Carlos said. More laughter broke out across the clearing.

"And before anyone asks," Chris added with a knowing sigh, "yes, counselors are allowed to play." The announcement somehow made everyone even louder. Immediately, campers began whispering about who they hoped would end up on their team. Some confidently declared that having Leon guaranteed victory, others insisted Jill would be impossible to catch, a few dramatically complained that Chris was 'basically cheating' simply by existing. You caught Leon smiling to himself as he watched the chaos unfold. "What?" You asked quietly. He shook his head with a soft expression. "Nothing." His eyes wandered over the campers, all of them buzzing with excitement, already treating the game like the most important mission of their lives.

"I just forgot how competitive they can be." You laughed under your breath. "You say that as if you're going to be any better." Leon looked back at you, a familiar spark of playful challenge appearing in his blue eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about." You raised an eyebrow. "I give you..." You pretended to think for a moment. "...about ten minutes before you start taking this way too seriously." A crooked smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You'll see." Somehow, that tiny grin told you everything you needed to know. This was going to get very competitive.

Chris waited for the chatter to settle again before reaching into the pocket of his shorts and pulling out a small cloth bag. "Since none of you can be trusted to make fair teams," he announced, shaking the bag for dramatic effect, "we're doing this the old-fashioned way." A collective groan echoed around the clearing. Inside the bag were dozens of folded pieces of colored paper. Simple enough. Each camper, and each counselor, would draw one at random. "Unless," Carlos added with a grin, "you enjoy cleaning the bathrooms." The complaints died immediately.

One by one, everyone stepped forward to draw their color. The atmosphere grew increasingly louder with every reveal as friends celebrated ending up together while others dramatically mourned being separated. You unfolded your slip. Blue. Before you could even glance around to see who else had drawn the same color, someone appeared beside you. "Looks like we're teammates." Leon held up his own paper between two fingers with an almost smug smile. "Guess you're stuck with me." You smiled softly. "I think it's the other way around." He teased, narrowing his eyes at you. You rolled your eyes, though the corners of your mouth betrayed you.

Across the clearing, Chris unfolded his own slip. Red. He looked from the paper in his hand to yours, then to Leon's. A long, theatrical sigh escaped him. "You two have to be kidding me." Carlos leaned over to peek at Chris' paper before letting out an exaggerated laugh. "Oh, that's rough." Chris pointed accusingly between the two of you. "You're so lucky." Leon didn't even hesitate. A satisfied grin spread across his face as he tucked the blue slip into his pocket. "Skill issue." A chorus of amused laughs erupted from the nearby campers. Chris stared at him for a second before shaking his head with a disbelieving smile. "I already regret letting you play." You couldn't hold back your laugh.

The familiar back-and-forth between the two of them had become almost routine over the past week, and somehow it never stopped being entertaining. Chris turned his attention to you instead, pointing a finger in your direction with mock seriousness. "Don't let him boss you around." You glanced sideways at Leon. He looked positively offended. "I never boss her around," Leon complained. "You absolutely do," Chris replied. Leon opened his mouth to defend himself. "I make strategic-." "Bossy," Chris interrupted. You bit back another laugh before shrugging innocently. "I make no promises." Chris nodded as if he'd expected you to answer that. "I knew I couldn't count on you." Leon rested a hand dramatically over his chest. "I'm wounded." He said. "No," Chris corrected, folding his arms. "You're insufferable." "Yet somehow," Leon replied, unable to hide the grin tugging at his lips, "you still hire me." Chris muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, 'unfortunately'.

Before Leon could come up with another smart remark, Jill clapped her hands once. "Alright, kids." Every counselor, including Chris and Leon, looked over. "You've had your fun," she said, fighting back a smile. "Now go meet your teams before these kids start the game without us." The campers had already begun gathering into their respective groups, excitement buzzing through the clearing as plans were thrown around before the match had even started. You exchanged a quick glance with Leon. His grin hadn't disappeared; neither had yours. Something told you being on the same team was either going to be your greatest advantage or an absolute disaster.

The blue team gathered beneath the shade of a large oak tree while the red team moved to the opposite side of the clearing. The excitement that had filled the camp only minutes earlier had settled into something sharper now, a restless anticipation as everyone waited for a plan. Claire crouched beside a rough map of the camp drawn in the dirt with a stick. "Alright," she said. "You've got ten minutes to come up with a strategy before the game starts." The moment she stepped back, every camper seemed to have an opinion. "We should hide everyone around the flag." "No, we all attach together." "What if we split into pairs?" "I call being with Leon!" "Absolutely not," another camper complained. "He's carrying."

The conversations quickly merged into complete chaos. You folded your arms, listening for a few seconds before speaking up. "We're wasting time." Several heads turned towards you. "We should just rush their side before they've even finished hiding their flag." A few campers nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!" "They won't expect it!" Some of them said. "Exactly," you continued. "Half of them will still be arguing about where to put the flag." Before anyone could get too excited, Leon calmly stepped forward. "I don't think that's a good idea." You looked at him. He was already studying the map on the ground with the focused expression you knew all too well. "If we send everyone charging in," he explained, "we'll leave our own flag completely exposed." He pointed towards a cluster of trees near the edge of the forest. "We should leave a small defense team here." His fingers shifted farther across the map. "Then send another group around the east side to create a distraction." Another point. "Meanwhile, a smaller team circles behind them and looks for their flag while everyone's attention is somewhere else."

Some campers exchanged impressed looks. "...That actually sounds smart."You stared at Leon for a second before letting out a dramatic sigh. "That is the worst strategy I've ever heard." His head slowly turned towards you. "...Excuse me?" Leon said, blinking. "Says the guy who wants to hold a committee meeting before moving." A couple of campers snorted. Leon blinked again, looking almost offended. "It's called planning." "It's called boring." You corrected. "It keeps people from getting captured." "It also keeps people from having fun." You corrected again. "It wins games." You took a step closer towards Leon. "It puts people to sleep." You said, looking at him straight into his eyes. Leon pressed his lips together, clearly debating whether to continue arguing or simply accept that you were impossible. He chose the first option.

"If you sprint into the forest with no plan, you're going to get tagged in under two minutes." You smiled sweetly. "Then I guess you'll have to come rescue me." You teased him. A wide smirk appeared on his face, followed by a hollowed huff of laughter. "That's not the point." He said, looking down at you. "No," you replied with a grin. "I think it is." The campers surrounding you had stopped contributing altogether. Instead, they watched the two of you with growing amusement, their eyes moving back and forth like spectators at a tennis match.

"So your brilliant strategy," Leon continued, "is to run in screaming and hope for the best?" You frowned at him. "I never said screaming." You complained. "You implied it." Leon scoffed. "I implied confidence." You corrected. "You implied chaos." Leon corrected again. "They're practically the same thing." You argued. "They are absolutely not." A beat of silence passed. One of the younger campers looked between you and Leon before bursting into laughter, followed by the rest of the team. "Can you stop fighting like a married couple and agree on a strategy?" Claire asked between laughs. Both you and Leon answered at exactly the same time. "We're not fighting!" The laughter only grew louder. You looked at each other. "...We're discussing." Leon pinched the bridge of his nose with an exasperated smile, while you looked far too pleased with yourself.

In the end, the team settled on a compromise. Mostly Leon's plan. With just enough of your recklessness mixed in to make him quietly question every decision that had led him to this very moment. He caught you smiling at him from the corner of your eye and simply shook his head. "This is going to be a long game." He sighed. "It'll be a fun one." Despite himself, the corner of his mouth curved into another smile.

A loud whistle pierced the morning air. For the briefest moment, the entire forest fell silent. Then chaos erupted. Campers scattered in every direction, their laughter and excited shouts echoing beneath the towering pines as blue and red shirts disappeared between the trees. Leaves rustled under hurried footsteps, branches swayed as children ducked behind bushes, and somewhere off to your left, someone yelled triumphantly before another voice immediately shouted that they'd been tagged.

The quiet woodland transformed into a battlefield in a matter of seconds. You barely had time to watch your own team split into their assigned groups before two younger campers sprinted past you, laughing so hard they almost ran straight into a tree. "Wrong way!" Someone yelled after them. "It was a tactical retreat!" They replied. "It absolutely wasn't!" A burst of laughter followed.

Further ahead, Carlos dramatically threw himself behind a fallen log as three campers charged after him. "You'll never take me alive!" He declared. "You're already dead!" Jill called from somewhere deeper in the woods. You couldn't help smiling as you slipped between the trees, weaving around thick roots and patches of ferns. Sunlight filtered through the canopy overhead in scattered beams, painting shifting patterns across the forest floor. At the same time, voices bounced from every direction, making it nearly impossible to tell where anyone actually was.

The game had only just begun, and already it felt wonderfully out of control. Exactly as you'd hoped. Behind you, Leon caught up after finishing a quick conversation with the campers assigned to defend your flag. "You know," he said between steady breaths, "running blindly into enemy territory still isn't a strategy." He complained. "It worked, didn't it?" You chuckled. "So?" You added. "So statistically speaking-." "Oh no." You looked over your shoulder with exaggerated horror. "Don't start bringing statistics into Capture the Flag." You rolled your eyes. "I'm just saying.-" "No." You cut him off again. "Would you at least let me finish?" You shook your head. His quiet sigh was almost lost beneath the noise surrounding you.

Ahead, a group of red team campers darted across a narrow clearing before disappearing behind a cluster of rocks. You instinctively grabbed Leon's sleeve, pulling him back behind the trunk of a large pine just before one of them glanced in your direction. The two of you remained still. Only the sound of hurried footsteps passed a few yards away before gradually fading into the distance. You peeked around the tree. The path ahead was clear again. Without hesitation, you pointed deeper into the forest. "Follow me." Leon looked where you were pointing. Then back at you. "Absolutely not." You raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" You asked. "Because judging by the expression on your face, you've just had an idea." Leon lowered his voice. "I have." You admitted shamelessly. "That's exactly what worries me." You flashed him an innocent smile that fooled neither of you. "It'll be fine." Those four words somehow made him even less convinced.

You didn't wait for further discussion. The moment the path cleared, you slipped between the trees, moving quickly but carefully towards the enemy's side of the forest. Leon watched you disappear behind a thick patch of undergrowth. He stayed exactly where he was for perhaps three whole seconds. Then he let out a long, resigned breath. "...Unbelievable." Shaking his head with a helpless smile, he pushed past the branches and followed after you anyway.

You heard the footsteps behind you and glanced back with a smug grin. "I thought you said no." You teased him. "I did." He said, walking close behind you. "And yet..." "I've reached the conclusion that if I don't come with you," he replied, carefully stepping over a fallen branch, "I'm probably going to spend the rest of this game dragging you out of trouble." Your grin only widened. "So you admit you need me." You kept teasing him. "I haven't said that," Leon replied immediately. "You were thinking it." You said, turning around to face him. "Now you can read my mind too?" Leon huffed a quiet laugh. "Maybe." You intertwined your hands behind your back. Leon looked at you for a moment before a reluctant smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You are exhausting." He said. "You didn't say that last night." You winked at him, turning around again to keep walking forward. He opened his mouth, undoubtedly ready with another sarcastic remark. Instead, he simply shook his head. Against all common sense, you were right.

Without either of you really noticing when it happened, the sounds of the game began to fade into the distance. The shouting became muffled; the laughter was less frequent. Even the occasional whistle seemed farther away as you and Leon ventured deeper into the forest, weaving through towering pines and dense patches of ferns where shafts of sunlight barely reached the ground.

The air felt cooler beneath the thick canopy, carrying the earthy scent of damp moss and pine needles. Every now and then, the quiet was broken by the snap of a twig beneath your boots or the rustle of leaves stirred by a light summer breeze. You slowed your pace, instinctively lowering your voice. "I think we're close." Leon glanced around, taking in the dense woodland surrounding you before looking back at the faint trail ahead. "Or," he whispered, "we've managed to get completely lost." You gave him a look over your shoulder. "I know where I'm going." You replied immediately. "That's what worries me." A smile tugged at your lips. This conversation and situation felt utterly familiar.

The two of you moved carefully between the trees, pausing every few moments to listen. Somewhere ahead came the distant murmur of voices. To your right, a flash of red disappeared behind a fallen log. You immediately reached back, lightly catching Leon's wrist to stop him before he stepped into the clearing. He looked down at your hand for the briefest moment. You simply nodded towards the movement. He followed your gaze.

Two campers from the opposing team stood several yards away, completely focused on watching another section of the forest. They hadn't noticed you yet. You exchanged a quick glance. Without needing to discuss it, you quietly circled around them, using the thick tree trunks as cover until their voices gradually disappeared behind you. Only once you were safely out of earshot did Leon allow himself a quiet breath. "I'll admit..." You looked at him expectantly. "...that was surprisingly well executed." A victorious grin spread across your face. "I knew it." You said enthusiastically. "I didn't say your plan was good; I only admitted one tiny part of it worked." You folded your arms with exaggerated satisfaction. "Admit it." Leon didn't even hesitate. "Never." You laughed quietly, careful not to let the sound carry too far. "My plan worked." He looked at you with that familiar mixture of amusement and stubbornness that had become increasingly common whenever the two of you disagreed. "Against all laws of probability." You bumped your shoulder lightly against his as you continued walking.

A comfortable silence settled between you after that. You found yourself stealing a glance at him as he scanned the trees ahead, every movement instinctive and measured despite this being nothing more than a camp game. Even now, there was a quiet awareness in the way he carried himself, the habits of someone who was always paying attention, always looking out for the people around him. He suddenly looked over. You were just a fraction too slow to look away. "...What?" You blinked. "What what?" You asked, confused. "You were staring." You looked around you, as if Leon could be meaning someone else. "I wasn't." You turned back to him. "You definitely were." Leon crossed his arms against his chest. "I was checking if you were finally going to admit I was right." A soft laugh escaped him. "You're not going to stop until I admit it, will you?" You smiled to yourself as you stepped over a moss-covered log. "Bingo." Leon shook his head, still smiling despite himself. "In your dreams."

The playful exchange faded into another easy silence as you continued deeper into the forest, shoulders occasionally brushing whenever the path narrowed. Neither of you realized just how far you'd wandered from the rest of the campers. Nor how quickly one careless step was about to bring your little victory march to an abrupt end.

The peaceful quiet didn't last long. A burst of laughter echoed somewhere behind you, followed by a chorus of excited voices. "They went this way!" "Don't let them get away!" Your eyes met Leon's for barely a second before you both took off. The forest blurred around you as you sprinted between the trees, ducking beneath low branches and weaving around thick trunks that forced you to constantly change direction. Dry leaves crackled beneath your boots, and every breath filled your lungs with the crisp scent of pine.

Behind you, the distant shouts grew louder. You laughed under your breath. "They're gaining on us." You said. "They're kids," Leon replied, keeping pace beside you. "They're fueled entirely by sugar." He joked. "And revenge." You pointed out without lowering your pace. "Mostly revenge." Leon agreed with a breathless laugh.

You glanced over your shoulder, trying to spot how close they really were. It was only for a second. Long enough to miss the thick root stretching across the narrow trail. Your boot caught against it. Everything happened at once. The ground disappeared beneath your feet, your balance lurched forward before you had any chance to recover it, and the world tipped violently as you stumbled. Instinctively, you threw your hands to stop the fall. Your palm scraped roughly across gravel and bark. A sharp sting shot through your skin. Your knee stuck the forest floor a heartbeat later with a dull thud. "...Ow." For a brief moment, the only sound was the rustling of disturbed leaves settling around you.

"Hey." The change in Leon was immediate. The teasing smile that had lingered on his face seconds earlier vanished completely. Every trace of amusement disappeared, replaced by something much more familiar: concern. He was beside you almost instantly, dropping to one knee without a second thought. "Are you okay?" His voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable urgency beneath it. You let out a quiet breath as you pushed yourself upright, brushing dirt from your hands. "I'm fine." It wasn't a lie. Your pride had suffered more damage than anything else. Just a scraped hand and a bruised knee; you'll survive. You started to get back to your feet. "No." Leon gently caught your wrist before you could fully stand. "Stay still." You looked at him in disbelief. "...Leon." He either didn't hear you or deliberately chose not to.

His attention had already shifted entirely to the angry red scrape across your palm. Carefully, he turned your hand over, his fingers surprisingly gentle despite the firm confidence of someone who had performed this same assessment hundreds of times before. The playful counselor had been replaced by the professional paramedic.

His eyes moved quickly over the abrasion, checking for embedded dirt, testing your range of motion with practiced precision before briefly glancing towards your knee. "You landed on this side?" You nodded. He frowned slightly. "Does your wrist hurt?" "No." "Can you move your fingers?" You flexed them. "See?" His expression didn't soften. "And your knee?" You tried to move it but stopped immediately. "It stings." You explained. "Sharp pain?" You shook your head. "Dizzy?" You sighed dramatically. "No." "Nauseous?" "Leon." Only then did he finally look up. Those familiar blue eyes met yours, still carrying the quiet intensity of someone whose first instinct was always to make sure everyone else was okay before allowing himself to relax.

For a second, neither of you spoke. Then his shoulders loosened almost imperceptibly. "...Okay." The single word came out softer this time, almost relieved. He looked back down at your scraped hand, gently brushing away a few stubborn flecks of dirt with his thumb before reaching towards the small pouch secured to his belt. The familiar black case looked almost comically out of place in the middle of a game of Capture the Flag.

You stared at it for a moment before looking back at him. "...You carry a first aid kit?" He didn't even look up as he unzipped it. "Always." The answer came so naturally that it almost sounded obvious. Inside, everything was neatly organized. Gauze, antiseptic wipes, bandages, adhesive strips... every item tucked into its place with the kind of precision that told you he'd opened this kit countless times before. Your chest warmed.

Leon pulled out an antiseptic wipe before taking your injured hand again, his touch impossibly gentle. "This might sting a little." He warned. "It'll be-." The moment the antiseptic touched the scrape, you hissed through your teeth. "...Okay, maybe a little." A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I warned you." He continued cleaning the graze with slow, careful movements, making sure every speck of dirt was gone without putting more pressure than necessary. Every now and then he paused, checking your reaction before continuing. "Too much?" You shook your head. He resumed. A second later, he leaned forward slightly and blew a soft stream of cool air across your palm. The sting eased almost immediately. "There," he murmured. "Better?" "...Yeah." He nodded, seemingly satisfied, before reaching for a small bandage.

As he carefully placed the bandage over your palm, the forest around you seemed to fade into the background. The distant laughter of the campers you managed to get rid of, the occasional whistle, the rustling leaves. It all became strangely muted. Your attention had settled entirely on him. On the way his brows drew together in concentration as though this tiny scrape deserved the same care as any emergency he'd treated, on the soft fan of lashes that lowered every time he focused on something delicate, on the warmth of his hands as they cradled yours with effortless ternderness, on the calm cadence of his voice, steady and reassuring without him even realizing it, and most of all, on the unmistakable worry lingering in his expression, as if though you being hurt had been enough to erase every trace of playfulness from his face.

Your heart squeezed. You'd seen Leon laugh, tease Chris until the poor man questioned his life choices, and make the campers laugh so hard they could barely stand. But seeing him treat you like this, not only when you had sex, somehow made you fall for him all over again. He smoothed the edge of the bandage, finally lifting his head before another loop around your wrist. Only then did he realize you hadn't looked away once.

"...What?" You blinked, almost as though you'd been caught doing something wrong. A smile slowly spread across your face. "Nothing." He raised an eyebrow. You hesitated for a second before the words escaped. "You're just..." You felt your cheeks warm. "...really handsome when you take care of me." The birds seemed louder. Even the breeze through the tree felt suddenly noticeable in the middle of the silence that settled between you. Leon simply stared at you. He blinked once, then again. A slow flush crept across his cheeks, spreading all the way to the tips of his ears until his face had turned a familiar shade of pink.

He looked away first, clearing his throat with obvious difficulty. "...You picked a really weird time to flirt." A laugh bubbled out of you before you could stop it. "You started it." His head snapped back towards you, equal parts confused and surprised. "I didn't." He shrugged it off. You tried very hard to hide the smile threatening your lips. Then you pointed at him. "You're blushing." He let out a long, defeated sigh, rubbing the back of his neck as he fought a losing battle as well against the color still burning across his face.

"Does it hurt when you move your fingers?" You flexed them absentmindedly. "No." He nodded. "What about your wrist?" He asked again. "It's fine." "Let me bandage your knee, then." He said, already moving towards your leg. "It's okay, it's just a small bruise." You stopped him. "You sure?" You hummed in response. He looked unconvinced. "You'd tell me if.-" "Leon." You grabbed his hand. His eyes flickered up for a second. "I'm okay." He held your gaze for a moment before giving a small nod. "...Okay." Even then, you could tell he wasn't entirely convinced. He simply trusted your answer enough to stop asking.

Even after he was satisfied with the dressing, he still held your hand for another second. He finally seemed willing to believe you really were alright. Above your heads, the branches swayed gently in the breeze, scattering patches of golden sunlight across the forest floor. Somewhere far away, another burst of cheering erupted before fading just as quickly. The game was still going. For a few stolen moments, neither of you seemed particularly interested in rejoining it. You watched him tuck the remaining supplies neatly back into the little first-aid kit, every item returning to exactly the place it belonged.

"You know..." Your voice barely rose above the rustling leaves. "You're always taking care of everyone." Leon paused halfway through closing the pouch. A small shrug lifted one shoulder. "Kind of comes with the job." You smiled to yourself. Then, you slowly shook your head. "No." His fingers stopped moving. For the first time since he started packing away the supplies, he looked back at you. There was a quiet curiosity in his eyes. You held his gaze. "I think that's just who you are." The words came out softly. For a heartbeat, Leon didn't react. Then something in his expression shifted. The easy smile he'd worn all morning disappeared, replaced by a vulnerable stillness.

His eyes searched yours as if trying to figure out whether you truly meant it. You did. You meant the way he instinctively noticed when one of the younger campers looked homesick before anyone else did, the way he always walked at the back of the hiking group to make dure nobody got left behind, the way he remembered everyone's favorite snacks without realizing he was doing it, the way he memorized your breakfast pick so you could have it ready even before you stepped inside the cafeteria. That wasn't something he'd learned being a paramedic. That was simply Leon.

He lowered his eyes for a moment, a faint, almost bashful smile pulling at the corner of his lips. "...I don't know about that." His voice had grown noticeably quieter with insecurity. As though accepting a compliment like that felt far more difficult than treating any injury. You gently squeezed the hand that was still loosely holding yours. "I do." His thumb instinctively brushed against your knuckles before he seemed to realize what he'd done.

He didn't pull away. Another smile appeared, the kind of smile that only appeared when someone managed to tell him something he didn't quite believe about himself but desperately needed to hear after spending his entire life being told he didn't care about those he loved.

The game continued in the distance without you. Leon was the first to glance towards the direction the voices were coming from. "We should probably head back." You nodded. He clipped the first-aid kit back onto his belt before pushing himself to his feet in one smooth motion. Dry leaves crunched softly beneath his boots as he straightened, then he turned back towards you. Without saying anything, he held out his hand. His fingers closed gently around yours, steady as he helped you back onto your feet. For a brief moment, neither of you let go. Your eyes met again. Then, reluctantly, Leon loosened his grip. His gaze instinctively dropped to your injured knee before returning to your face. "Sure you're okay?" There it was again, that quiet concern. You couldn't help smiling. "You're worse than my mom." A faint laugh escaped him as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Occupational hazard." You laughed, shaking your head. "I've answered that question at least five times." You said as you started walking. "I know," he said from behind. "But?" "But I'm probably going to ask it another five." You looked at him over your shoulder. "You're impossible." You huffed. "So are you." He chuckled.

You stopped in the middle of the trail. "See?" You flexed your bandaged hand before taking a careful step towards him. You bent your knee a couple of times. "No broken bones." Leon watched every movement with the attention of someone unconsciously performing one final assessment. Only after seeing you walk without wincing did some of the tension finally leave his shoulders permanently. "Okay," he admitted quietly, finally sounding like he actually believed it. Satisfied, you turned and continued down the narrow trail between the trees.

After a few steps, you noticed Leon had naturally fallen into place beside you. Neither of you commented on it; you simply continued walking through the dappled sunlight, following the distant voices back towards the rest of the camp. Every so often, Leon's eyes flickered towards your hand and knee for a second. You noticed it every single time, and although you pretended not to, a small smile refused to leave your face for the rest of the walk.

The closer you got to the center of the forest, the louder the voices became. At first, you assumed the game was still in full swing. Campers shouting, someone celebrating, a whistle echoing through the trees; nothing unusual. But as the two of you stepped out into the clearing that served as the blue team's base, something felt off. No one was running anymore, nor hiding. Every single caper was standing in one large group simply waiting.

The moment you and Leon emerged from the treeline, dozens of heads turned in your direction at once. Nobody talked for a second. You slowed to a stop as Leon did the same beside you. "Why is everyone looking at us?" You whispered. "I was just about to ask the same thing." A second later, Chris stepped forward from the middle of the group. His arms were crossed. There was an expression on his face that immediately told you this conversation wasn't going to end well.

He looked at the two of you, then at your bandaged hand. "So." He let the word hang dramatically in the air. "Enjoyed your little date?" Your cheeks warmed before you could stop them. Beside you, Leon looked genuinely offended. "It wasn't a date." You glanced sideways at him. "...It kinda was." His head turned so quickly you almost laughed. "What?" Leon asked. "You were about to kiss me." You teased him. "I wasn't!" Leon complained. "You looked like you were about to." You chuckled. "You're imagining things." He said, crossing his arms against his chest. "You wouldn't have done it if we didn't have to come back?" You raised your eyebrows, mirroring his pose. Chris pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to stop you right there." A burst of laughter rippled through the campers. Apparently, everyone had been listening.

One of the younger boys cupped his hands around his mouth. "Ooooohhh!" Another camper dramatically pretended to wipe away a tear. "They're so in love." Several others immediately joined in, whistling loudly while a chorus of exaggerated teasing filled the clearing. Someone wolf-whistled, another camper clapped sarcastically, and Carlos looked positively delighted. "I told you they disappeared for suspiciously long." Leon pointed at him immediately. "We did nothing you're thinking." He warned before there could be any misunderstanding. "You've been gone for almost half an hour," Chris said, "that long with you two never means 'nothing happened'." He added.

"Has it really been that long?" You asked. "It has," Claire confirmed. "And while you two were... wherever you were..." She gestured towards the opposite side of the clearing. The blue flag fluttered proudly beside Chris. "Our team captured your flag." You stared. "...Wait." Realization slowly dawned. "We lost?" You asked. "Very badly," Carlos replied far too cheerfully. One of the campers threw both hands into the air in dramatic frustration. "We were waiting for our best players!" Another immediately pointed at the two of you. "But they were busy flirting." The entire group erupted again.

The camp had settled into its usual evening rhythm by the time the sun began to dip behind the trees. Some campers were gathered around the volleyball court, arguing over whether the ball had landed inside the line. Others sat around picnic tables with cards spread between them, while somewhere near the dining hall, Carlos could be heard loudly insisting that he had absolutely not burned dinner. Judging by the smoke drifting lazily into the sky, no one believed him.

Away from the noise, the wooden porch outside your cabins offered a rare moment of peace. Leon sat on the top step with his elbows resting on his knees. The day's excitement had finally caught up with him. Soft footsteps approached across the wooden floor. He looked up. You were carrying two cold drinks, one in each hand. Without a word, you held one out to him. A small smile appeared on his face. "Thanks." You lowered yourself onto the step beside him.

For a while, you simply watched the camp continue around you. Then, Leon broke the silence first. His eyes drifted almost automatically towards your bandaged hand. "Sure you're okay?" You looked down at the neat white bandage before smiling to yourself. "I don't know." He frowned slightly. "What do you mean?" You turned towards him. "A very handsome paramedic did a great job patching me up, yet he refuses to believe I'm fine." He looked away with a quiet laugh, rubbing the back of his neck in that familiar, flustered gesture you'd grown strangely fond of. "I think he's biased." He said. "I think he's very good at his job." His smile lingered as he shook his head. "I'm glad you're okay." You bumped your shoulder lightly against him. "I've noticed."

The comfortable silence returned. The sounds of the camp drifted lazily through the warm evening air, softened by the distance until they became little more than background noise. A breeze stirred the leaves overhead, carrying with it the familiar scent of pine, smoke from the campfire, and freshly cut grass. You looked out towards the cabins scattered beneath the trees.

It felt strange. Only a few months ago, this place had been unfamiliar. Now, it already felt like leaving home. You wrapped both hands around your drink. "Only a few days left..." Beside you, Leon followed your gaze towards the campers running across the field. A small smile touched his lips. "Yeah." Neither of you spoke again for several seconds. You weren't sure either of you wanted to acknowledge what came next.

Eventually, you sighed quietly. "I don't really want to go back." Leon understood what you meant. Back to alarms, schedules, classes, early mornings, paperwork, responsibilities. The version of yourselves that always seemed to exist for everyone else. He nodded slowly. "...Me neither." The admission came so quietly it was almost carried away by the breeze. You glanced at him while his eyes never left the camp, the place that had somehow given both of you more than a simple summer.

"I'm gonna miss this." You smiled softly. "The camp?" Only then did he finally turn to look at you. There was something wonderfully honest in his expression. "No." He said with a small smile. Your heart skipped. He wasn't talking about the camp itself; he was talking about the mornings spent teasing each other over breakfast, the hikes, the quiet walk through the woods, the late evening on this very porch, the kisses under the stars.

Then, the ship's comments on the chat became more and more common. It all started on a just chatting stream. Leon somehow managed to screw up the tags of the stream after he tried to fix a scene. "Chat, where's Y/N?" He asked, clearly panicking. Some viewers started tagging you immediately, some others... noticed things neither of you seemed to notice. "Oh, there she is," He said, relieved when he saw you joining the stream 5 minutes later. "Come to Discord, I need your help," he shyly added, rubbing the back of his neck.

"DISCORD???"

"HE ALWAYS LOOKS FOR HER EVEN IF THERE ARE OTHER MODS."

"*PEEPOLOVE*".

"I don't know what I touched," Leon said nervously. You couldn't hide the chuckle escaping your lips as you tried to find the problem and fix it. "Is it working now?" Leon asked, his eyes finally landing on the chat again. "What would you do without me?" You joked. "Probably retire." He replied. The moment those words left Leon's mouth, the chat exploded. At first, it was only a couple of teasing messages buried beneath the rest.

"That's not very cowoker of you."

"Just confess already."

"So... when are you making it official?"

Leon frowned ever so slightly, leaning a little closer to his monitor as if reading the messages again would somehow make them different. A nervous laugh escaped him before he quickly shook his head. "You guys are unbelievable," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck again. "We're not dating." The denial should have been enough, but instead it only encouraged them.

"Not dating yet."

"Bro answered too fast."

"Then why do you always wait for Y/N before starting?"

"You literally rescheduled a stream last week because Y/N couldn't be here."

"He's never beating the allegations."

You stared at your monitor in complete silence after leaving the Discord call with Leon, your hands frozen above your keyboard. Every new message made the warmth crawling up your neck spread a little further across your face. You couldn't understand why it embarrassed you so much. It wasn't like the chat knew anything. They were only joking, just like they've been doing for the past few months. Right?

Leon let out another awkward laugh, one that sounded far less convincing than the last one. "I would've done that for any of my mods," he insisted. Almost immediately, someone clipped the sentence.

"Liar."

"Claire couldn't be here 2 weeks ago and you didn't rescheduled."

"You literally looked for Y/N the second she was five minutes late."

"Bro folded in under thirty seconds."

"Guys I looked for Y/N because we had technical issues," Leon tried to defend himself, but it didn't wash.

"I was here all along." Claire typed, followed by a clown sticker. His lips parted, ready to defend himself again, but nothing came out. Because none of them were entirely wrong.

Whenever something broke, you were the first person he looked for. Whenever he had an idea for the channel, you were the first person he told. Whenever he doubted himself before the stream, you were always the one waiting for him in Discord, reminding him that everything would be fine. None of it had felt strange. Not until hundreds of strangers pointed it out all at once.

You looked away from your screen for a second, pressing the back of your hand against your burning cheek before typing the only thing you could think of.

"I'm literally just his moderator." The message stayed pinned on the screen for barely two seconds before it was drowned beneath dozens of replies.

"Sure Y/N."

"We believe you 💀."

POLL: Is Leon in love with Y/N?

YES

YES

Poll created by ClaireRedfield98.

You buried your face in your hands with a groan, wishing the floor would simply open beneath your chair. A Discord message from Claire popped up on your screen. "You're welcome ;)". Across the screen, Leon's ears had turned the faintest shade of pink as he put his headphones back, trying to hide them and open the game he was going to play to avert everyone's attention.

Before you could even notice, the special stream you had been planning for weeks was around the corner. It was nothing extraordinary, a twelve-hour charity stream to celebrate Leon reaching one hundred thousand followers, but the amount of preparation behind it was enough to make anyone's head spin. New overlays, alerts, donation goals, giveaways, a dozen backup scenes in case OBS decided to betray him again halfway through stream...

By the time the checklist was finally complete, the Discord call had already stretched well past midnight. "...I think that's everything," Leon said after a brief silence, the rhythmic clicking of his mouse coming to a stop. You glanced over the document one last time. "I think so too." Neither of you hung up. The comfortable silence that settled between you wasn't awkward; it was the kind that came naturally after months of spending almost every evening together, each of you quietly working on your own thing while the other happened to be there.

Somewhere in the background, you heard Leon yawn. "Tired?" You muttered. "A little." He answered just as quietly. "You should sleep then," He hummed in response, yet he didn't try to leave the call. "So..." he spoke again. "Did you end up watching that movie?" A small smile tugged at your lips.

And just like that, the checklist was forgotten. One movie somehow turned into five, five turned into childhood cartoons neither of you had thought about in years, Leon admitted he'd cried watching Hachi, and immediately tried to defend himself before you could tease him for it. "You cried too," he pointed out when you laughed. "I never said I didn't." He chuckled quietly at your answer. The sound reached you through your headphones, soft enough that it almost blended with the rain tapping against your bedroom window.

You talked about pets next. About how Leon had always wanted a golden retriever, but his apartment wasn't exactly dog-friendly, about the stray orange cat that occasionally wandered into your garden as if it owned the place.

Then came the childhood stories. The embarrassing ones. The ones you usually forget until someone accidentally unlocks the memory. Leon confessed he'd once gotten lost in a supermarket because he had followed someone else's jacket, convinced it was his dad. You laughed so hard your stomach hurt. He laughed as well, because hearing your laugh somehow made it funnier.

Hours slipped away unnoticed. By the time either of you glanced at the clock again, it was almost four in the morning. "We should probably sleep," you murmured, reluctant despite yourself. "Probably." Once again, neither of you moved. Leon broke the silence first. "What do you want to do... eventually?" You blinked, confused. "What do you mean?” "I don't know." His voice carried that familiar hesitation, as though he was afraid of asking something too personal. "Like... years from now." You leaned back in your chair, thinking. "I think I'd like somewhere quiet." He hummed. "A little house, a dog, or a cat." "A golden retriever and an orange cat?" You could practically hear the smile in his voice. "...Definitely." You chuckled. A small pause settled in the call. "What about you?" You asked. He took a moment to answer. "I don't really care where I end up." His words came out almost absentmindedly. "As long as I have someone to share my life with." Something in your chest tightened.

Neither of you acknowledged the silence that followed. It felt fragile, like speaking too loudly would somehow break it. Eventually, Leon cleared his throat. "I should let you sleep." He said quietly. "You should." You chuckled. "...Goodnight." "Goodnight, Leon." The call ended with the familiar Discord sound echoing through your room. For a long moment, you simply stared at your dark monitor. The stream had only taken an hour to prepare; the remaining three had been spent talking about everything and absolutely nothing. Your eyes drifted towards the clock before a quiet thought crossed your mind. It had felt suspiciously close to a date. You immediately shook your head. It couldn't have been; Leon was just comfortable around you. That was all.

On the other side of the city, Leon was lying in bed with one arm thrown over his eyes. He had spent the last ten minutes replaying the conversation in his head instead of sleeping. He couldn't remember the last time talking to someone had felt that effortless. The corner of his mouth lifted into a tired smile. It had felt suspiciously close to a date. His face warmed almost instantly. "...Get a grip," he muttered to himself before reaching over to switch off the bedside lamp.

The charity stream couldn't have gone better. Twelve hours somehow turned into thirteen after Leon insisted on finishing "just one more build" before ending the stream. The donation goal had been surpassed hours ago, chat had somehow convinced him to wear a ridiculous paper crown, and by the time he thanked everyone for staying until the end, his voice had grown noticeably hoarse. You were already typing out a final message in chat when a notification appeared.

Ada raided with 18.642 viewers.

For a second, nobody said anything. "...What?" Leon's eyes darted between the notification and the rapidly increasing viewer count. "What's going on?" You couldn't help laughing through your headset. "Leon." "I know!" You chuckled. "No, I don't think you do." His hands hovered awkwardly over his keyboard as though he had forgotten how to use it. "I... Uh..." He let out an embarrassed laugh before clearing his throat. "Hi." Chat immediately exploded. You watched the viewer count nearly double within minutes.

Ada stayed only long enough to wish him luck before disappearing again, but the damage had already been done. By the time Leon finally ended the stream, thousands of new followers had joined his community. He sat there staring at the dashboard for a full minute. "...There's no way." "There is," you replied, smiling to yourself. "...I think I'm going to throw up." You rolled your eyes. "You'll survive." He stayed quiet for a moment. "I don't know..." "You literally just did." He let out a familiar laugh, the one that always appeared whenever something good happened to him.

About half an hour later, your phone buzzed."Discord now." No greeting, no explanation. You couldn't help smiling as you clicked on his profile. He picked up before the first ring had even finished. "You'll never guess." He said excitedly. "Ada offered you a collab?" The call fell silent for a second. "How did you know???" He complained. "Magic." You joked, your laugh sneaking into the mic. He sounded disappointed that his surprise barely lasted ten seconds. Then the excitement won again. "She has this Minecraft Hardcore series with a bunch of creators." His words came out faster than usual. "She asked if I'd like to join for the next season." You couldn't stop smiling. "Leon." "What?" He answered immediately. "You have to say yes." You encouraged him. "You really think so?" "I know so." You corrected with a chuckle. "What if people only watch because it's Ada?" He hesitated. "Then they'll stay because it's you." Silence settled between you, long enough for Leon to quietly mumble a simple 'thanks'.

You leaned back in your chair. "You've worked for this for over a year." Leon hummed as he nodded thoughtfully. "I'm proud of you." Another pause, this one even longer. When he finally spoke again, his voice was softer. "...I'm glad you were here." For reasons you couldn't quite explain, your heart skipped once. "So am I."

The Hardcore series premiered the following Saturday. You had spent an hour before the stream helping Leon double-check every setting, even though he'd already checked them twice himself. "You've forgotten something." His voice immediately tensed. "What is it?" You burst into loud laughter. "I'm kidding." A groan echoed through your headset. "You're evil." He complained. "I learned from chat." You smiled to yourself. "Nervous?" You asked after a small silence. "...A little." He quietly admitted. "You'll do great." You reassured him, just like you always did. "...You'll be there, right?" The question was so familiar that neither of you seemed to think twice about it. "Always."

The server was already full by the time Leon joined. Several creators greeted him as their voice chat filled with overlapping instructions and laughter. Then Ada spoke. "So you're the rookie." Leon blinked. "...Rookie?" Leon asked nervously. "You've never played Hardcore with us," Ada said. "I guess not." The blond boy let out a quiet laugh. "Try not to die in the first ten minutes." A few creators laughed. "So... no pressure?" Leon joked. "None at all." You couldn't help smiling at your screen.

Leon sounded nervous, but little by little the conversation began flowing naturally. He accidentally punched another player instead of a tree, someone fell into a ravine, Ada silently handed Leon an iron pickaxe after he admitted he'd forgotten to craft one. "You came unprepared." Ada joked. "I was distracted." Leon defended immediately. "So I noticed." Every exchange was accompanied by laughter from the rest of the group. The atmosphere felt effortlessly comfortable. You found yourself relaxing alongside him. Then your eyes drifted towards the chat.

"THEY'RE CUTE."

"Ada bullying Leon is my new favorite thing."

"I ship it."

"#Aeon *peepolove*"

"The chemistry????"

You frowned. It was only a few messages, then dozens. Edits were already being mentioned before the stream had even ended.

"Aeon nation."

"Sorry, mod."

Your fingers hesitated above the keyboard. You deleted the timeout command before pressing Enter. There was no reason to moderate them; they weren't breaking any rules, they were only joking, just like they always had. Yet, for reasons you couldn't understand, every message left an uncomfortable knot somewhere beneath your ribs. You watched Leon laugh at something Ada had said. She nudged his character into the river, and he accidentally grabbed her in with him; the entire call dissolved into laughter. It looked... Natural. Maybe even better than you expected.

Your chest tightened. Of course, people would ship them. Ada was confident, quick-witted, and popular. Leon seemed far more relaxed around her than he'd been at the beginning of the stream. Your thoughts stopped abruptly. No, that wasn't fair. You closed the chat for a moment, rubbing your eyes. What exactly were you jealous of? Leon wasn't your boyfriend; he wasn't even flirting. He was simply making friends. You had no right to feel this way. So, why did it hurt?

Nearly four hours later, the stream finally came to an end. One by one, everyone disconnected from the voice call until only Leon and Ada remained. Neither of them spoke for a moment. Then Ada broke the silence. "So." Leon looked back at his monitor. "Huh?" He muttered. "You're not dating?" His eyebrows drew together. "...Who?" He hesitated to ask. "Your moderator." The question caught him so off guard that he nearly knocked over the glass sitting beside his keyboard. "What?" "Y/N, isn't it?" He stared at the Discord window as though it might suddenly explain what was happening. "No." Ada hummed thoughtfully. "I would've bet money on it." Leon's ears warmed. "We're just..." He hesitated again. "...Friends." "Right." The single word carried just enough amusement to make him feel suspicious. "You don't believe me?" He asked. "I believe that's what you tell yourself." Leon frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" Ada let out a quiet laugh. "It means you've spent the entire evening asking whether she'd like this joke, whether she'd laugh at that story, whether she'd think your house looked ugly." Leon opened his mouth just to close it again. "You also looked for her in chat every five minutes." Ada pointed out. "Did I?" "You did." Silence settled between them.

Ada leaned back in her chair. "Talk to her." His eyes widened. "What?" He said immediately. "If she says no, you'll survive." Ada laughed. "...And if she doesn't?" A faint smile slipped into Ada's voice. "Then you'll wonder why you waited so long." She said before hanging up. Leon didn't move. Because for the first time in months, he wasn't wondering whether the chat had been reading too much into things. He was wondering if maybe, just maybe, they had noticed something long before he had.

Days went by, and you barely talked to him. At first, Leon convinced himself he was imagining it. People got busy; you had your own life outside of Twitch. It wasn't unusual for you to answer a message an hour later or skip a Discord call because you were tired. Those kinds of things happened; it was normal. Except... it kept happening.

The good morning messages became shorter, the conversations that usually drifted beyond stream schedules ended as soon as the planning was done. Whenever he suggested staying in the call a little longer, you suddenly had something else to do. Even during streams, you barely typed anymore. You still moderated the chat, greeted newcomers, and banned bots before anyone else noticed them. But the little comments that used to make him laugh had almost disappeared. Somehow, your presence had started feeling distant. He noticed it because he missed it, more than he wanted to admit.

"You've been staring at Discord for five minutes." Claire's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Leon blinked. "I hav-." "You have." She didn't even sound doubtful. Claire knew you and Leon almost like the palm of her hand. She's been moderating Leon for as long as you have, but unlike you, she wasn't subtle. If something bothered her, everyone knew. She leaned back in her chair before looking at him through the call. "You've been weird all week." Leon sighed. "It's Y/N." He muttered. "I figured." Claire crossed her arms. "I think I did something." Claire raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?" She asked with curiosity. "She's..." He searched for the right word. "Different." Claire remained quiet. "She answers less, always has an excuse to leave..." Your friend hummed. "And I don't know why." Leon looked down, like a sad puppy who had just been scolded. "I've been trying to think if I said something stupid." He added. Claire couldn't help smiling to herself. "You really have no idea." Leon looked up with a frown. "...Should I?" She considered for a moment letting him figure it out alone. But she knew he would take forever.

"Leon, stop trying to solve this like it's a puzzle," Claire said finally. "What do you mean?" The girl let out a tired sigh. "Call her." Leon blinked. "Just... call her?" He repeated, as if he needed to do so to understand it. Claire simply nodded. "What if she doesn't want to talk to me?" Claire let out a laugh. "Then she'll tell you." Leon nodded thoughtfully. "But I seriously doubt that's the problem." She reassured the blond boy. "Oh, and Leon," he hummed in response. "Ask her what's wrong, not what you think is wrong. Ask her what is actually wrong," She added before hanging up.

Your phone buzzed barely fifteen minutes later. Leon is calling... You stared at the screen. For a brief moment, you considered pretending you hadn't seen it. Instead, you answered. "Hey." His voice sounded quieter than usual. There was no background music, no keyboard clicking, no stream... Everything felt so empty. For a few seconds, neither of you spoke. Then Leon inhaled softly. "...Did I do something?" The question caught you completely off guard. "What?" You asked immediately. "Did I upset you?" He asked again. "No." The crease between your eyebrows deepened. "You've been avoiding me." There wasn't a hint of accusation in his voice, only concern. "I just..." you started before hesitating. Leon waited patiently. "I thought maybe I'd said something." He said when he noticed how quiet you were. "You didn't." You said once again. "Then what happened?" You closed your eyes. You hadn't planned on having this conversation, especially not with him. "It doesn't matter." You shrugged off. "It matters if it's making you unhappy." His words came so naturally that your chest tightened.

Silence settled between you, long enough for Leon to quietly add, "I miss talking to you." Your heart sank, followed by a small, defeated laugh that didn't sound like you at all. "It's stupid." You sounded embarrassed. "I'll decide that." Another silence settled before you before you exhaled. "...I got jealous," you whispered, finally admitting what you've been avoiding since the Hardcore series stream. Leon frowned. "Jealous?" The word sounded almost foreign in his tongue. You immediately regretted saying it. "No, forget it." You tried to downplay it. "Jealous of what?" You covered your face with one hand. "This is exactly why I didn't want to say anything." You quietly admitted. "I don't understand." You let out a slow breath. "...Ada." You let a beat of silence before hurrying to continue before he could say something. "I know how ridiculous this sounds. You were just streaming and making friends." You continued. "And she's nice. She didn't do anything wrong." You clarified before he could misunderstand your words. "I just..." Your voice grew quieter with every sentence. "I had no right to feel jealous." You swallowed.

"I mean..." you forced a weak laugh after an endless silence. "I'm not your girlfriend." Leon didn't answer. All at once, every conversation from the past year came crashing back. "You'll be in chat, right?" "Always." The nights spent talking until sunrise, looking for you the second every stream started, rescheduling broadcasts because you couldn't make it, wondering whether you'd laugh before telling a joke, checking if you'd see every message, missing you after only a few quiet days. His grip tightened around his phone. It wasn't Ada, it wasn't even the chat. The only thing he couldn't understand was how it had taken him this long to realise why losing your attention had felt so terrifying. "...Y/N." His voice came out almost breathless. "I think..." He stopped. You laughed to yourself for a second. Leon Kennedy would never know how to finish a sentence.

The silence that stretched through the line was frightening, like both of you knew that whatever came next would change something neither of you could ever take back. Leon let out a slow breath. "I think I would've been jealous too." You frowned. "What?" "If..." He rubbed a hand over his face, already embarrassed by his own words. "If you had been streaming with someone else." Your heartbeat quickened. "I would've hated reading the chat shipping you with him." He laughed nervously. "I probably would've tried to convince myself it didn't bother me... But it would've." Your grip around your phone tightened. "Leon..." You muttered under your breath. "I don't think it was Ada." Your voice was barely above a whisper. "I think I was just scared." You finally admitted. "Scared about what?" Leon asked with confusion, covering his voice. "Losing you." The words came out before he had the chance to overthink them.

Neither of you dared to say anything else for the next few seconds. Somewhere outside your bedroom window, the rain had started again. Soft enough that it almost disappeared beneath the sound of your own heartbeat. Leon cleared his throat. "You know..." He immediately regretted trying to continue. "What?" You asked when you noticed his hesitation. "It's stupid." He chuckled. "I'll decide that." You said, a smile tugging at your lips. "...You're starting to sound like me." He huffed a laugh. "I wonder why." You giggled. This time, the laugh escaping his throat sounded warmer. The tension eased just enough for him to find the courage he'd been looking for. "...Would it be weird..." He stopped for a second, deciding whether it was a good idea or not to say what he was thinking. "...if I asked my moderator out on a date?" Your eyes widened immediately.

For a second, you genuinely forgot how to breathe. Leon, on the other side of the call, was already questioning every life decision that had led him to that sentence. "I mean... You don't have to answer... I just thought... You know... It sounded way better in my head." Another awkward laugh escaped him. "I'm making this worse, aren't I?" You bit the inside of your cheek to suppress a smile. "...A little." You murmured. "I knew it." Leon chuckled. "But..." You looked down at the floor, feeling the warmth creeping back onto your cheeks. "Yeah?" He blinked. "It would probably be a little weird... Yeah." His shoulders sank. "Oh." A tiny laugh slipped past your lips. "But..." Hope returned so quickly it almost made him dizzy. "If you did..." You smiled to yourself, grateful he couldn't see how red your face had become. "...I'd say yes."

The line went completely silent for a solid minute. "Really?" Leon asked so quietly that it almost broke your heart. "Really." Another few seconds passed, and Leon broke the silence, quietly laughing to himself. "I spent months thinking you couldn't possibly like me." He confessed. "Same." You chuckled as he groaned. "We're idiots." He admitted. "A little." You continued to laugh. "A lot." Leon corrected, laughing with you. Neither of you realised how much you'd both missed hearing that sound together.

Eventually, Leon spoke again. "So..." He paused. "Friday?" You fell into the temptation of teasing him a little. "What about Friday?" You asked innocently. "Our..." He hesitated. "...Date?" It felt so weird hearing him say that word meant only for you. A smile spread widely across your face. "I'd love that." Somewhere on the other end of the call, Leon smiled widely, too. You couldn't see it, he couldn't see yours, but somehow, neither of you needed a camera to know the other one was smiling.

Friday's date somehow turned into another, then another, then late-night walks after streams, coffee before planning meetings, messages that no longer needed an excuse to be sent. Somewhere along the way, the line between streamer and moderator quietly disappeared. Neither of you ever made an announcement. Your relationship had never been built in front of an audience. It had grown in Discord calls that lasted until four in the morning, in quiet moments between stream schedules, in countless 'good luck' messages sent moments before Leon went live. So when his next stream started, nothing looked different. The same overlay, the same music, the same nervous smile as he greeted the chat.

"Good evening, everyone." Thousands of familiar usernames rushed across the screen. You quietly settled into your usual routine. Greeting new viewers, removing spam, answering questions, just another stream. The only difference was the four walls that surrounded you. About twenty minutes in, you heard Leon's voice from the room next door. He frowned at something on his second monitor. "Has my favorite mod posted tonight's schedule yet?" He said without thinking. The chat went completely silent for a moment. "Did the stream lag?" He asked innocently when he noticed nobody was typing.

The messages arrived all at once.

"Favorite?"

"EXCUSE ME????"

"SINCE WHEN IS SHE YOUR FAVORITE????"

"HE SAID FAVORITE"

"CLIP THAT."

"WE WON."

You covered your mouth with one hand. There was absolutely no way he had just said that. Leon read a few more messages before the realization slowly reached him. "...Oh." The tips of his ears turned pink under his headphones. "I didn't mean..." He stopped. Because what he was about to say wasn't true anymore. He had meant it. He just hadn't meant to say it out loud. A sheepish smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I mean..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "...She is." The chat moved so quickly that it became impossible to read.

"HE DID NOT JUST DOUBLE DOWN."

"I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS."

"THE MOD WON."

"SOMEONE CHECK ON ADA."

You bit your lip, trying and failing miserably not to smile. Without looking away from your monitor, you typed the only response you could think of.

"Focus on your game, rookie."

You smiled towards the closed door that separated Leon's setup from where you were. Leon looked back at the chat. Then, at your message with a soft smile. "Yes, ma'am." The teasing only grew worse after that. Every time Leon thanked you for fixing something, every time you reminded him to drink water, every time he glanced at chat looking for your messages before anyone else's. The audience had always noticed. Now they finally had solid proof. Neither of you denied anything, you didn't confirm it either. You simply carried on exactly as you always had. Only now, Leon smiled a little more often.

The stream ended nearly four hours later. Leon leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh, thanking everyone one last time before raiding Ada and ending the broadcast. The familiar Twitch dashboard replaced the stream. Silence settled over the room. "...Well." "Well," you echoed from the doorway. Leon looked up so quickly he almost spun his chair around. "There you are." You smiled, your laptop tucked under one arm after spending the entire stream moderating from the guest room. "I've been here the whole time." You said. "I know." His smile came so easily now. "So..." You walked over. "...Favorite moderator?" He buried his face in one hand. "I panicked." He hid his smile behind his hand. "You doubled down." You narrowed your eyes at him. "Yeah." He chuckled. "You made it worse." A laugh escaped both of you at the same time. Leon stood from his chair, crossing the room until he stopped in front of you. "I guess they're going to figure it out eventually." You shrugged. "Maybe."

He smiled before leaning down just enough to press a soft, lingering kiss to your lips. "So much for keeping it a secret." He whispered, his hand resting on your cheek. "I think we laster..." you looked down at the watch on your wrist. "About twenty minutes." You looked up at him once again. "New record." He was about to lean in to kiss you again when your phone vibrated. Then his. You frowned.

You unlocked your screen. Claire. A screenshot filled almost the entire display. It was the chat. Hundreds upon hundreds of messages were flying by after Leon had called you his favorite moderator.

"HE'S NEVER CALLED HER THAT BEFORE."

"THAT'S HIS GIRLFRIEND."

"WE WON."

"I WAITED A YEAR FOR THIS."

At the very bottom, Claire had circled Leon's flustered expression in bright red. Underneath the screenshot, there was only one message. "ABOUT DAMN TIME." You couldn't stop yourself from laughing. Across the room, Leon let out an equally defeated groan. "...She sent you one too?" You turned your phone around. "She did." Leon held up his own screen. The exact same screenshot, the exact same message. For a second, you simply looked at each other and burst into laughter. A laugh that came so easily whenever you were together. When the laughter finally died down, Leon reached for your hand without thinking. His fingers intertwined with yours as naturally as though they'd always belonged there.

His free hand cupped your cheek again, connecting your lips in a messy kiss after his nose bumped into yours and you burst into laughter. In the middle of the kiss, Leon's phone screen lit up with a new notification. A message from Ada read 'Congratulations, rookie.' was completely ignored as Leon continued to kiss you.

Somehow, it felt like the perfect ending to a story that had started with nothing more than a Twitch chat and one moderator who had always been there.

You all gathered around him with the same expression. Carlos leaned against the picnic table while Leon stretched his sore shoulders after spending the entire day chasing teenagers around the campgrounds. The list of remaining chores wasn't particularly exciting, especially at that time of the day. Empty the trash bins, lock the equipment shed, make sure the sports field lights were off, refill tomorrow's first aid kits, tidy up the mess the campers made inside the storage cabin. Simple jobs, ten minutes each, if everyone stopped complaining.

Chris assigned them one by one without much ceremony, crossing each task off his clipboard as volunteers reluctantly stepped forward. "The storage cabin still needs organizing," he muttered, glancing down at the page. "Looks like the campers destroyed it after arts and crafts." You looked up almost instinctively. "So do we." The words left both your mouths at the exact same time. For a second, neither of you reacted. Then you felt Leon's gaze land on you. "...Jinx," he muttered with a crooked smile, nudging your side playfully. Chris didn't even question it. "Perfect." He scribbled something onto the clipboard. "You two take the storage cabin. Lock it up when you're done and don't mess up with the keys like you did during the thunderstorm." He added, giving you both a look.

It was practical enough. No one thought much of assigning a couple to the same chore. Well... Almost no one. Claire's eyes flickered between you and Leon before the tiniest, most knowing smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. It lasted barely a second, long enough for Jill to notice it. She followed Claire's gaze towards the two of you, then towards the path leading to the storage cabin perfectly hidden among the trees. Realization crossed her face almost immediately. Her lips curled into an amused smile as she quietly folded her arms. She didn't say a word, but Claire caught her eye.

The two women exchanged one of those silent conversations that somehow lasted less than a heartbeat. Claire raised an eyebrow. Jill gave the faintest shrug with a small smile. If Chris noticed the exchange, he gave absolutely no indication. He dismissed everyone with a wave of his clipboard, already turning towards tomorrow's schedule while all of you drifted towards your chores.

The clearing slowly emptied. Teenagers disappeared behind wooden doors as the porch lights blinked on one by one. Somewhere in the distance, crickets began their nightly chorus. Leon adjusted the flashlight clipped to his belt before falling into step beside you, his shoulder brushing yours for only a second. "You ready?" You smiled up at him. "As I'll ever be." Neither of you noticed Claire casually nudging Jill with her elbow as you walked away. Jill watched the two of you disappear down the narrow trail between the pine trees before letting out a quiet, knowing laugh beneath her breath. "...I'm definitely winning this bet." Claire simply smiled.

The storage cabin looked as though a tornado had swept through it. Paint bottles sat upside down beside footballs, jump ropes tangled around plastic bins, foldable chairs leaned precariously against shelves that were already overflowing with board games, craft supplies, and stacks of blankets that had clearly been shoved wherever they fit. You stopped in the doorway. "...I think they declared war on this place." Leon stepped in beside you, shining his flashlight across the room before letting out an amused huff. "I've seen cleaner crime scenes." You laughed, nudging his shoulder as you walked past him. "That's a very reassuring comparison." You joked. "It's the only one I've got."

The wooden floor creaked beneath your shoes while you split up without needing to discuss who would do what. Leon tackled the heavier equipment, carrying crates of sports gear back to their shelves as though they weighed nothing. You focused on the endless collection of art supplies, untangling ribbons, sorting coloured paper and stacking plastic boxes back where they belonged. Little by little, the chaos started making sense again.

The conversation never really stopped. It drifted naturally from the ridiculous strategies campers had invented during the Volleyball match to Chris somehow losing his whistle three times in a single afternoon. You insisted it had been four, but Leon claimed Chris simply had a talent for misplacing objects. "I'm convinced Jill keeps stealing them," Leon said as he stacked another pair of blankets. "You have proof?" You raised an eyebrow. He simply shook his head. "Then that's slander." You chuckled. "I'm willing to take that risk." Another louder laugh escaped you before you tossed him a bundle of climbing ropes. He caught them effortlessly. "Show-off." You scoffed. "I know." The easy rhythm between you had become second nature weeks ago. You simply existed together at this point, slipping into conversation that wandered nowhere in particular.

Outside, the sounds of the camp had almost completely disappeared. The laughter, the footsteps, the cabin doors closing... One by one, they had all faded until only the wind remained, stirring softly through the pine trees surrounding the cabin. Eventually, only one shelf remained unfinished. You picked up the last cardboard box and frowned at the empty space near the very top. You rose onto your tiptoes. The box barely brushed the edge of the shelf before slipping back towards you. You tried again, but failed. A quiet chuckle echoed somewhere behind you. "I was waiting to see how long you'd keep pretending you could reach that." Leon teased you. "I can." You said confidently, earning a quiet hum from him. "You've attempted it three times." He said, tilting his head. "Fourth time's the charm."

Before you could prove your point, Leon closed the remaining distance between you. You felt him before he spoke. The warmth of his body settled at your back, close enough that your heartbeat suddenly became impossible to ignore. Without saying anything, he reached around you, one hand steadying the side of the box while the other guided it effortlessly onto the shelf above. The movement took only a second. Neither of you stepped away afterward. The cabin suddenly felt much smaller than it had a moment ago. You slowly turned to face him, noticing he was already looking down at you with a fond smile, close enough now that the teasing smile he'd worn all evening had softened into something quieter.

Your eyes searched his while his lingered on yours for just a little too long before drifting to your lips. The air between you felt impossibly still. Then, a shrill alarm echoed across the camp. The nightly curfew siren. Leon blinked first; a small smile returned to his face as he exhaled through his nose. "I guess that's our cue." Reluctantly, he glanced towards the door. "We should probably head back." You looked at the neatly organized shelves surrounding you. Then back at him. "...Or..." His eyebrow lifted. You took a single step closer, leaving barely any space between you and resting your hand on his chest. "The cabin was a disaster when we got here." You muttered. "So...," you added, unable to hide the smile tugging at your lips. "No one's going to question why we took a little longer." His expression shifted almost imperceptibly.

The playful confidence faded into something much more dangerous. His gaze never left yours. "You've thought this through." He whispered. "Maybe." A quiet laugh escaped him, low enough that it barely rose above the wind outside. "You know..." He reached up, gently brushing a loose strand of hair behind your ear. "I was trying very hard to be responsible." He added. "Were you?" You teased. "Barely." A smile tugged at the corner of your lips.

The silence that followed was no longer awkward, the kind of silence that drew you together without either of you deciding who moved first. By the time your foreheads almost touched, it didn't matter. Leon closed the final inch between you. His lips found yours in a slow, familiar kiss that carried the weight of every stolen glance from earlier that evening.

He pushed you back, guiding you towards the small desk conveniently displayed by the corner of the cabin. Without breaking the kiss, you instinctively jumped and sat with your legs slightly spread, pulling Leon closer by the collar of his shirt. "You're going to be the death of me." He whispered before smashing his lips against yours again. Your trembling hands hurriedly pulled his shirt off his body.

You couldn't manage to hide the stare you gave him once he had nothing but his boxers on. "Like the view?" He teased with a wide, proud smirk spread across his face. "Always." You teased back, running your fingertips down his chest and stomach, stopping right on the hem of his boxers. "You're so desperate, aren't you?" Leon asked, letting out a quiet groan when you rubbed your hand against his clothed erection. "It's not my fault you look so good." You answered, pressing a little bit harder. "You know..." His breath hitched. "You were pretty cruel earlier, looking at me with those eyes during the volleyball match." Leon let out a slow breath, trying to control himself. "The way you drank water kneeling right in front of me..." He added. "How cruel." You let out a proud laugh. "Then," you said, standing up from your spot, "I should compensate." You added, pulling your hair up into a ponytail before kneeling in front of him.

His hard member sprang free as soon as you took off his boxers carefully. "Hey," Leon whispered, grabbing your chin and forcing you to look up at him, "eyes on me, sweetheart. You already know how I like it." He said proudly, letting out a loud groan when your lips wrapped around his length.

Your practiced lips exerted the perfect pressure around his member, sucking him just like he loved. Leon's heavy breaths mixed with his groans and the wet sound of your mouth around him muffled against the thick wooden walls that surrounded you. For the first time, you could let yourselves enjoy each other's sounds as you were certain nobody could hear you from where you were. His hand reached out, cupping your cheek and wiping a tear threatening to escape the corner of your eye when you felt his tip briefly brushing your throat. "You're doing so well..." He breathed out. "Yeah... Just like that, sweetheart... Show me how much you love to please me." His groans became louder and less controlled as seconds went by and he felt his climax growing.

His warm load filled your mouth when he came completely undone. A quiet whine left his throat before he could stop it when you licked him clean, biting your lower lip as you got back on your feet. "How can you be so perfect?" He asked before kissing you desperately, pushing you into the desk behind you. His hand immediately found the hem of your short jeans, unbuckling them and pushing them down along with your panties. "Be a good girl and spread your legs a little more for me, sweetheart." He said, gripping your knee with one hand while the other stayed firmly on your waist to steady you.

You leaned back, letting your weight rest completely on your hands as Leon watched you. If looks could devour, Leon wouldn't have left a trace of you. "Are you blushing already? I didn't even start." Leon teased, hovering his hand over your entrance. You felt the warmth of his hand close enough to make your hips absentmindedly buckle up, trying to follow his movement and connect his hand with your throbbing core. "You're so damn desperate for me." He kept teasing.

The gasp you let out when he finally touched you was nothing like a composed human would ever sound like. "Yeah, let me hear your voice," Leon said with the widest smirk you've seen so far. "Leon..." You called out, wrapping your legs around him in a very failed attempt to get him closer. "I'm the one setting the pace tonight." He said, abruptly stopping his motions. "If you're a good girl, I'll give you what you want." He added, brushing his thumb over your lower lip. For some reason you couldn't quite explain, you opened your mouth, letting him tuck his thumb inside it. His grin widened when he pushed his thumb into your mouth. "Fuck... That's really hot, sweetheart." He admitted, already feeling his member getting hard again.

His fingers moved in and out of your core while his thumb drew fast circles on your clit after you begged him enough. Your breasts wobbled freely as your chest rose and fell with every shaky breath you took. "Leon... Fuck me, please..." You suddenly begged. For a brief second, it seemed to catch him off guard. "Is that what you want?" He asked, his fingers still buried deep inside you. "Yes... Please, I need you." You whispered. You heard him tsk before he pulled his fingers out of you.

"You're very lucky I don't go out without this anymore." He said, taking a condom from the pocket of his jeans that were messily spread across the floor. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me." You replied, watching him walk closer to you. Your legs had pressed together when he left your side, too desperate to feel more friction. As if it was complete instinct, they spread widely so he could stand between them after he slid in the condom.

You both muffled your sounds in a messy kiss when he slipped inside you. Your hands immediately tugged at his hair on the back of his neck while one of his hands grabbed your waist and the other held himself upright, leaning on the wall behind you. You whined his name with every thrust, tightening the grip of your legs around him. "I love the way you sound like this..." Leon admitted against your ear. "I can't wait for the camp to end so that I can hear you call me like that every single day." He added, nibbling the sweet spot on your neck. For a brief second, a thought crossed your mind. The end of the camp. Leon wanted the camp to finish just so you could have a normal relationship without having to hide from others. That thought seemed to boost your confidence.

Your walls tightened sharply around him, making him shut his eyes at the sudden pleasure. "Fuck... You're so fucking tight... Don't do that." He whimpered, hiding his flushed face on the crook of your neck. "Or what?" You teased, tightening around him once again. "Y/N..." A high-pitched pleasure cry escaped his lips before he could stop it. For a moment, it felt like you didn't want him to get out of you just yet. "If you keep doing that..." He breathed out. "I won't be able to last much longer..." He managed to say. But you didn't listen.

His load escaped before he could even think he was reaching his climax. A loud moan with his name escaped your lips as you dug your nails into his bare shoulders. "Fuck..." He said into your lips when he kissed you in a very vague attempt to quiet you down.

Silence settled over the storage cabin once more, the kind that only seemed to exist after laughter had faded, after racing hearts finally remembered their rhythm, and after the world outside returned little by little. The air still carried the faint scent of pine from the surrounding forest, mixing with the cool breeze slipping through the small window someone had left cracked open hours earlier and that neither of you seemed to have noticed before. There wasn't much to say. Leon remained beside you for another minute, his forehead resting lightly against your shoulder while the two of you simply breathed, content to exist in the quiet.

Eventually, reality found its way back. Your shirt had somehow ended up halfway across the room. Leon's was lying beneath a shelf. You let out a quiet laugh. "...We really made a mess." A smile tugged at your lips as you ran your hand through your hair. "Ironic." You muttered. "We came here to clean and somehow left it worse." The corners of his mouth lifted into the tired, lopsided grin you adored. "I'll fix it," Leon said. "You don't have to." You whispered. Still, he bent down to retrieve your jacket before handing it to you without another word. His fingers brushed yours as you took it. Even something as simple as that felt impossibly gentle now.

You slipped it over your shoulders while Leon searched for the rest of his clothes, running a hand through his already hopelessly messy hair before pulling his shirt back on. You couldn't help smiling. "What?" He quietly asked when he noticed you staring. "You somehow managed to make your hair even worse." He instinctively reached up to flatten it. "Better?" You shook your head with a wider smile. "Not even close." A soft laugh escaped him. You stepped closer before he could attempt to fix it again. Without thinking, you smoothed a few strands back into place yourself. It didn't really help. You both knew it, but neither of you really cared.

Leon watched you with that same quiet expression he'd worn moments earlier, one that always seemed softer when the two of you were alone. His hand found yours almost absentmindedly, thumb brushing slow circles across your knuckles. "You okay?" The question felt as simple and as genuine as it always did. You nodded almost instantly. "You sure?" You hummed in response. His shoulders relaxed in visible relief. "Good." Your fingers intertwined naturally, as though they had done it a thousand times before.

This time, you leaned forward. The kiss you shared was nothing like the ones from earlier. It was warm, slow enough that it felt more like a promise than a kiss. When you finally pulled away, Leon rested his forehead against yours again, his eyes closed for a brief moment. "You know..." he murmured quietly, "...Chris is going to wonder why organizing one cabin took us half an hour." A laugh escaped before you could stop it. "Half an hour?" He opened one eye. "...Forty-five minutes?" You huffed a laugh. "You are unbelievably optimistic." He sighed dramatically. "I was trying to make us sound responsible." He pouted. "You lost that argument the second the curfew alarm went off." He couldn't help laughing. The sound filled the little cabin so effortlessly that you found yourself laughing too.

By the time the laughter faded, the room looked almost exactly as it had when you'd finished cleaning it the first time. Boxes neatly stacked, sports equipment back on its shelves, ropes coiled, blankets folded. No evidence remained beyond two slightly flushed smiles and the way neither of you seemed particularly eager to let go of the other's hand.

Leon reached for the light switch by the door. Before turning it off, he looked back at you one last time. "You ready?" You smiled, squeezing his hand once. "As long as we leave before Jill starts collecting evidence." He laughed quietly under his breath. "I'm less worried about Jill." You frowned at him. He opened the door, the cool night air immediately wrapping around you. "I'm worried about Claire." You groaned. "...She's never going to let us live this down." You laughed. "Probably not," Leon agreed with a grin.

The warmth of the storage cabin disappeared almost instantly, replaced by the crisp scent of pine needles, damp earth, and the faint trace of the last evening's campfire lingering somewhere in the forest. Every cabin stood dark except for the occasional porch light someone had forgotten to switch off. Curtains hung still behind the windows, hiding rows of exhausted campers who had long since surrendered to sleep. Not a single voice broke the silence; only the rhythmic chorus of crickets echoed through the trees, accompanied every now and then by the distant rustling of branches swaying in the summer breeze.

Leon quietly locked the storage cabin behind him before slipping the key into his pocket. Neither of you rushed to leave. Without saying anything else, you naturally fell into step beside one another, walking along the narrow dirt path that wound between the cabins. Your footsteps were deliberately slow. The gravel barely crunched beneath your shoes as you tried not to wake anyone. Your hands brushed once, twice, and the third time, Leon simply intertwined his fingers with yours as though it had been the most obvious thing in the world. You smiled to yourself.

There was something oddly comforting about the quiet. After spending the entire day surrounded by shouting campers, whistles, laughter, and endless chaos, the silence felt almost sacred. When Leon finally spoke, his voice barely rose above a whisper. "I think this is the first peaceful moment we've had all day." You glanced at him, unable to suppress your smile. "It only took..." You pretended to think. "...about sixteen hours." He let out a quiet laugh through his nose. "Worth the wait." The conversation faded as naturally as it began, simply enjoying each other's company, stealing occasional glances whenever you thought the other wasn't looking.

The path eventually split into two. One trail led towards your cabin while the other led to Leon's. You slowed almost instinctively, then stopped altogether. The silence had settled between you once again when you noticed Leon was still holding your hand tight. The porch light beside your cabin cast a warm glow across the wooden steps, catching the faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He looked as though he wanted to say something. Several things, perhaps. But he simply looked at you.

The night felt impossibly still around you. Somewhere nearby, an owl called from deep within the trees. You smiled first. "So..." "So," he echoed softly. Neither of you moved. It felt strangely ridiculous how you'd spent nearly the entire night together, shared more than either of you had expected before volunteering to clean the storage cabin, and yet saying goodnight somehow felt like the hardest part. Leon rubbed the back of his neck with a quiet, almost sheepish smile. "I should probably let you sleep." You nodded quietly. "You've got the canoe lesson tomorrow morning." He continued. "I know." You muttered. "And if Chris catches us wandering around after curfew..." "He'll make us supervise breakfast duty." You finished his sentence. Leon grimaced dramatically. "Now that's terrifying." A quiet laugh escaped both of you before the silence settled once more.

You stepped closer, just enough to smooth an invisible crease from the front of his camp shirt. Your fingertips lingered for a heartbeat before dropping back to your side. Leon looked down at you with an expression so impossibly soft that it made your chest ache. He leaned forward, pressing one last lingering kiss against your forehead. When he finally pulled back, his thumb brushed lightly across your hand one last time before your fingers reluctantly slipped apart. "Goodnight," he whispered. You smiled. "Goodnight, Leon." He waited until you reached the cabin steps before turning away.

You had barely reached the last step to your cabin when you heard hurried footsteps behind you. At first, you thought you had imagined it. Then, "Wait." Leon's voice was barely louder than a whisper, careful not to disturb the peaceful silence wrapped around the camp. You turned again. He was already crossing the small distance between you, his pace quicker than before, as though he'd made the decision without giving himself enough time to second-guess it.

Moonlight filtered through the pine branches above, catching the faint smile tugging at his lips. He stopped in front of you, breathing just a little harder from the short walk back. For half a second, you felt the world stop spinning under your feet. "I forgot something," he murmured. Your eyebrows lifted with surprise. "Oh?" His smile widened. "Yeah." He took another step. Before either of you could overthink it, the remaining space vanished. Your back met the smooth wooden wall beside the cabin door with the gentlest pressure imaginable, more playful than sudden. Leon rested one hand beside your shoulder, giving you more than enough room to move away if you wanted to. You didn't, though. Your fingers curled lightly around the front of his camp shirt, drawing him just a fraction closer. "You really couldn't make it ten seconds, huh?" you whispered, laughter dancing behind your words. He looked at you with that familiar mixture of amusement and affection. "I gave it my best." He replied, dangerously close. "I'm impressed." You teased him. "I almost made it to the path." A quiet laugh escaped you. "So close." You tilted your head slightly.

His forehead and nose brushed yours. "So... I still forgot something." He whispered. "And what's that?" Instead of answering, he leaned in. His lips met yours in a slow, lingering kiss that tasted of laughter more than anything else. The kind of kiss that wasn't driven by urgency, only by the simple realization that neither of you had been ready to say goodnight. Your hand slid gently to the back of his neck as you smiled against his lips when he slightly bit your lower lip. He smiled too. Neither of you noticed the cabin door quietly opening a few feet away. It wasn't until someone cleared their throat that you reluctantly pulled apart.

Jill stood in the doorway holding an empty metal water bottle. She looked from Leon... to you... and back again. A long beat of silence followed as you shyly brushed your wet lips. Then, with the most impressively neutral expression either of you had ever seen, she lifted one hand. "I didn't see anything." She took two steps onto the porch before pausing. Without turning around, she added casually. "...But Claire owes me twenty bucks." Another heartbeat passed. Then she continued towards the water station as though nothing at all had happened.

A deathly silence settled over the porch as you both watched her walk away. "...She bet on us?" You whispered, equal parts horrified and amused. Leon let out a long, defeated sigh, rubbing a hand across his face. "I have a feeling Claire's been collecting evidence for weeks." You couldn't stop yourself from laughing. He joined in a second later, shaking his head with the resigned smile of someone who already knew tomorrow morning was going to be unbearable. "...Breakfast is going to be a nightmare." You simply nodded. This time, when you said goodnight, you both actually meant it. Mostly.

Morning arrived far too early. The camp, however, didn't seem to care. Campers were already racing between the cabins before breakfast; the team attempted to restore some semblance of order with steaming mugs of coffee in hand, and somewhere near the lake, someone had already blown a whistle three times before eight in the morning.

The dining hall buzzed with its usual chaos. Metal trays clattered against tables, campers argued over cereal choices, and someone proudly announced they managed to sneak six pancakes onto one plate while Chris was already wondering how. You followed Leon inside, sleep still lingering in your eyes despite the smile that hadn't quite left your face since the night before. Neither of you realized you were walking noticeably closer than usual. This time it was your hands, the ones brushing instead of your shoulders. Unfortunately for you, it didn't escape everyone's attention.

Claire looked up from buttering a piece of toast, her eyes drifting from Leon... to you... then back again. Her glare was strangely familiar. The tiniest grin spread across her face. Across the table, Jill caught it. Without a word, she simply extended one hand beneath the table, palm up. Claire sighed with theatrical disappointment. "You're insufferable." Jill's smile only widened. Claire reached into the pocket of her camp hoodie before producing a neatly folded twenty-dollar bill. She placed it into Jill's waiting hand with all the dignity of someone admitting complete defeat. "There." Jill inspected the bill against the morning light before carefully folding it and slipping it into her pocket. "Pleasure doing business with you." Chris, who had been pouring himself what looked like his third cup of coffee, slowly lowered the pot. His eyes moved between the two women. "...Should I be concerned?" Claire looked up innocently. "No." Chris frowned. "Then why did you just give Jill twenty bucks?" Claire calmly took another bite of toast, chewing with infuriating patience before finally swallowing. "Investment paid off." Chris blinked. "What investment?" Claire simply smiled into her coffee. "I diversified."

Chris stared for another few seconds in complete silence. "...That answered absolutely nothing." He narrowed his eyes at his sister. "Ask Leon then." Across the table, Leon had just taken a sip of coffee; the realization hit him a fraction too late. He coughed violently into his mug, nearly choking as the coffee went down the wrong way. You instinctively reached over to pat his back, trying very hard not to laugh, which only made it worse. "You okay?" Chris asked. Leon nodded too quickly, clearing his throat. "Yeah." Another cough followed. "Fine." Claire's smile somehow grew wider. You could physically feel the heat creeping into your cheeks. If embarrassment could kill, you would have happily volunteered.

Chris looked around the table one last time. Leon was suddenly very interested in his pancakes; you had become deeply invested in rearranging your fruit; Claire looked suspiciously satisfied, and Jill looked twenty dollars richer. Chris sighed the sigh of a man who had accepted that understanding this group was no longer worth the effort. "...I'm not asking." He said. "Good call," Jill replied. He nodded once. "I've learned from experience." That finally broke the tension. A laugh escaped Claire first, followed by Jill. You couldn't hold yours back much longer. Even Leon gave in, hiding his sheepish smile behind his coffee mug. Chris simply shook his head, muttering something about needing a fourth cup of coffee before breakfast was even over, already scanning the room looking for Carlos.

"Hey." A familiar voice caught your attention from your right side as you walked after a few minutes chatting with Claire. As soon as Leon appeared, Claire disappeared behind you, claiming you needed time alone together. "Did you bring sunscreen?" You asked. Leon immediately stopped walking at your question, bringing his hands together to cover his mouth. "You forgot, didn't you?" You rolled your eyes. "I might have had a distraction." He tried to defend himself. "Sure." You raised an eyebrow at him before turning around to keep walking. You heard his footsteps pacing up behind you as he reached you. "But my wonderful girlfriend will lend me her sunscreen, right?" The word 'girlfriend' directed to you, coming from him, still sounded weird. "Didn't you say my sunscreen was bad?" You reminded him, trying your best not to look affected by his comment. "Did I? I don't remember saying anything like that." He acted completely oblivious. "I'm pretty sure you-." You stopped mid-sentence when he grabbed your wrist. "What are you doing?" You asked, looking at his hand hovering over your head. "There you go." He said, showing you a small leaf that was apparently trapped in your hair. "You're trying to change the topic." You narrowed your eyes at him. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said, already walking away and joining Carlos and Chris, clearly escaping from your statement.

By the time everyone had claimed a spot around the pool, the campers had already thrown their towels across half the grass and rushed into the water without a second thought. Leon, however, was nowhere near the pool. You found him exactly where you'd expected, standing beside your bag with your bottle of sunscreen in his hand, waiting with the patience of someone who clearly wasn't going anywhere until you helped him. "You know," you sighed as you walked over, "this is becoming a bad habit." Leon looked up at the sound of your voice. "I only forgot it once." He defended himself. "You forgot it two days ago when you claimed it as bad quality." You reminded him. "...That's unrelated." You snorted before taking the bottle from his hands. "Turn around." He obeyed immediately.

The afternoon sun made the small freckles scattered across his shoulders stand out beneath your fingertips as you spread the sunscreen across his back. Every now and then, he'd hiss quietly whenever you brushed over particularly sensitive skin, though he never fully complained. Instead, he simply let himself enjoy the comfortable silence between the two of you. "There," you said after patting the shoulder. "You should survive now." "I was never worried." He said with a proud smile. "No?" You asked, surprised, not seeing his flirty comment coming. "I knew you'd save me." He winked at you, briefly leaning in to place a quick peck on your temple. You rolled your eyes, already handing him the bottle. "Your turn." He widened his eyes. "You trust me with this??" He said, taking the bottle as if it was about to explode. "I trust you to put sunscreen on my shoulders, Kennedy. Don't make it weird." You laughed under your breath. "I'm offended you'd even think I would." He clutched his chest dramatically. "Oh, I absolutely think you would." A crooked grin spread across his face as he stepped closer.

His hands were warm despite the sunscreen feeling cool against your skin, carefully spreading it over your shoulders before moving down your arms. His touch was unhurried, and you could practically feel him smiling behind you every time his fingertips lingered for a fraction longer than necessary. "You have tons of contractures." He murmured. "I highly doubt that." You replied immediately, quietly sighing when he pressed on a knot. "You sure?" You could hear the smirk in his voice. "Maybe just a few." You admitted, squirming under his touch when he spotted another knot. "I'll give you a massage later when we go back to the camp." He whispered. You turned your head just enough to shoot him a look over your shoulder. He only smiled innocently.

A few minutes later, both of you finally joined everyone else in the water. The pool was already chaotic. Campers were screaming, someone had started an impromptu diving competition, and Carlos was unsuccessfully trying to convince a group of teenagers that repeatedly jumping over his head into the pool was, in fact, not a game. You barely had time to appreciate the refreshing water before something splashed across the side of your face. You blinked before slowly turning your head. Leon was standing barely two meters away, looking in the complete opposite direction with an expression so exaggeratedly innocent that it was almost insulting. "...Really?" You said. "What?" He asked, completely oblivious. "You know exactly what." You replied, already walking closer. "I've been standing here minding my own business." You scooped up a handful of water and threw it straight into his chest. He looked down at his soaked skin before lifting his eyes back to yours.

"So that's how it's going to be?" He said with a wide smirk decorating his lips. "You started it." You said, already backing off. "I have no idea what you're talking about." The second splash was bigger, so was yours. Within less than a minute, the two of you had completely abandoned any attempt to behave like responsible counselors, sending wave after wave at each other while the campers cheered as if they'd just witnessed the most important competition of the summer.

Eventually, Leon raised both hands in surrender. "Alright," he laughed. "We're even." You narrowed your eyes. "Promise?" "I promise." His smile looked just convincing enough to make you hesitate. He slowly began walking towards you, palms still raised. "No tricks?" You asked, still backing off. "No tricks." He shook his head. "You swear?" "I swear." He added, this time with a short nod. You took a cautious step forward. Then another. Leon waited until there was barely an arm's length between you. His grin widened. "Oh, you're the worst-." Before you could even finish the sentence, his hands found your shoulders, and with one quick movement, he pushed you beneath the surface.

The world disappeared into cool water and muffled laughter. You resurfaced a second later, immediately shoving the wet hair away from your face while gasping dramatically. "Leon!!" He was already laughing far too hard to defend himself. The scene felt extremely familiar to the one you shared on the lake weeks ago. "I thought we were even!" You kept complaining. "We were." He chuckled. "But I changed my mind." Without another word, you lunged towards him. He barely managed to dodge before you splashed enough water in his direction to drench half the people unfortunate enough to be standing nearby.

From the other side of the pool, Chris looked up from the group of campers he'd been supervising. He watched the two of you chase each other through the shallow end for a few seconds before pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head in disbelief. "Could you stop acting like you're fifteen?" You immediately pointed at Leon without the slightest hint of shame. "He started it!" Leon pointed back just as quickly. "She retaliated!" "Because you splashed me first!" "It was one splash." "You dunked me!" "I helped you get a stronger personality." Chris let out a long, defeated sigh, already turning back towards the camper as you both kept arguing. "I regret asking."

Claire, watching the entire exchange from her lounger, couldn't hide the amused smile spreading across her face. "You know," she muttered to Carlos, "they're disgustingly cute together." Carlos watched Leon barely avoid another splash before laughing under his breath. "They'll deny it if anyone says it out loud." Claire huffed a laugh. "Of course they will." Neither of you heard them. You were far too busy trying to wipe the smug grin off Leon's face.

The next hour passed by in a blur of laughter, whistles, and campers insisting they were absolutely not tired despite looking ready to fall asleep where they stood. Somewhere along the way, you also came to a rather obvious realization. Leon had absolutely no concept of personal space when it came to you. It started with something so small you barely noticed it. As the two of you chatted with Carlos and Jill near the edge of the pool, Leon absentmindedly rested his hand against the middle of your back. It simply stayed there, like that was where it belonged. Only when Carlos walked away, and Jill averted her attention towards a group of teenagers fighting over a card game, did Leon remove it, completely unaware he'd been touching you the entire conversation.

A few minutes later, Chris called everyone over to explain the next activity. The campers squeezed together in a messy crowd, forcing everyone to shuffle closer. You felt Leon's hand settle around your waist almost instinctively as the two of you slipped between a group of teenagers. He guided you through the chaos without saying a word. The moment there was enough space again, his hand disappeared just as naturally as it had appeared.

After one of the campers challenged you to a swimming race, you climbed out of the pool, laughing as water streamed from your swimsuit. Before you could even steady yourself on the slippery tiles, Leon was already standing there. His hand was waiting for yours. You took it without thinking. He pulled you up with an ease that suggested he'd expected you to accept before you'd even made the decision yourself.

Some time later, the two of you drifted towards the quieter end of the pool while the campers entertained themselves. Floating on your backs beneath the afternoon sun, you stared lazily at the clouds overhead. The water gently carried you closer until your knees brushed. You thought about moving away, but you perfectly knew Leon wouldn't take long to find his way towards your skin immediately after.

Later, while Claire animatedly told everyone a story from one of her first summers working at the camp, your attention wandered somewhere over your shoulder. You never noticed the strand of damp hair that had fallen across your face. Leon did, as always. Without interrupting Claire or waiting for permission, he reached over and tucked it behind your ear. His fingers barely brushed your skin before his hand dropped again. The gesture was so familiar that it took you a second to realise what he'd done. "...Thanks." You whispered. He looked at you with the slightest frown, as if he genuinely hadn't thought twice about it. "For what?" You couldn't help smiling. "Nothing." Your gaze went back to your friend. Because he did absolutely nothing. Leon simply couldn't seem to exist in the same space as you without finding some excuse, conscious or otherwise, to be touching you.

By 5pm, most of the campers had scattered across the pool. Some were attempting to organise yet another swimming race, others had declared the shallow end their own kingdom, much to Chris' dismay. For the first time all day, the six counselors found themselves standing together in one of the quieter corners of the pool. Claire was still halfway through telling another story from last year's summer at camp, Carlos kept interrupting every thirty seconds with a dramatically inaccurate version of events, and Jill looked one comment away from pushing them both underwater. Leon stood beside you, close enough that your shoulders occasionally brushed whenever someone laughed. Chris was saying something about next week's hiking trip when you felt it. The faintest brush against your hand beneath the water.

At first, you assumed it was nothing more than the gentle current created by teenagers diving nearby. Then it happened again, more deliberate than before. Your fingers twitched instinctively. Slowly, almost cautiously, another finger searched through the water until it found yours. Leon simply hooked his pinky finger with yours like it was the most natural thing in the world. You turned your head. He was looking at Chris with complete concentration, listening to whatever point he was making as though nothing unusual had happened. His expression never changed. If you hadn't felt the warmth of his finger curled around yours beneath the surface, you might have believed it had happened by accident. But you knew better.

A smile tugged at the corner of your lips before you could stop it. Without saying a word, you curled your own little finger around his, giving it the smallest squeeze. Almost immediately, he squeezed back, still without looking at you. The corners of his mouth threatened to lift for the briefest second before he hid them behind another perfectly innocent expression.

Claire continued laughing at Carlos' exaggerated storytelling, Jill rolled her eyes, and Chris carried on explaining next week's schedule. Above the water, nothing had changed. Six counselors stood together, enjoying a rare moment of peace. Beneath the surface, hidden by the rippling blue water and completely invisible to everyone else, Leon's pinky remained hooked around yours, almost insignificant. And somehow, it felt more intimate than holding your hand ever could.

The conversation drifted effortlessly from one topic to another. Somewhere between laughter and teasing, the subject shifted to swimming. "I've never actually managed to float," you admitted with an absent shrug. "You know, doing the dead man's float." Five pairs of eyes turned towards you. Claire and Jill looked surprised, Carlos looked amused, Chris looked mildly concerned, and Leon looked personally offended. He blinked once. "...What?" You frowned. "I sink." Leon huffed a laugh. "That can't be true."

Before you could even think of arguing, Leon's hand was already around your wrist. Then, almost immediately, it slid to your waist as he steered you away from the group. "Leon-." "No." He cut you off. "I wasn't asking for a lesson." You said as you followed him despite your complaints. "I'm giving you one anyway." You glanced helplessly over your shoulder. Claire was making a very vague effort to hide her smile. Chris simply shook his head before continuing the conversation as if this happened every day. Which, to be fair, it almost did.

By the time Leon stopped, the water reached just below your shoulders. "Alright," he said, slipping effortlessly into the calm, that reassuring tone he always used with nervous campers appearing. "Trust me." You flashed him a soft smile. "I already do." He returned the smile as he stepped behind you. His hands settled carefully against your waist as professionally as he could be while teaching his girlfriend to do the dead man's float. "Lean back." You followed his lead for approximately two seconds. The instant your ears touched the water, every survival instinct in your body screamed that you were about to drown.

You jerked upright immediately, gripping tightly on his bicep. "I told you." You complained. "You panicked." Leon corrected with a patient smile. "I was sinking." His eyes looked for yours. "You weren't. I got you." He reassured when your gazes locked together. A quiet laugh escaped him. "Again." This time, he huided you more slowly. One hand remained firm against your waist while the other supported the middle of your back, encouraging you to relax instead of fighting the water.

For a brief moment, it worked. You were actually floating. "...See?" Leon whispered. "I don't believe you." You muttered with your eyes shut, too scared of opening your eyes and drowning. "You're literally doing it." He held his hands up. As if determined to prove your point, your legs shifted ever so slightly when you felt his hands leave your body. Your balance disappeared as the water immediately pulled you downward. Before you could react, Leon caught you. The only problem was that his hands weren't on your waist anymore. They'd slipped just a little lower. Enough to make you look down immediately. Then back at him. "...Leon." He hummed innocently in response. "My waist is higher than that." His eyes followed your gaze.

For a fraction of a second, he looked almost thoughtful. Then the corner of his mouth lifted. "...Is it?" You narrowed your eyes. "I think you know it is." You said. "Maybe." He shrugged, still holding you close, his hands still in the exact same position. The grin he was trying to suppress wasn't helping his case either. "It was an accident," he said with entirely unconvincing innocence. "You're a terrible liar." You splashed a bit of water towards his chest. "I just got a bit distracted." "By what?" His gaze met yours after dropping to your lips for a second. "You." The answer came without any sign of hesitation, catching you completely off guard. Heat rushed to your face despite the cool water surrounding you.

You shook your head, trying very hard not to smile. "You can move your hands now. I'm not sinking anymore." You reminded him. "I know." His hands stayed glued to your skin. He waited just long enough for your embarrassed expression to deepen before finally sliding them into your hands and straightening them with the most shamelessly satisfied smile you'd seen all day. "You know," he murmured, "I think you're getting the hang of floating." You scoffed. "I'm starting to think this lesson had a completely different objective." You pulled him closer, your hands still intertwined. "I have no idea what you mean by that." The innocence in his voice would have been far more convincing if he hadn't been fighting back another smile.

By early evening, the water had begun to lose the warmth it had held throughout the day. One by one, the campers climbed out of the pool, complaining dramatically about having to leave the water despite having no intention of leaving the pool area anytime soon. Some immediately collapsed onto their towels, while others were already pestering Chris to let them jump back in after a short break.

You climbed out shortly after, squeezing the water from your hair as you glanced towards your towel, still folded neatly beside your bag. You could have walked over to get it, but a better idea crossed your mind. Leon had only just unfolded his own when you quietly slipped underneath it in front of him, wrapping your arms around his waist until the towel wrapped around both of you. He looked down at you, visibly caught off guard. "What are you doing?" You shrugged as though your decision was the most logical thing in the world. "I'm saving laundry." The smallest smile appeared on his lips. "I admire your dedication to environmental conservation." He laughed. "I'm glad someone finally appreciates it." The excuse was terrible, but none of you seemed to care.

You simply stood there, listening to Carlos enthusiastically explain how he had definitely won the water fight despite everyone remembering things very differently. Your gaze drifted towards Leon. Something caught your attention. A tiny eyelash clung just beneath his lashes, close enough to his eye that one single blink would probably send it straight in. Without thinking, you reached up. Your fingertips hovered beside his face. Leon stopped talking mid-sentence. "What?" He asked. "Hold still." You muttered, grabbing his chin to keep his face in place.

Your fingers brushed lightly against his cheek as you carefully caught the eyelash between your fingertips. "There." You held it up for him to see. "It was about to get in your eye." For a second, he simply looked at you. "...Thanks." You gave him a small smile. Before you could flick it away, he grabbed your wrist. "Let me make a wish." He whispered, closing his eyes and knitting his eyebrows together with concentration. You couldn't help smiling at the childish action. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and blew the eyelash off your fingertip.

The conversation around you carried on as though nothing had happened. Neither Chris nor Claire seemed to notice. Carlos and Jill, on the other hand, definitely noticed. The grin they shot Leon from across the grass earned him an eye roll in return.

Not long after, everyone spread out around the pool again. Some campers started a card game beneath one of the parasols while others were attempting to build something with abandoned pool noodles that looked vaguely dangerous. Leon wandered off with Chris to help settle an argument between two boys, convinced the other had cheated during a race. You stayed behind with Claire and Jill for a while, chatting absentmindedly as you watched the chaos unfold.

A few minutes later, Leon returned. As he walked past you, something green between his messy hair caught your eye. A small leaf had become stuck against the damp strands of his hair. You reached out almost unconsciously, brushing it away with the back of your fingers before he even realised it was there. He paused mid-step and glanced at your raised hand. "What now?" He asked. "There was a leaf." You replied softly. He instinctively tried to look up despite knowing perfectly well he couldn't see his own hair. "...Got it?" He asked with concern. "It's gone." You laughed. He nodded once before he simply carried on walking.

You watched him for a second before falling into step beside him without even thinking about it. It was funny. For weeks, Leon had been the one unconsciously finding reasons to fuss over you. Somewhere between stolen glances, shared towels, and playful arguments, you had started returning every single one of those gestures without realising everyone was looking.

The pool had almost emptied by the time the sun disappeared completely behind the trees. The colorful lights beneath the surface painted soft reflections across the water, turning every ripple into streaks of blue and violet. Somewhere in the distance, you could hear the campers laughing while they waited for everyone to finish packing up, while some others complained when Carlos gave them some aftersun cream to cover their burnt skin. For once, neither of you was in a hurry.

You sat on the edge of the pool, your feet lazily moving through the cool water. Leon remained in the pool. He rested both forearms on the edge beside you, the water reaching his chest as he tilted his head to look at you. He looked peaceful. You weren't sure you'd ever seen him quite like that. Your foot absentmindedly nudged his arm beneath the water. Without even looking, his hand immediately wrapped around your ankle. You couldn't help smiling. "There it is." Leon frowned slightly. "What?" You leaned back in your hands. "I was wondering how long you'd last." The frown didn't disappear from Leon's face. "Without touching me." You clarified, pointing at his hand around your ankle.

His eyes fropped to where you pointed as though he'd only just realised it was there. "...Oh." He sounded genuinely surprised. For a second, he loosened his grip. "I can stop." He lowered his voice. "You can?" You raised an eyebrow. "I think so." You simply hummed. "Go on, then." You challenged. He let go immediately. One... Two... Three... He was actually doing surprisingly well. Until you kicked the water again.

This time, he rested his forearms over your knees before he even seemed aware he'd moved. The moment he realised what he'd done, he sighed through his nose. "I tried." A laugh escaped you. "I know." He rested his chin against his forearm, looking up at you almost sheepishly. "I wasn't really like this before." The smile on your face softened. "No?" He shook his head. "I've... always had trouble showing people what I was feeling." His gaze wandered across the shimmering water. "I thought just being there was enough." His voice had become quieter. "Turns out not everyone feels loved the same way." He gave a small shrug. "The last serious relationship I had..." He smiled to himself, though there wasn't much humour behind it. "She used to tell me I kept too much to myself." He looked back up at you. "I don't think she was wrong." The colorful reflections danced across his face as the silence settled between you.

"So now..." he continued after a moment, "if I want to hold your hand, I do." His right hand reached for yours. His thumb circled over your knuckles as he kept talking. "If I want to kiss you..." A tiny smile appeared on his lips. "I kiss you." You huffed a quiet laugh. "I've noticed." Another small silence followed. "I just..." He hesitated for a second. "I don't ever want you wondering whether I care." Your chest tightened because that was something you never had. Someone caring for your feelings the way Leon cared.

You slid a little closer until your free hand found his, where it rested over your knee. This time, you were the one reaching first. His fingers immediately intertwined with yours. "I've never wondered." Leon held your gaze for a long moment, the corners of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. "...Good."

Leon sighed dramatically before finally pushing himself out of the pool. Water streamed from his hair and shoulders as he stood beside you. Without a second thought, he offered you his hand. You placed yours in it with a wide smile. He helped you to your feet with effortless ease, though neither of you made any move to let go afterwards. As you stood facing him, another droplet of water escaped from the ends of his damp hair. It slid down his cheek, across the bridge of his nose, until it hung precariously from the very tip. You noticed immediately. Still holding his hand, you lifted your free one. Your thumb brushed gently across the tip of his nose, catching the droplet before it could fall. "Wanna make another wish on this too?" You joked barely above a whisper. "I think I already got all my wishes granted." He smiled.

The familiar sound of your car pulling into your driveway made your son run towards the window right away. "Papa here!" He mumbled with his pacifier tugged in his mouth. A few seconds later, the front door cracked open, revealing an exhausted version of your husband. "Papa!" Sammy screamed, immediately throwing his arms up. "Hey, buddy," Leon muttered under his breath, crouching and taking his son up. Sammy immediately fisted his hands around the collar of your husband's jacket, resting his head on his shoulder. "What's wrong?" Leon asked, seeing how clingy your son was all of a sudden. "He's been refusing to go to sleep until you arrived." You explained tiredly as you walked down the hallway. "Is that so?" Leon asked, looking down at the toddler who simply nodded. "Let's go to sleep now, then." Your husband added, removing his shoes with his feet and holding your son with both hands, one of them brushing his golden locks and the other patting his back.

Out of complete habit, Leon started to hum to a random melody as he walked down the hall towards Sammy's bedroom. The small dinosaur-shaped lamp cast a soft light across the small room. "Come on, buddy. Time to recharge batteries." Leon whispered, leaving your son on the mattress. Before he could even think about walking away, Sammy tightened his grip on his father's jacket. "What is it?" Leon quietly asked. Sammy's tired eyes looked towards the shelf behind Leon. "You want a bedtime story?" He asked, already walking towards the shelf and taking Sammy's favorite book. "Leon, I can do it." You said from the doorway, seeing how tired your husband looked. "It's okay," Leon replied right away, sitting on the edge of Sammy's bed with a small sigh. His soft voice telling the story of two dinosaurs filled the room, only interrupted by Sammy's quiet yawns every now and then, until the only thing that could be heard was his soft breathing. Leon closed the book with a soft thud, took Sammy's dinosaur plushie, and tucked your son and the dinosaur under the blankets. "Good night, buddy." He whispered against the toddler's forehead, pressing a soft peck before finally walking away.

Back in the kitchen, the microwave hummed while you heated up dinner for your husband. He sat at the table in silence, looking at nowhere in particular. "Careful, it's hot." You knocked him out of his thoughts, placing the hot plate in front of him. Your husband's stomach growled at the sight of your homemade lasagna. "Someone's hungry." You joked, patting his belly. For the first time in the entire day, Leon managed to give you a faint smile. Leon ate in silence, listening to a few stories about your day. "Sammy learned to open the fridge today." You chuckled. Leon looked up with wide eyes. "That sounds dangerous." Your husband admitted. You only nodded with another quiet laugh. "He spent the entire afternoon opening and closing it." You added, looking towards the fridge. "Should we buy a locker?" Leon joked, taking another bite.

Leon leaned back on his seat once the plate was empty, patting his belly contentedly. "You should consider opening a restaurant." He muttered against a napkin. "Then who will make sure you don't mess up during missions?" You laughed, taking the plate and glass. "True." Leon chuckled. He stood up, stretching, letting a small yawn out. "Go take a shower." You ordered with a playful pat on his hip. He dramatically gasped as he walked away.

Once you heard the water stop running, you stood up from the couch and walked towards the sink to clean up Leon's dinner dishes and glass before you settled down on the couch to actually relax. Shortly after, you felt familiar strong arms wrapping around your waist, his stubble softly brushing your clothed shoulder. You rested your head against his as you turned off the tap and grabbed the dishcloth to dry your hands. "Someone's clingy?" You whispered. Leon simply hummed, tightening his embrace around you. You stood there under the dim light for a moment. Fresh from the shower, Leon smelled of clean soap, cedar, clean cotton... and the faint scent of baby shampoo that never seemed to leave his clothes now, didn't matter how many times you washed them. A few drops of water reached your cheek when you pressed your cheek against his temple. "You should dry your hair before sleeping." You quietly said, finally breaking the silence. "I'm too tired," Leon said against your neck. "And I want to stay close to my wife now that I don't have a son asking me to carry him." Your husband added, making you shiver when he brushed his stubble against your skin. "Want me to dry it for you?" You suggested. Leon considered it for a second before releasing his embrace, taking your hand, and guiding you into the bathroom.

You closed the door behind you so as not to wake your son up with the sound of the dryer. Leon sat on the toilet, legs slightly spread so you could stand between them, one hand resting on his knee and the other circling on your thigh, completely unable to stop touching you. The dryer hummed with a constant sound as you muffled Leon's hair. His eyes were shut through the entire process. "You're spoiling me." He said, barely audible under the hum of the dryer. "Isn't that the whole point?" You replied, blowing his hair back and exposing his forehead. Leon scrunched up his nose when he squeezed his eyes shut. "You're treating me like Sammy." He complained. "Only difference is that Sammy complains much less." You laughed. Once you were satisfied with how dry his hair was, you took the comb from the drawer under the sink. Leon watched every single move you made with fond eyes. You carefully brushed your husband's hair, mocking him from time to time when you saw a rebellious white hair appearing between his blond strands.

The room fell into silence for a moment when you finished while you both brushed your teeth. Before you could walk out of the bathroom, Leon grabbed your waist, pulling you closer. "Thank you." He whispered, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on your lips. He didn't mean to deepen the kiss; it was supposed to be a simple peck. But when you cupped his jaw, he couldn't resist himself. You pulled away to catch your breath, seeing a small pout creeping on his lips. "Let's go watch some TV and relax." You said, taking his hand and walking out of the bathroom. Little did you know, Leon would barely pay attention to the movie title before he was already thinking of a much better way to spend the rest of the night.

You cuddled on the couch, a warm blanket covering both of your tangled bodies, some random movie playing on the TV. Your eyes were fixed on the device, actually paying attention to the movie. Leon, on the other hand, stared at you with complete admiration written all over his face. Every now and then, he would pull you slightly closer to his body, as if he didn't have enough. Then, the soft and sudden kisses came. "What are you doing?" You asked between quiet laughs, finally averting your attention from the movie to your husband. "Nothing." He muttered against your skin, moving down to your jaw and neck. You smacked his chest when you felt him leaving an open-mouthed kiss on the sweet spot that was way too familiar to him at this point. "Stop." You laughed. "Never." He replied, finally grabbing the back of your neck to pull you down into a slow kiss.

His lips moved in sync with yours, both of your breaths quickly getting heavier against each other. "God..." He whispered when he pulled back to catch his breath. "You have no idea how much I missed you today." He added, kissing you again. He left the house at 9am and didn't get home until 11pm. You missed him just as much as he did. His lips moved from yours to your cheeks, then to your nose, and then to your forehead. You closed your eyes as you felt him covering your face with butterfly kisses, a smile widening on your lips with every kiss. "I thought you were tired." You whispered. "I am." He replied immediately. "But that doesn't mean I don't have extra energy saved for my wife." He said with a teasing smile. He leaned in to kiss you again, this time needier. His hand slowly moved under your shirt that used to be his. "Leon." You immediately said against his lips. He simply hummed, kissing your neck again. "Sammy can wake up." You said, pulling him away. "Let's go to our room then," Leon suggested quietly. "That's not a solution." You laughed. "We'll close the door. He knows how to knock." Leon added, already attacking your neck again. You tried to fight the knot forming on your belly whenever he sucked on your skin, but you ended up failing.

He easily grabbed you in bridal style, turning off the TV before walking down the hall towards your bedroom. The wooden door clicked behind him, giving him the perfect sign of complete freedom. He put you down into the mattress, climbing on top of you and kissing you again. His tongue didn't waste any more time, pushing your lips open and tangling it with yours. Your arms and legs wrapped around him, pulling him closer. A small smirk appeared on his lips, grabbing one of your legs to deepen the kiss. You felt his erection slightly brushing your throbbing core, forcing you to let out a soft moan. "I've missed this," Leon admitted, removing your shirt and pants before removing his own clothes. His skin felt warm against yours. His hands tugged at the hem of your panties when you bucked your hips up to let him remove your underwear.

"Let me know if you want to stop," Leon whispered before his fingers ran circles on your clit. "You're the one supposed to be tired." You said before letting out a satisfied quiet moan. The view of your husband between your legs, touching you gently with his hair slightly covering his blue eyes, was ethereal. "You're so wet, honey." He said, his voice dripping with adoration, when he easily slipped his fingers inside you. His movements were slow and gentle, making it very hard to think straight. "Leon..." You whispered, grabbing his wrist. He hummed, looking back up. Something almost broke inside him when he met your half-lidded eyes. "Faster." You begged, earning a wide smirk. He did as you asked, curling his fingers inside you faster, and pressing his thumb against your clit slightly harder. You arched your back with the pleasure, already feeling that familiar knot tightening on your lower belly. Before you could say anything, Leon leaned down, connecting his lips with your pussy. You gasped sharply, immediately covering your mouth when you noticed how loud you were. Leon let out a small laugh before he continued to devour you.

His tongue circled around your entrance, fingers circled around your clit. Your fingers ran through his hair, while the other hand fisted into the blanket beneath you, when you felt your climax taking over you. You breathed shakily as Leon lifted himself, licking his lips, dripping with your juices. "Lie down." You whispered, lifting up your upper body to switch places with your husband. Usually, he would refuse or complain, saying you didn't have to do it. But he would be lying if he said he didn't miss seeing you sucking him off. Leon sat, back resting against the headboard, legs open so you could sit in between. Your practiced lips wrapped around his length, moving up and down just like you knew he loved. "Just like that..." He whispered under his breath, resting his head against the wall behind him. His eyes never left your body, taking in every single movement. "You look so beautiful from here." He quietly said, moving a strand of hair from your face so he could have a better view. Once you felt it hard enough, you focused on the tip. Ever since you started dating, he loved it when you traced the veins pulsing around the tip, throwing strong waves of pleasure through his entire body. Sometimes he would hate how well you knew him when you teased him. But on nights like today, when tiredness took over his body, he couldn't be happier that you've been dating for long enough to know so well what he loved.

His breath got caught in his throat when he felt his climax closer, precum already licking. "Fuck..." He whispered low, biting his lower lip to contain his sounds. The wet sounds your mouth made around his length were music to his ears. "I'm so close..." He added with another shaky breath, briefly pushing you further. You slightly gagged when you felt the tip brushing your throat. "Sorry." Leon breathed out immediately, releasing his grip on your hair. "It's okay." You whispered, taking his dick inside your mouth again, almost completely, when you saw how his legs tensed up with pleasure when he deep-throated you. "You're driving me so fucking crazy tonight, you know that?" Leon said, wiping his load off your lips after he cummed.

Your lips smashed against his, tongues fighting for dominance this time. Your legs rested on each side of his hips as you aligned yourself with his. His dick slipped in easily, that familiar knot coming back in your belly. You started bouncing on him slowly, enjoying every inch of him brushing your walls, quietly moaning his name into his neck. "You're doing great." He praised you, cupping your cheek and pulling you down into another kiss to muffle your voices. Your hips sensually rolled against his, making him groan low when you tightened your walls around him. "Fuck, I love you so much." He whispered against your lips, squeezing your butt with both hands and helping you to keep up with the pace.

After a few more rolls of your hips, he noticed you getting more and more sloppier. "Lay down, let me take the lead." He said, brushing his nose with yours. You did as he said, gasping when you felt his dick sliding back in. His elbows rested on each side of your head, keeping himself upright. His face hid in the crook of your neck, softly nibbling on the lobe of your ear as he thrusted into you. Your legs instinctively wrapped his hips, needing to feel him deeper. "Please, don't stop..." You whined, feeling him brushing your cervix. "I won't." He breathed against your neck. "Don't worry." He added, lifting himself up and moving his right hand to draw circles on your clit as he kept thrusting into you.

"I'm so close..." You quietly cried out, trying your very best to keep your voice low. "Come for me then, baby," Leon said, thrusting even faster and deeper. The pleasure was too much to handle for both; heavy breaths filled the room, mixed with low groans and moans muffled against each other's lips while the bed softly creaked under your bodies. The knot on your belly released shortly after when you felt Leon filling you up with his load. Both of you stayed still for a few minutes, not wanting this moment to end. "You okay?" Leon whispered, pressing his forehead against yours. "Better than ever." You laughed. "You?" You added. "Same." He smiled widely, tugging a strand of hair behind your ear.

You quietly whined when he pulled out. For a moment, the only thing you could hear was the hum of the quiet apartment. "I'll go get some water," Leon said, already pulling himself out of the bed. But before he could fully stand up, you stopped him. "I'll go." You said, getting off the bed and wearing the soft satin gown hung behind the wooden door. Leon smiled softly as he watched you walk towards the kitchen. When you were back, his eyes were already closed. You softly smiled to yourself. Your husband was finally allowing himself to lose the battle with sleep. He would always complain about Sammy taking ages to fall asleep. Little did he know he was exactly the same when it came to him.

The mattress dipped under your weight when you lay beside him, making him barely open his eyes. "Here." You whispered, giving him the glass of water. He took a small sip, leaving the glass on his nightstand and wrapping your body close to his. His lips left soft pecks on your forehead. "I could get used to coming home to this." He whispered, barely above a whisper. "Didn't you come home to this before we had Sammy?" You reminded him. Leon's smile widened at the memory. "Once he's old enough to stop baring into our room... we're making up for lost time." Leon nuzzled in the crook of your neck, hiding the growing smirk on his lips. "Isn't that too much?" You joked. "With you, it's never enough." He quietly admitted. You felt your heart flutter.

The cafeteria was as cheerful as always. Some teenagers were scattered around the tables, chatting with those who hadn't finished breakfast yet. "Leon, are we going to play volleyball with Y/N today too?" One of the teenagers asked as you walked past beside them. "If she wants." He said, looking down at you, his hand still tugged in your jeans' pocket. "I wouldn't turn down that offer." You replied with a wide smile. Teenagers burst into a cheerful 'yay'.

"Look who finally showed up," Chris said when he saw you both approaching the table. "Someone overslept." Leon immediately accused you. You gasped with fake betrayal written all over your face. "You slept together again?" Jill asked with a raised eyebrow. "He just waited for me outside our cabin," you immediately said. "Just in case I would get lost coming here." You added, rolling your eyes fondly. "Good job, cara." Carlos winked at Leon, hiding a smile on his coffee mug. "Yeah, whatever." Leon rolled his eyes. "I'll go get our breakfast," He added, looking at you. "Same as always?" He asked. You nodded with a smile, slightly blushing when he pulled you closer to quickly peck your cheek.

"You two look quite cute together," Claire said while you walked towards the designated areas for your planned activities after lunch. "Really?" You quietly asked beside her. "You two literally look like you've escaped from some kind of romantic ass movie." Jill joked in front of you. "Talking about movies," Chris suddenly added. "Let's do a movie night tonight." The idea immediately caught your attention. "Elaborate." You said, pacing up to match Chris' speed. "That's it," Chris said. "There's a projector in the storage cabin. Let's take it out and watch movies until they're completely out." He added, pointing at some teenagers running around the nearby cabins. "Sounds good," Leon said after checking your reaction to Chris' idea as if he needed your approval to say it was a good idea.

Hours later, just as you promised, the volleyball match quickly became far more competitive than anyone had intended. You found yourself on one side of the net with a handful of teenagers. In contrast, Leon stood opposite you, already wearing the infuriatingly confident grin that always appeared whenever there was a game to win. He wasn't going easy on anyone. Every successful block was followed by that smug little smile of his, every point celebrated with the teenagers on his team as if they were competing in a championship instead of a summer camp activity. Unfortunately, your team wasn't planning to make things easy either.

The moment one of your spikes landed cleanly inside the court, you shot him a triumphant smile from across the net. Leon only raised an eyebrow before retrieving the ball, silently accepting the challenge. From that point on, the match became less about keeping score and more about trying to outplay each other. Whenever one of you scored, the other answered a few rallies later. The teenagers quickly noticed the silent rivalry unfolding between you and Leon, loudly cheering every time one of you managed to embarrass the other.

By the end of the game, both of you were laughing too hard to care who was actually winning. The final point ended with the ball bouncing harmlessly between you after neither of you managed to reach it in time. Groans and laughter erupted around the court. As everyone scattered to grab water bottles, Leon walked beside you, brushing his hand around your waist. "Lucky point." The corner of his mouth curled into a teasing smile. "You always say that when you lose." You teased him, accepting the bottle he offered you. "Shower now?" You simply nodded, wiping some drops of sweat running down your forehead. "Together?" He smirked before taking another sip from the bottle you handed him back. "Leon!!" You slapped his chest playfully. "What? I'm just trying to save water for the sake of nature's well-being." He weakly defended himself, watching you walk away already.

By the time you finished your shower and dried your hair, the sun was already starting to set. Claire was helping Chris to set the projector while Jill and Carlos prepared giant beanbags in front of the big screen, and you and Leon distributed blankets over each pair of beanbags. "I vote for The Mummy," Carlos said, throwing another beanbag to the floor. "You always vote for The Mummy," Jill complained. "Because it's perfect." Carlos immediately defended. Leon leaned slightly against you. "He kinda has a point." He whispered. "See?" Carlos pointed at Leon. "Kennedy has taste!" He added. You scoffed immediately. "Of course he has it." You said, taking another blanket from the mountain of blankets in Leon's arms. Jill looked at you with a raised eyebrow. "Wow, so humble." She joked. "I didn't mean it in that way!!" You complained, throwing the blanket towards her. "You're right, though," Leon said with a small smile.

Somehow, Carlos managed to convince the entire camp to watch The Mummy, probably bribing the teenagers with extra popcorn if they voted for his choice as well. "Made room for one," Leon said, tapping the seat beside him and opening the blanket so you could sit there. A small smile decorated your lips as you sat down and snuggled up beneath the soft fabric. Leon's fingers immediately intertwined with yours as if it were muscle memory when your hands briefly brushed under the blanket.

The opening scenes of The Mummy flickered across the large white sheet stretched between two pine trees, the projector casting a warm glow over the clearing. Around you, the campers had long since settled down, their earlier excitement fading into quiet whispers and occasional bursts of laughter. A particularly over-the-top line from Rick made you snort under your breath. "You know..." you whispered, keeping your voice low enough not to disturb the campers. "He kind of reminds me of someone." Leon glanced at you out of the corner of his eye. "Really?" You hummed in response. "And who would that be?" You smiled innocently. "A certain camp counselor and paramedic who thinks he's charming enough to get away with absolutely everything." A quiet laugh escaped him, soft enough that it was almost swallowed by the sounds of the movie. "Carlos?" He teased, pointing at the curly-haired boy sitting a few rows in front of you. "Very funny." You nudged his knee lightly beneath the blanket, earning another amused chuckle from him before both of your attention drifted back to the screen.

For a while, neither of you spoke. You simply watched the film together, occasionally exchanging amused glances whenever one of the characters did something particularly reckless. Without taking his eyes off the screen, Leon reached into the bowl for another handful of popcorn. You noticed the movement from the corner of your eye. Instead of reaching for the bowl yourself, you leaned a little closer and simply parted your lips in silent expectation. Leon paused for a heartbeat. Then the corner of his lips lifted into the smallest smile. "So that's how we're doing this now?" You only looked at him, trying and failing miserably to suppress a grin. Shaking his head with quiet amusement, he brought a single piece of popcorn to your lips. You accepted it without a word, smiling triumphantly as you settled back against the beanbag. "You're unbelievably spoiled," he murmured. "And yet..." Another piece of popcorn appeared in front of you before you even had the chance to ask. "...you keep feeding me." His laugh mixed underneath the sound of the dialogue on screen. "Yeah," he admitted, unable to hide the fondness in his voice. "I really do."

For the rest of the scene, the bowl stayed exactly where it was. Neither of you reached for it again. Every now and then, Leon simply picked another piece of popcorn from his hand and held it out for you, already knowing you'd just tilt your head towards him with that expectant little smile. It was such a small thing, yet somehow, beneath the glow of the projector and the warmth of the shared blanket, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

By the second half of the movie, Leon picked up another piece of popcorn and held it near your lips. But this time there was no reaction. A faint smile decorated his lips. "You giving me the silent treatment now?" Still no answer from you. Finally, he turned his head. The teasing remark died before it could leave his lips. Your head had slipped against his shoulder at some point, your breathing slow and even as sleep quietly claimed you after a tiring day. A few loose strands of hair had fallen across your face, and the blanket had started to slide from one of your shoulders.

For a long moment, Leon simply looked at you. The corners of his mouth lifted once again into that familiar soft grin. "Guess the movie lost," he murmured under his breath. Careful not to wake you, he set the popcorn back in the bowl before tugging the blanket a little higher, making sure it covered your shoulder properly, gently tugged your hair behind your ear like he always did, and slipped an arm around you, pulling you slightly closer to keep you warm. You instinctively leaned into his warmth, nestling a little closer in your sleep. Leon froze for half a second. Then, unable to stop himself, he huffed a quiet laugh.

His attention returned to the screen, or at least, tried. The characters continued racing across the desert. Someone shouted, something exploded. He couldn't have told anyone what happened over the next ten minutes. Every few seconds, his gaze drifted back to you instead, making sure you were still sleeping soundly.

A few rows to your left side, Claire followed Leon's gaze and immediately bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing. She nudged Jill with her elbow before subtly pointing towards you. Jill looked away from the screen. The sight of you two made her smile almost immediately. Without saying a word, she quietly pulled out her phone. Click. The shutter was barely audible, fortunately. Claire pressed a hand over her mouth, shoulders shaking as she tried to suppress her laughter. Jill lowered her phone with a satisfied grin. "They ain't beating the allegations anymore," she whispered. Claire glanced back at Leon, who remained completely oblivious, still watching over you far more than he was watching the movie. "We should frame it and give it to them," Jill had to bite back a laugh of her own at Claire's idea. Neither of them had the heart to disturb the peaceful scene unfolding beneath the blanket you shared. They simply exchanged one last knowing smile before turning their attention back to the movie, leaving the two of you exactly where you were.

For a moment, you shifted in Leon's embrace. He immediately looked down, already looking for any sign of discomfort. Instead, he met a quiet, sleepy sigh as you completely parted your lips, snuggling a little bit closer against his neck. The satisfied grin never left his lips as he leaned down to carefully place a soft peck against your forehead. His hand that rested on your shoulder before was now tangled with a few strands of your hair as he played with it, just like he knew you loved.

The credits rolled across the screen as the projector's light slowly faded, replaced by the soft glow of the dying campfire. One by one, the campers stretched, yawned, and gathered their blankets, their quiet chatter filling the clearing as they were shepherded back towards their cabins by the other counselors. Around you, the makeshift cinema slowly disappeared. But Leon didn't move; he barely even noticed everyone else leaving.

You were still fast asleep against him, your head resting comfortably on his shoulder beneath the blanket he'd wrapped around you earlier. He glanced down for what had to be the hundredth time that night. Then he looked back up at the now-empty screen with a contented smile. Footsteps crunched softly over the grass. "They're all heading back." Chris stopped beside him, folding his arms as his eyes drifted from Leon to your sleeping figure. He didn't say anything for a moment, a knowing smile slowly appearing on his face when he saw you. "Good luck getting up." Leon let out a quiet huff that sounded suspiciously close to a laugh. "I'm not planning to." Chris nodded once, as though that answer had been exactly what he'd expected. "Figured." There wasn't a trace of teasing in his voice. His smile lingered for another second before he gave Leon a light pat on the shoulder. "I'll tell the others not to wait up." With that, he turned and headed after the rest of the team, the faint smile never leaving his face.

Leon watched him disappear between the trees before looking down at you again. Your breathing remained slow and steady, completely undisturbed by the conversation. "...Yeah," he whispered to himself. "I can stay a little longer." The last of the voices gradually faded into the distance until only the crackle of the fire and the chorus of crickets remained. For the first time all evening, the camp was completely still.

Sometime during the night, you stirred. The camp was quiet. The excited chatter that had filled the clearing only a few hours earlier had long since disappeared. For a moment, you simply blinked up at the star-filled sky, still hazy with sleep. Then you felt the steady rise and fall beneath your cheek. A familiar rhythm beating ever so gently. You turned your head lightly. Leon had fallen asleep sometime after you. His head rested against the cushy back of the beanbag, his features softer than you'd remembered, one arm still wrapped securely around your shoulders beneath the blanket as though he'd never considered letting go.

Your chest tightened. He could have woken you; he could have carried you back to your cabin. He could've even left you alone, like it had already happened in the past with another lover. But unlike him, Leon had stayed.

A smile found its way onto your face before you even realized it. Carefully, you reached up, brushing a few loose strands of blond hair away from his forehead. His hair felt impossibly soft beneath your fingertips. Your fingers lingered on the edge of his jaw for just a moment before you leaned in, pressing the gentlest kiss against his lips. You barely had time to pull away. "Mmh..." Leon shifted slightly, his brows knitting together before one eye cracked open. "Is it morning already?" A quiet laugh escaped you. "No." You glanced towards the dark tree line surrounding the clearing. "It's still the middle of the night." That was apparently all the information he needed.

Without another word, his arm tightened around your waist, effortlessly pulling you back against his chest. You let out a surprised little laugh as your forehead softly bumped against him. "Leon..." He lazily hummed in response. "We're literally sleeping in the middle of camp." You laughed. "So?" You looked up at him. His eyes were already closed again, completely unbothered. "You don't care?" A sleepy smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I'm with you." Three simple words, mumbled so quietly you almost wondered if you'd imagined them.

Loud chatter came from the bathroom. Quite an interesting conversation between a proud dad and an eleven-month-old toddler. "Yes, that's a duck." Piers looked at Chris for a second, then at the yellow rubber duck. "Duh." The toddler repeated. Chris' eyes widened. "That's it, buddy! Duck!" He said enthusiastically. You heard the whole conversation from the hallway, a soft giggle escaping your mouth at the image created in your head. "Honey," Chris said, running down the hallway with Piers, wrapped in a towel, once their shower was over. "He talked." Your husband said proudly. Piers chewed on the rubber duck, clearly in a completely different world. "Chris-." "No. Listen." Chris said, adjusting Piers in his arms. "Come on, buddy. Show Mommy what you said." Chris' eyes gleamed with excitement. Piers chewed on his fist now, looking straight into Chris' eyes. "Badadada." He mumbled proudly. "Oh, come on!" Chris complained. You couldn't help but burst into laughter. "I think he just sighed before." You teased your husband. "I swear he said duck," Chris complained, walking behind you, still holding your son.

During dinner, Piers sat in his high chair, chewing messily on a few carrots. Chris sat beside him, scrolling through his phone with the concentration of a surgeon. "What are you searching for?" You asked, placing a plate in front of your husband. "I asked Leon to send me the link to the book he bought for Sammy to stimulate language," Chris said without looking away from his phone. "Another book?" You raised an eyebrow. You barely had space on the shelves in Piers' bedroom anymore, some of the books Chris bought or inherited from Leon mixing with your books on the living room shelves at this point. "This one is necessary," Chris said immediately, already pressing the pay button before you could even say anything else. "He can't say 'duck' as a first word." He added, tossing his phone beside his plate and taking a bite. "Why not?" You asked innocently, placing the pan on the sink and sitting beside him. "I would be a laughingstock to everyone." Your husband said as if it were too obvious. Leon managed, after weeks of endless tries, to make his son's first word be 'papa'. Chris couldn't let his son be less.

For the next few days, Chris prepared himself as if he were about to take an important exam. He read tons of famous educators' articles on how to stimulate babies for their first word, bought another set of letter blocks with bright colors, claiming those were better to catch your son's attention. Spoiler: Piers ignored those blocks completely. A few days ago, Claire paid you a visit to have lunch together. "How about some ice cream for dessert?" She said, walking over and opening the freezer. Piers beamed when he saw his aunt taking out his favorite tub of ice cream. Your son started to swing his legs in his highchair instantly. "Want some ice cream, sweetheart?" You said, taking 4 spoons from a drawer beneath the sink. "Ah!" Piers replied with grabby hands. Claire couldn't hold back the smile creeping on her mouth. You placed a small scoop of ice cream on a Disney bowl, putting it in front of Piers right after. Claire patiently fed the ice cream to your son, who somehow managed to end with the sweet treat covering his cheeks and nose. "Do you want some more?" Claire asked softly. "...Mo." Piers managed to reply. The gasp Claire let out was so loud that Chris appeared in the doorway immediately, concern written all over his face. "What happened?" He asked. "Chris, your son just said more!" Claire announced excitedly. "He didn't say more." You laughed, shaking your head with a smile as you watched both siblings argue about your son's first word.

Yesterday, it was Leon's turn. He came over with Sammy to bring some of the stuff for the barbecue you've planned for today. "Uncle Chis!" Sammy said, running down the hall and crashing into Chris' chest. "Hey there, gremlin." Chris laughed, tickling the toddler. Piers watched them from his playpen, smiling widely when he saw Sammy. As soon as Sammy noticed your son sitting in his playpen, he completely forgot your husband, excitedly running towards Piers. Both of them sat there playing while Leon and Chris organized the bags. "Made any progress on the talking stage?" Leon asked with a teasing tone. "Plenty," Chris replied proudly. "Uncle Chis!" Sammy called from the living room. As if your son understood, he immediately looked at his father. "Dino!" Sammy said, showing them a small triceratops. "Didididi..." Piers quietly repeated. Chris and Leon exchanged a surprise look. "Did he just?" Leon asked. Both of them walked towards the playpen at a fast pace, taking Piers in your husband's arms. "What did you say, buddy?" Chris asked your son. Piers looked between both men for a second. It almost looked like he was going to actually repeat Sammy's words. And then... Burp. Chris blinked. Leon blinked. Sammy burst into laughter. "Yeah, amazing progress." Leon mocked, patting Chris' shoulder. "He's almost there, I swear!" Chris said as Leon walked back into the kitchen.

At night, you sat on the chair beside Piers' crib, a small book in your left hand, while your right hand ran through the brunette curls on your son's head. He looked at you with half-lidded eyes, barely able to keep them open while you kept reading the book. "Then, the raccoon mom said..." You paused for a second when you noticed your son was finally out. "Rest well, tomorrow will be a busy day, sweetheart." You whispered, leaving a lingering kiss on his hair before turning off the light and walking out. You walked back into the living room, where the blue light from your husband's laptop illuminated his face. "Working?" You quietly asked, sitting beside him and resting your head on his shoulder. "Kinda." He replied. You huffed a laugh when you saw the screen. Another article about toddlers' first words can be read on it. "Chris, you're obsessing over it." You said against his shoulder. "I'm not." Your husband scoffed. "How many articles have you read about it?" You raised an eyebrow. He didn't dare to answer. It's been a week since he lost count. "I just..." Chris sighed. "Why doesn't he say it?" He added, throwing his head back into the back cushions. "He will. Just let him take his time." You nuzzled into his neck, tickling him with your breath. "What if his first word is dino?" Chris asked, remembering how close he was to repeating Sammy's hours before. "Well, Sammy will be very proud." You simply joked.

The summer morning sun bathed the backyard as your husband and Leon cooked the meat on the barbecue. You sat by the table, chatting with Claire, Leon's wife, and Rebecca. Sitting on the grass, Piers and Sammy played with their dinosaurs and cars with cheerful babbling. "Chris, can you pass me the ketchup?" Claire asked while eating. "Chris, want some more fries?" You asked, offering him the basket with freshly made fries. "Chris, mind making two more coffees?" Leon's wife asked him after lunch. "Uncle Chis, ice cream," Sammy ordered from the ground a few hours after lunch. Every single time your husband's name was pronounced, your son immediately looked towards him. To Piers, the backyard echoed with one word more than any other: Chris.

None of you were paying attention when it actually happened. You sat at the table, enjoying some pastries Rebecca brought, chatting about random stuff. Chris took another small spoon of his pastry and offered it to Piers without fully looking at his son. Then, Piers lifted his arm, index finger up, and pointed at your husband. Claire was the first one to notice, immediately pointing at your son and making everyone fall silent. "What is it, buddy?" Chris asked with excitement lingering around his eyes. Piers hesitated for a moment, averting his gaze between you and his father. Then, his eyes drifted to Sammy for just a second. "...Ch..." He tried at first. Everyone went still. It couldn't be possible. "...Chis..." Piers quietly said, still pointing at his father. "Oh, my God." Claire gasped, covering her mouth. "No way," Leon added from beside her. "Chis..." Piers repeated, as if testing the new word. Chris remained completely speechless. Did his son just call him by his first name? And worse, was that his official first word? "Baby, who's this?" You said beside the toddler, pointing at your husband as well. "Chis!" Piers said more confidently this time.

All of you started to cheer him immediately. Everyone except Chris. His son's first word was not 'duck', was not 'more', was not 'dino'. It wasn't even 'daddy'. It was his first name. "Well, at least he knows your government name." Leon mocked between laughs. "He doesn't know you're his dad, he just knows you're Chris," Claire added, folding and wiping tears off her eyes. "I sacrificed everything for this kid," Chris said, clearly affected by what just happened. Piers was now playing with Sammy again, completely unaware of what was going on at the table with the adults. "He definitely meant 'dad'." Chris tried to convince everyone. "Chris and Dad sound pretty different." Rebecca laughed. "He has an accent." Your husband replied, still refusing to accept your son's first word.

"Uncle Chis, look!" Sammy said from the ground. Uncle Chis... There it was. No one in that household ever called Chris 'dad'. For everyone, he was simply Chris. Suddenly, everything made sense. "It's all your fault!" Your husband announced out of nowhere, pointing at everyone. You looked at him with a frown. "What do you mean?" You asked. "From now on." Chris stood up. "Nobody can call me Chris." He announced proudly. All of you burst into laughter. "Chris, you're being-." "Dad. I'm Dad from now on." Chris corrected you immediately. "Hey, Chris-." Leon walked out of the house and back to the backyard. As soon as his name reached your son's ears, the boy looked at his father. "Chis!" He repeated proudly. Leon almost dropped the plate he was holding when he folded, laughing at the sudden word coming out of the toddler's mouth once again.

The campers gathered near the lake with Carlos and Jill, while you helped Claire with the decoration for the party, and Chris cleaned up the stone barbecue with Leon so it was ready to use at night. Claire took a couple of cute flower crowns out of a box and handed them to you so you could hang them on a small pine wooden coat tree you managed to find inside the storage cabin. "So..." Your friend caught your attention. "It's been a bit more than a month since the camp started." Claire continued, separating some leaves that messily tangled two crowns. "How are you feeling?" You barely looked at her. "Fine." You tried to hide the small smile tugging at your lips. "I'm glad you convinced me to come back." You added, finally looking up at her. Claire nodded thoughtfully, as if that wasn't the answer she was expecting. A small silence settled between you. "How are things going with Leon?" She suddenly asked. You froze completely, almost choked on yourself when his name came out of her mouth. "Good... Yeah... He's cool... I guess." You answered immediately. Claire narrowed her eyes at you, leaving the crowns on the coat tree. "You two are dating, don't you?" She said directly. "What?? No! Absolutely not." You tried to defend yourselves. But the way you looked at each other, the way he talked to you whenever they were around, and how you two disappeared at random times of the day to suddenly appear randomly hours later wasn't as subtle as you both pictured it in your head.

"Hey," Leon said, walking closer. "Claire, are there more charcoal bags? Your brother says it won't be enough with those for tonight." He added, pointing at a pair of charcoal bags behind the redheaded girl. "There should be more inside. Let me go check." She said, handing you the remaining crowns, then walked away. Leon leaned on his side, watching her disappear into the storage cabin before walking closer to you. "I miss you." He muttered under his breath. You let out a quiet laugh, wiping some charcoal from his cheek with your thumb. "We're literally 50 meters away, Leon." You laughed, pointing at the barbecue behind him. "I guess I got too used to having you close." You felt your cheeks turning slightly red. How did he manage to always have that effect on you?

His gaze dropped to the flower crowns in your hands. "Was this your idea?" He joked, taking one of them in his hands and placing it on his head. "It looks terrible on you." You mocked with a giggle. "How cruel." He gasped dramatically, as if he was truly offended. "Those flowers don't go well with the color of your eyes." You said, reaching for another crown hanging on the coat tree. Your eyes wandered over the collection until they settled on one woven with blue wildflowers and lavender, the tiny blossoms almost the exact same shade as Leon's striking blue eyes. Smiling to yourself, you gently replaced the first crown with your new pick. "This one suits you." You added, tilting your head as you admired how perfectly the tone of the flowers matched his eyes. Leon let out a shy chuckle as he looked away, completely unable to hold your gaze. "Are you going to keep flirting, or are you coming to help, flower boy?" Claire said from the storage cabin doorway, holding a heavy bag of charcoal. "We're not flirting!" Both of you said immediately. Leon took the crown off his head and handed it back to you, his fingers slightly brushing yours. "Let's tell them we can decorate the tables later." He winked at you before running towards the storage cabin to help your friend.

A few hours after lunch, you found yourself in the cafeteria preparing a round of coffees and smoothies for everyone. The sound of the blender was so loud that you didn't notice Carlos entering the cafeteria with a guy you hadn't seen before. "Hey, Y/N," Carlos called out. "Oh, hi!" You said with a wide smile, turning the blender off. "This is Luis, the guy we told you about earlier," Carlos explained, pointing at him. "Luis Serra." He took your hand just long enough to press a quick kiss against your knuckles before letting go again. "Encantado, señorita." He offered you a smile. "Oh wow, nice to meet you too." You laughed. You chatted with both of them for a while as you finished preparing the last smoothies. "Let me help you with that." Luis offered, taking one of the trays before you could say anything. "Thanks! You're the first one being a gentleman in here." You joked, looking at Carlos. "Hey!" He complained as you and Luis walked out of the cafeteria laughing.

Outside, campers greeted Luis excitedly. Apparently, he was a renowned music teacher that has been visiting the camp for the last couple of years. They took the smoothies and coffees from the trays with excited chatter, walking away to sit on the tables in small clusters. "You're a teacher too?" You asked, leaving the tray on the small cart to take it back into the cafeteria. "Yeah," Luis said with a soft smile. "Me too!" You announced excitedly. From a distance, Leon watched your interaction with Luis. His frown had become permanent since he saw you walking out of the cafeteria beside him and laughing, not really noticing how hard he was gripping his coffee mug. "Leon! Glad to see you again, amigo." Luis said as soon as he saw Leon. "Wish I could say the same," Leon said with a flat tone. "Oh come on, I know I'm your favorite." Luis joked, patting him on his shoulder. "Actually, Leon has a new favorite person." Claire appeared behind Leon, immediately greeting Luis with a small hug. "Oh, I see. Mi amigo finally has una hermosa señorita?" Luis raised an eyebrow with a teasing tone. "I don't," Leon said as seriously as he could. "That's what I thought," Luis said, nudging him and walking back to the tables area where everyone was.

Leon's gaze scanned the party with no emotion until his eyes landed on you. Leon had seen you in plenty of outfits over the past month, ever since you arrived at the camp, yet somehow, nothing could have prepared him for the sight of you tonight. A simple white dress fell just above your knees, its open back revealing just enough to steal the breath from his lungs. Tiny flecks of shimmer caught the warm glow of the string lights near the hem, sparkling with every step you took as though you'd somehow brought the stars down to earth. Your hair flowed freely over your shoulders, crowned with vibrant yellow and pink flowers that mirrored you perfectly: bright, warm, and completely impossible to ignore.

Then someone else came into your frame. Luis. He leaned closer to talk underneath the loud music and chatter so you could hear him well. You laughed with every random story he told you about his music lessons back in Spain, and you accepted every drink he offered you. He even offered to teach you some guitar notes later when he played it by the bonfire. "I'm really bad with instruments." You drowned your laugh in your drink. "You can't say that if you've never tried to play it." Luis laughed as well.

"Leon, are you listening to me?" Chris said, snapping Leon out of his thoughts. "Huh?" Leon simply said, looking at his best friend with lost eyes. "Man, you really need to ask her out," Carlos said, patting Leon on his shoulder. "What do you mean?" Leon asked immediately. Carlos and Chris exchanged a knowing look. "You've been staring at her for the last 10 minutes." Chris pointed in your direction. "If you like her, ask her to be your girlfriend before someone else does it," Carlos added, pointing at you with a nod before taking a sip.

When Leon's eyes landed back on you, Luis was fixing the flower crown and tugging a strand of your hair behind your ear. Chris and Carlos saw the shift in Leon's expression happen in real time. How his fingers tightened around the plastic glass, how he slowly exhaled through his nose, how his ears turned slightly red. "Oh, you're down bad." Carlos joked. "I'm okay," Leon said, more affected than he'd like to admit. "Sure." Chris stifled a small smile in his drink as he walked away.

For a few hours, everything seemed to go smoothly. You played games, sat by the bonfire, and told random stories. Luis played the guitar and exchanged a few jokes. But, on the other hand, the man you wished would be treating you like Luis was, avoided you at all costs. Whenever you walked closer, he pulled slightly away. Whenever you offered him another drink, he said he was fine, only to pour himself a new drink minutes later. Did I do something wrong? You thought to yourself. "Y/N, your turn!" One of the campers said, snapping you out of your thoughts. "I dare you to dance with Luis." You turned down the offer immediately, but the social pressure could beat you.

Luis' fingers tangled with yours. "Have you ever danced bachata, señorita?" He asked with a playful smile. "Not really." You shyly laughed. Luis guided you patiently as you laughed, completely embarrassed at how bad you were at dancing. "You're doing great, cariño," Luis reassured you, counting the steps again until the song was over. The cute nickname alone was enough to send Leon over the edge, not to mention how Luis was holding you by your waist while dancing.

Once the song was over, you walked away from the circle for a moment, going to your cabin to grab a thin jacket since the night was starting to get chilly. When you entered the dimmed cabin, your ears were ringing in the silence after being surrounded by loud music and laughter for so many hours. You shuffled your feet lazily towards your wardrobe, looking for something warm to wear. You spotted Leon's hoodie, which he lent you a few nights ago, still tucked inside your wardrobe, and its scent on every piece of fabric it brushed. You smiled softly, taking a hoodie neatly folded beside it. "Had fun flirting today?" A familiar voice came from the doorway. His voice was cold, echoing beneath the muffled sound of the music outside. "You finally decide to talk to me?" You snorted, closing the doors of your wardrobe and walking across the room. You stopped in front of Leon, looking up at him with your head slightly tilted. "Are you jealous?" You muttered. Leon walked closer, hand settling on your waist possessively. "You really wanna find out?" He said with a defiant tone.

You held his gaze with a playful smile for a second before pressing your hand to his chest. "I think I owe you an explanation." You quietly said, tapping your index finger against his white shirt. "After all," You added, leaning closer, "I'm your girl." His eyes darkened at your words. He was amazed by how fast you learned which strings you needed to pull to drive him crazy. "Don't say that if you're not going to take responsibility for the consequences," Leon said, walking into your room, though. "They seem to be too occupied to worry about us." You walked back, looking through the window before turning your gaze back to Leon. Outside, everyone kept playing random games, singing, drinking, and dancing around the fire. Leon let out a quiet laugh. The blond boy turned around, the clicking sound of the door closing echoing louder than you remembered.

"Don't say I didn't warn you when they ask where we have been," Leon said, walking back to you. The moment he stood in front of you, his hands cupped your cheeks, pulling you into a desperate kiss. You immediately kissed him back, wrapping your arms around his neck out of habit. His right hand moved from your cheek to your leg, gripping the naked flesh of your thigh, carrying you towards the small desk beside your bed without breaking the kiss. You sat on the wooden table, legs wrapped around his waist, while your fingers tangled in his blond hair, slightly pulling on it when his tongue found yours. "Tell me you're only thinking about me right now," Leon whispered against your lips. You smiled before answering. "Yeah. You're the only one I think about every day." You said, kissing him again. "Every second of the day," You whispered. "You're the only one clouding my mind." You reassured him. That seemed to be enough to boost his ego.

His fingers brushed your shoulder, sliding the thin strap of your dress. You moved your head to the other side, leaving more room for him to kiss your neck. Sharp breaths escaped your lips as he sucked on your skin. "Leon..." You whispered. He looked up with half-lidded eyes and swollen lips. "Sit down on my bed." You asked him, pushing him away so you could get off the desk. He looked at you with a confused frown, but did as you told him anyway. Before he could sit, you unbuckled his jeans, a wide smirk decorating his lips when he realized what you wanted to do.

His erection sprang free as soon as you pulled his boxers down. His legs were widely open so you could comfortably kneel in front of him. You looked around your nightstand for a hair tie before he grabbed your chin and forced you to look at him again. "Leave it like this. I like it." He quietly said, earning a small smile from you. Your hand firmly gripped the base of his hard member while your tongue slowly licked the tip. Leon threw his head back with pleasure, a low groan escaping the deepest part of his throat. "God... You look so beautiful." He said, moving your hair out of your face. Your eyes connected with his as you sucked his dick. "That's right, sweetheart. Look at me." He groaned, his grip slightly tightening on your hair. "You know?" He added. "I didn't like it when he tugged your hair behind your ear..." Leon whispered between heavy breaths. "I'm the only one who should be allowed to do that." He added, letting out a loud groan when you sucked on him a little harder.

His tip was leaking with precum when he asked you to stand up, already feeling his climax close. To your surprise, instead of asking you to lie down on your bed like he did before, when you could do it in your cabins, he asked you to lean on the desk. "What?" You blinked twice. "You heard me. I want to take you from behind." He said with his breath rhythm completely ruined. Your smirk widened as you leaned on your elbows against the cold wood while he opened the drawer where he knew you kept the condoms he gave you. You felt his hand moving the skirt of your dress up, revealing your panties. "You're so wet, sweetheart." Leon teased you, slowly pulling them down your legs. "Isn't that proof enough of how you turn me on?" You widened your legs when you felt his hands firmly gripping your hips to keep you in place. "Good answer." He said with a smirk, sliding his dick inside you with ease.

His name fell off your lips desperately before you could stop it with every thrust. "Fuck..." Leon breathed. "Yeah, call my name." He added, his thrust becoming rougher with every passing second. "I want you to forget he was ever here." He whispered against your ear, pulling you closer by your hair. Your hands turned into fists as you tried to lower your volume, knowing someone might hear you if you got too loud.

"I love how messy you get when I'm inside you." He whispered into your ear when you rested your head on his shoulder, his hand cupping one of your breasts and squeezing it. "Come on, tell me how much you like this." He added. "Please..." You begged. "Go faster..." The smirk appearing on his lips only grew wider with your petition, thrusting deeper, faster, just like you wanted.

Both of your climaxes built faster with every movement of his hips against yours. "Leon... Please, don't stop..." You breathed out. "I'm so close..." You added, pulling on the back of his hair, looking for some kind of support. "Good girl. Come for me, sweetheart." He whispered into your ear. "You're doing great." He praised you, thrusts becoming sloppier as he released his load inside you shortly after.

Heavy pants filled the room as you both tried to catch your breath. "Did I get too rough?" Leon whispered, a bit concerned. "No... It was amazing." You breathed heavily, letting out a small laugh as you ran your fingers through your hair. A small whine escaped your lips when you felt him pull out.

Once you both caught your breaths, cleaned yourselves, tidied the room, and looked decent enough to go out, you headed towards the door. "Wait." Leon grabbed your wrist before you could open the door. "Don't make me suffer more than I already have." He pouted. You let out a quiet laugh, cupping his cheek. "Then stay close to me." It sounded like a request more than an order. "Okay," Leon said with half a smile, leaning down to kiss you softly. "Let's go back before you want to ruin me again." You whispered against his lips, seeing how he couldn't hold back from deepening the kiss again. "Sorry." He shyly apologized, opening the door and letting you get out of the room first.

Back in the bonfire, everyone cheered when you returned. "Did you sew your jacket yourself, or why did it take so long?" Claire asked when she saw you. "Got distracted in the way." You said, looking at Leon walking beside you. Leon looked down at you when everyone felt silent. Then everyone burst out. "Leon has a girlfriend!" Everyone started to chant. "Thought you wanted to keep it a secret." He whispered into your ear. "It was pretty obvious anyway." You laughed. In the distance, Luis smiled at both of you.

While Leon took a shower, you finished arranging everything you needed for Sammy's birthday tomorrow.

You walked down the hall towards your bedroom, stopping halfway through when you noticed your husband standing in complete silence in Sammy's bedroom doorway. "Leon?" You whispered as you got closer. "What are you doing?" You asked, peeking inside your son's bedroom when you arrived beside him. "Nothing," Leon said flatly without removing his gaze from the sleeping figure of your son. "That face doesn't usually mean 'nothing'. Especially when you're staring at Sammy." You laughed. Leon let out a chuckle as well. "It's just..." Sammy shifted under the thin blanket. "...He'll be 18 in," Leon checked his watch, "30 minutes." You looked back inside the room, seeing how your son peacefully slept. "He might turn 18, but he still acts like he's 4," You joked. Leon nodded thoughtfully, not even trying to deny it. "Maybe turning 18 switches something on in his brain," Leon said, halfly joking, halfly serious. "He better." You said, tapping your husband's shoulder and walking towards your bedroom. "Sleep already, buddy. You'll need the energy tomorrow." Leon said before walking away. Sammy opened his eyes, propping himself up and watching his father walk away. The blond boy got out of bed when he stopped hearing your footsteps outside his room and slowly walked outside, determined to walk into the kitchen to inspect it with the only mission of finding out what you had prepared for his 18th birthday. Leon cleared his throat when he saw Sammy slowly sneaking out of his room. "What are you doing?" Leon said with a flat tone. "Oh... Hm... I was... thirsty?" Sammy replied, clearly caught red-handed. Leon raised an eyebrow. "Go back to bed," Leon said. "But Dad-." "No excuses." Leon cut your son off. Sammy sighed heavily, obeying and going back into his bedroom. Leon shook his head in disbelief, finally walking into your shared room.

"Everything okay?" You asked from the bed, already half asleep. "Your son tried to sneak out to find what we prepared for his birthday," Leon explained, walking closer to the small wardrobe and removing his shirt. "This kid will never change." He added, lying down beside you slowly with a small expression of pain. "You okay?" You asked immediately after noticing the pain in his eyes. "Yeah... That training was a bit tougher than others." He admitted, pulling you back into his embrace like he did every night. "Leon." You quietly said against his chest. He barely managed to hum in response. "Don't overthink about Sammy getting older tonight, and take some rest." You mumbled with sleep. "Okay?" You added when you noticed Leon wasn't answering. He sighed, as if it was hard for him to accept it. "Okay..." He finally said, pecking your hair, and finally drifting to sleep.

You woke up a few hours later with your throat completely dry and with the spot beside you completely cold and empty. The small glowing clock on your nightstand read 03:02am. You lifted yourself up, rubbing your left eye as you got out of bed and walked down the hall towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water, expecting to find Leon either in the bathroom or the kitchen. To your surprise, Leon was standing on the front door, getting into his jacket and shoes. "Did something happen?" Your voice dripped with sleep. "Go back to sleep." Leon simply said, grabbing the keys to the house and the car. "Leon." You said, watching him walk closer to you. "Don't worry. I'll be back in an hour and a half." He reassured you, pecking your lips and walking towards your son's bedroom. The moment you saw where he was heading, you immediately knew what he was about to do. You shook your head with a small smile, poured some water, and went back to bed.

Soft knocks on the dark wooden door woke up Sammy. "Dad...?" He quietly asked with half-lidded eyes. "Get dressed." Leon quietly ordered, opening the wardrobe and grabbing the first pair of jeans and shirt he could find in the dark room. "What?" Sammy asked, completely confused, lifting up his upper body. "You heard me," Leon said, throwing the clothes towards the boy. Sammy caught them in the air, running a hand through his face and messy hair right after. He took a few seconds to process what was happening. "It's three in the morning." He said, checking the watch on his wrist. "And?" Leon said from the doorway. "Dad-." "Shoes. Now." Leon cut Sammy off, partially closing the door and walking back to the living room to wait for him to get ready. Sammy let out a yawn while he pulled the shirt Leon chose over his head, put on the pair of jeans, and took two different socks from the drawer, proving how sleepy he was. Once he was ready, he walked out of the room, shuffling his feet lazily as he walked past your bedroom. Before he continued walking, he peeked inside your bedroom, not expecting to see you sleeping. The moment your image came into his view, he frowned, even more confused than before. Leon only woke him up out of the blue when both of you had to go on a mission, and Sammy had to go to Piers' house for the night. Seeing you there only made his list of unanswered questions grow wider.

Leon was sitting on the couch with his elbows resting on his knees, playing with his thumbs. "Dad?" Sammy said quietly, entering the living room. The quiet voice made Leon's heart shudder. For some reason, the sound suddenly reminded him of all the countless times your son had called him throughout the years with that exact same tone. When he was scared after a nightmare, when he got scratched knees, and when he fought with his friends. And now, standing in front of him, having no idea what was going on. "Let's go, buddy," Leon said, standing up from his spot and walking across the room. "Is everything okay? Why is Mom not coming?" Sammy asked, confused, clearly worried about leaving you behind. Leon smiled to himself, finally noticing what was probably going through your son's mind. "Hey," Leon said, grabbing Sammy's shoulders firmly. "It's nothing bad, don't worry." He reassured with a small smile. "I just wanna have a ride with you," Leon added, patting him on the shoulder. Sammy considered it for a second, looking down the hall at the open door of your bedroom. Then, he nodded and smiled at Leon. "Okay." He said. Leon's smile widened, seeing how the boy he used to pat on the shoulder a few years ago was now almost as tall as him.

Both of them got on their shoes before opening the front door. "Buddy, you're wearing uneven socks." Leon pointed at his son's feet. "Oh," Sammy said, shrugging immediately after, too lazy to go back and change. Leon rolled his eyes fondly as he watched Sammy walking into the cold night towards the car. "Can I drive?" Sammy asked, already walking towards the driver's seat. "Absolutely not," Leon said immediately. "Come on!" Sammy complained. "You haven't let me drive for a month already." He sulked. "You almost crashed it last time," Leon said, pushing him to go back to the passenger's seat. Sammy groaned, walking around the Porsche and sitting in the passenger's seat. "Can I at least play music?" He asked, touching the passenger display already. "As long as you don't blast it," Leon said, starting the engine and driving out of the garage.

The first notes of the song surprised Leon. Sammy usually likes to listen to very random and weird music, according to Leon, so when he actually played something soft, he couldn't help being surprised. Soon, Sammy found himself unconsciously tapping his thumb against his phone, singing along with the song as he looked out the open window. The cool air of the summer night lightly tousled Sammy's golden locks a little more. Leon, on the other hand, stayed focused on the road, tensing up slightly when he noticed the lyrics of the song. "So, pack up your car, put a hand on your heart..." Sammy quietly sang. "We ain't angry at you, love. We'll be waiting for you, love." He continued, completely oblivious of the effect the song was having on his father. Leon cleared his throat, trying to swallow the tight knot forming in his throat at the quiet thought of his son finally being able to walk on his own. Sammy looked at your husband. "You know?" Sammy said, lowering the volume of the music a little. "I spent years wondering what that shop was," Sammy said, pointing at a small business in the corner of the street while they both waited for the traffic light to go back to green. Leon looked in the direction his son pointed and saw a cute pottery workshop. "You don't know what a pottery workshop is?" Leon mocked him. "I know now, but when I was 7, I had no idea what they did in there," Sammy complained. "Once we found out, I asked Piers to go there and make a clay dinosaur." He explained. "Eddie said we could only make bowls because the dinosaur could become real," Sammy added with a snort. "Why am I not surprised?" Leon said with a laugh.

The car continued its way once the light turned green. Driving through endless streets, all of them holding thousands of memories Leon and Sammy shared with the people they both loved. "Remember when we came to this restaurant when it opened?" Leon asked, briefly pointing towards a Mexican restaurant that the three of you used to frequent a lot. "Yeah... Mom would always get mad if they ran out of their famous quesadillas." Sammy laughed at the memory. "Has she always been like that?" Sammy asked. Leon huffed a laugh, nodding fondly. "Glad to know I'm not the only one thinking she's a bit too much when it comes to food." Leon joked, resting his hand on the gear shift.

Leon drove in silence for a few minutes when Sammy broke the silence once again. "Dad." Leon looked at him before turning his gaze back to the road. "You're taking me to the lake, aren't you?" Sammy said. Leon looked caught for a slight second, then shrugged it off. "Maybe." He said, avoiding the topic. "You really suck at giving surprises." Sammy laughed, recognizing another shop on the way to the lake. "There are plenty of places around the lake, I could be taking you to some of those." Leon tried his best to divert your son's attention. "That doesn't fly, Dad." Sammy folded laughing when he saw Leon's expression as if you caught him stealing food at 3am.

"You could use that intelligence of yours to get better grades at school, buddy," Leon said, parking nearby the lake where he used to park whenever you went there. Sammy stretched as soon as he got out of the car, letting out a yawn. The lake was barely lit with the first brushstrokes of dawn, not leaving space for stars at all. Both of them walked a little until they found a bench where they used to sit when they visited the place. "Can't believe we manage to always sit on the same bench," Leon said, sitting on it with a tired sigh. "Should we write our name on it?" Sammy offered. If it came from another boy, Leon would have thought he was kidding. But knowing Sammy, Leon was certain that if he laughed, Sammy would be pulling a black marker out of his pocket and signing the bench. Both of them sat there in silence for a moment, simply admiring the beautiful scenery before their eyes. Sammy had his gaze fixed on the horizon, while Leon looked at him every now and then, neither of them really knowing how to say things. Guess that was a Kennedy thing.

"Remember when you first rode your bike alone down there?" Leon asked, pointing at a playground near the lake where Sammy used to play with Piers, Lucas, and Eddie. "Yeah." Sammy laughed quietly. "I almost crashed myself with a tree." He added, looking at his hands intertwined between his knees. "You've never had a sense of danger." Leon laughed as well, leaning back on the bench. "I tried my best." Sammy said quietly, still looking down. Leon looked at the boy for a moment. Seeing how quiet Sammy was, Leon looked back into the horizon. "You know?" That finally made your son look up. "I've always wondered if I was doing well as a father." Leon finally confessed, feeling his chest tighten. "Dad-." "No, let me finish." Leon cut Sammy off immediately, knowing that if he didn't say it now, he would probably never say it. "When you were born, your mom and I had absolutely no idea of what we were doing," Leon explained. A small laugh escaped his lips when he remembered every single spiraling moment he had ever had since you got pregnant. "I even checked on you every five seconds when you were asleep when you were a baby, if you didn't make any sound." He added. Sammy finally leaned back, looking up to the sky. "Why am I not surprised?" He joked. A silence settled between them once again. "The thing is..." Leon broke it, placing his hand on Sammy's shoulder. "I'm proud of you." Sammy simply stared at his father, unsure what to say. The boy looked away for a moment, afraid his father would notice his eyes watering.

Sammy's gaze finally met Leon's. He knew you were both proud of him and that you loved him no matter what. But lately, seeing how mad you got at him after every single disaster he made, started to make him think he was actually becoming the son he never wanted to be. A son that his parents couldn't love or be proud of. "But... I always manage to mess things up." He said, completely disappointed with himself. Leon chuckled, patting his son's shoulder. "Yeah, you do..." He admitted. "But that doesn't mean you're bad." Sammy's eyebrows furrowed. "You would be surprised by how many times I fucked up on missions and how many times Chris scolded me," Leon confessed with a giggle. "Really?" Sammy asked. Maybe he and Piers weren't that different from Leon and Chris. "Listen..." Leon added. "As long as you protect and care for the people you love, your mom and I will be proud of you." Sammy's gaze avoided Leon's again, clearly uncomfortable with something. "Have you ever thought about what comes next?" Sammy suddenly asked, still avoiding Leon's eyes. "College?" Leon asked as if it was obvious, not leaving room for other options. Sammy sighed. "Yeah..." There was clearly something clouding the boy's mind, and by the way he wasn't looking at Leon, your husband could tell he was spiraling over something. But he decided not to push it. Not today.

The sun finally painted the sky with oranges, gold glowing on the lake. "We should get going before Mom wakes up," Sammy said, standing up from the bench, believing your husband didn't say a word about them leaving the house. "Wait." Leon stopped him. He rummaged in his pocket for a second, taking out a large box, weirdly wrapped. "Here." He simply said, handing Sammy the box. "Did you wrap it?" Sammy asked with a teasing smile. "Don't tell your mom," Leon said, watching his son open the box. Inside, there was a small, old knife Sammy immediately recognized. "Is this yours?" He asked with wide eyes. Leon simply nodded. "But Dad-." "No buts." Leon cut him off. The gleam in Sammy's blue eyes reminded Leon of the gleam he saw in the mirror every morning when he checked himself when he was his age, making him realize he not only raised a boy into a man but fixed what he didn't have when he was a kid. "Happy birthday, son," Leon said quietly, pulling Sammy into a tight hug.

"Will you crash the car if I let you drive?" Leon asked, walking back towards the Porsche. "Really???" Sammy beamed like a kid. "I didn't say I was going to let you do it," Leon said, already regretting offering it. "You implied it." Sammy corrected. The boy spent the whole way begging to be allowed to drive. "I promise I'll drive slow." He said with puppy eyes. Leon was completely avoiding his gaze, perfectly knowing the effect those puppy eyes had on him ever since your son was born. "You could have inherited something else from your mom..." Leon complained, feeling like he had a younger version of you begging beside him.

"Here." Leon finally said, throwing the keys at your son, who caught them in the air and ran towards the driver's seat. As soon as the car engine started, Sammy's face lit up with excitement. To Leon's surprise, Sammy actually drove much better than he had expected. If it weren't for the couple of times (seven to be more specific) the car stalled, Leon would have rated the trip a 5/5.

Once they got home, you were already awake, preparing breakfast. "Happy birthday, sweetheart." You said, running towards him and covering his face in kisses. "Mom, come on." He complained, trying to push you away. "What?" You asked. "I'm not a kid anymore." He said. Leon rolled his eyes from behind him. "That doesn't mean I'll stop kissing you." You slapped his arm, grabbing him from the back of his neck and pulling him down to place a few more kisses on his cheeks. Right there and then, you noticed how tall he's gotten.

As soon as they both sat at the kitchen table, Sammy was reaching out to sneakily take a pancake from the giant tower placed in the middle of the table. "Ouch!" He screamed when you slapped his hand. "Wash your hands." You ordered, pointing at him with the kitchen spatula. "Yes, sir!" He saluted before disappearing down the hall. "How was it?" You asked Leon. He looked up from the newspaper he was reading and looked towards the bathroom before answering you. "Good..." He quietly said. "But?" You asked, taking a couple more pancakes out of the pan. Leon sighed, cursing at how bad he was at hiding things from you. Not like he really tried, though. "Something is clouding his mind." He finally said. "Leon, he's 18. It would be weird if he had nothing going on inside his mind." You joked, serving the pancakes to your husband. "I know... But that's not it." He said, taking a small sip of his coffee. "It's something big," Leon added, leaving the mug beside the newspaper. Sammy stood behind the wall that separated the kitchen from the hall, toying with the hem of his hoodie nervously, knowing his dad noticed something was off for him.

Shortly after breakfast, Claire, Chris, and his wife arrived at the house with tons of bags full of snacks, meat, and gifts for Sammy. "You didn't have to bring all of this," Sammy said with a wide smile plastered on his face. "Of course we had to," Claire said, hugging him tightly. "You only turn 18 once in life," Chris said, pulling him into a tighter hug. Soon, the barbecue in the backyard was set, and the smell of the embers mixed with the freshly cooked meat as Chris and Leon argued over who cooked the meat better. Soon, Piers, Eddie, and Lucas arrived, filling the backyard with more laughs and random stories none of you really understood or remembered happening.

The cake sat in front of Sammy a bit after his friends arrived. You managed to find the cake he used to love when he was a kid at a nearby bakery that opened not long ago. "I can't believe you actually found this cake." He said, completely out of words, when he saw you placing the cake in front of him. The golden candles Leon bought glowed on top of the cake. You all sang 'happy birthday' to your son, who sat there gripping his hands together and with his eyes closed. You tightened your hand around Leon's under the table when you noticed him fondly staring at Sammy. When he was a kid, he used to wish for dinosaurs. Today, Leon had no idea what his wish could be. When Sammy opened his eyes again, he blew out the candles, making everyone cheer and clap. "What did you wish for?" Eddie asked immediately. "If I say it, it won't become true, idiot," Sammy said, playfully nudging his friend. "Bet he wished for dinosaurs to be real again." Lucas joked from behind him. "Very funny," Sammy said. "I bet he wished for the world's peace," Piers added. Judging by Sammy's reaction to his comment, none of you could tell whether Piers had hit the nail on the head or if it was simply another inside joke among the young people.

For a moment, everything felt like it had felt every single year for the past 18 years. But today, something quietly rested beneath every laugh and conversation. Sammy was not only getting older; he was finally proving he was able to walk his path alone, with all of you by his side, but not guiding him anymore.

Back in the campsite, things kept growing more and more suspicious as you and Leon started to share moments together, even when nobody else was around. Leon would hand you a bottle of water without you asking for it, you would wipe paint off his arm when you did an arts and crafts activity, Leon would call you 'sweetheart' without earning a roll of eyes from you... You even disappeared at random times of the day, claiming you had to check something by the lake or some shitty excuse Leon came up with. "Is it me, or Leon and Y/N are acting weird since they shared the cabin back in Delaware Water Gap?" Jill asked, sitting on her usual spot on the small couch in the staff's room. "Yeah, I noticed too," Carlos said, sipping on his coffee. "Do you think they finally confessed to each other?" Jill asked. "That would be too good to be true." Claire joked, looking through the window in your direction. You were outside playing with some campers and Leon with a random board game. "The loser does the dishwashing tonight." One of the campers said. You exchanged a competitive look with Leon before putting your last card on the table, winning that round. While everyone complained, you looked up, catching Claire, Carlos, and Jill looking directly towards you and Leon sitting too close.

"We need to keep our distance a little." You said as you walked towards the cabins with Leon after dinner. "Why's that?" He frowned. "Everyone is noticing we're too close." You pointed at the rest of the team walking several feet ahead of you. "Well, maybe it's a good thing that they know." He shyly admitted. You looked at him with a confused look. Was it really a good idea? "You know," he stopped in front of you, "it kinda pisses me off having to wait until late night to kiss you," Leon whispered, leaning closer and caressing your cheek. Ever since you came back from the weekend trip, you've been meeting each other after midnight by the lake so that you could act like a couple when everyone else was sleeping. "We will never hear the end of it if they find out now." You said, tilting your head slightly and looking up at the blond boy. "Fine." He pouted. "Then, play along with me tomorrow." He said, walking away. "That sounds dangerous." You laughed, running behind him. "Trust me, I've got a plan."

The next morning, you headed to the cafeteria like always. Jill and Claire were rather quiet, simply observing you as if you were an endangered species. "You okay?" You asked, turning to them when they stopped walking right in front of the cafeteria entrance. "Yeah," Jill said immediately. "Go in," Claire added, both of them signaling you to open the door. You shrugged and entered the cafeteria. Everything seemed to be normal when you entered. Campers were eating breakfast, Chris was standing by the drink section pouring what you assumed was his second coffee, and Leon and Carlos were already sitting at the staff's table. The moment your eyes landed on Leon, a huge smile was drawn on your face, replaced by a serious grin when Claire and Jill cleared their throat looking at you suspiciously. "Good morning. I trust you slept well." Leon said as soon as he saw you approaching. Your daily pick for breakfast was already placed on a seat next to him. "What's this?" You asked. "I took the liberty of preparing your breakfast since you skipped it yesterday," Leon explained. All of you looked at him with a confused look. "Be careful, the plate is rather hot." He continued to say as if this whole conversation was nothing but normal. "...Okay?" You muttered, taking the toast and biting it. All of you ate in complete silence. You could feel all of your friends' eyes piercing you and Leon. "Would you like me to pass you the jam?" Leon said, already reaching for the jam and placing it beside you before you could even answer. "Thanks." You said.

Chris cleared his throat, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence that had settled around your table. "We're expecting a storm tonight. We should be prepared." He explained. "We could play board games in the activities cabin." You suggested, taking the last sip of your coffee. Your hair got in the way when the wind blew through the window next to your table. Leon's hand reacted before he could stop it. "Your hair's..." He said, tugging the rebel strand of hair behind your ear. The move was so automatic that everyone fell silent again. "Never mind." He shyly said, tugging his hand inside the pocket of his pants. None of you said anything else for the rest of breakfast break.

The day went by normally. "Why the hell did you talk like you were my accountant before?" You asked Leon as you both took the kayaks inside a small cabin to keep them safe from the rain. "I thought that would make them think we're clearly not together." He explained, dusting his hands off. "You're so dumb." You said, pushing him away playfully. "Yeah, but I'm the only dumb one that gets to kiss you." He said with that playful smirk you started to grow fond of appearing when he grabbed your waist and pulled you closer. You looked at each other for a second, that divine force pulling you closer appearing again. His forehead rested on yours, the tip of your nose brushing each other's before he leaned down to quickly peck your lips. "You're so bad." You whined, earning a triumphant laugh from him. "Now we're even." He said, pressing another kiss to your forehead. A loud crack of lightning roared not too far from the camp. "We should get to safety before it starts raining," Leon said, offering you his hand. "Holding hands is not exactly something coworkers do, Leon." You laughed. "We still have a few meters before someone sees us." Leon pointed towards the activities cabin, where you guessed everyone waited for you. You rolled your eyes fondly and took his hand, walking down and covering yourselves with your hands halfway through when it started raining hard.

"Where were you?" Chris asked when you and Leon arrived at the activities cabin, completely drenched. "Taking the kayaks into the storage cabin," Leon explained, wringing out his T-shirt before entering. "It's raining that hard?" One of the campers asked with wide eyes, seeing actual water coming out of Leon's shirt. You laughed. "It will be a strong storm." You removed your shoes and entered the cabin, grabbing a large towel to wrap yourself in. Strong thunder echoed through the cabin, white light flashed through the windows, and the whistle of the strong wind sneaked under the locked door. "What if it's still raining at curfew?" One of the campers asked, looking out the window. "Then we can sleep here," Claire replied immediately, not even looking at her brother for approval. "Will we finally be able to sleep together tonight?" Leon whispered into your ear, his low voice dripping with excitement. You nudged his side with your elbow as you shyly laughed. Carlos, who noticed how close you two were again, nudged Jill and pointed in your direction. "They're definitely dating now." He muttered between quiet laughs.

The afternoon and great part of the evening went by between random stories, karaoke sessions, joke-telling contests, and board games. "Leon and Carlos should be banned from telling jokes." One of the campers said, making everyone laugh. "You say that because you envy our ingenuity." Carlos immediately defended. "He's kinda right, though." You agreed with the camper between laughs. "Noted. Your complaints have been received and will be classified and ignored." Leon joked. "It's funny you say that, though." He added, this time looking at you. "You seemed to be fine with my jokes when it was just the two of us." The room fell silent for a second too long. Claire looked up from her phone, Jill almost broke her neck looking at you, and you almost choked on yourself. "Talking. I meant talking." Leon corrected himself immediately when he noticed how bad his sentence sounded for someone who was supposed to not be in a relationship with you.

The silence that settled in the cabin afterwards was weird. Nobody seemed to notice except you and Leon, who exchanged gazes every now and then. "The rain doesn't seem to stop any time soon," Claire announced, sitting by the window, followed by another loud thunder. "We should prepare everything for sleeping here then, just in case we have to stay." Chris stood up from his seat. All of you moved perfectly synchronized, gathering the small armchairs, chairs, and couches on the corners of the room so you had enough space in the center to lie down and sleep. "There should be some blankets inside that wardrobe." Chris pointed at a small wardrobe behind you. "Here?" You asked. The moment you opened the creaky door, the lights went off. Some of the campers immediately screamed in fear. "Everyone, calm down," Chris ordered with a serious tone. You heard him walking towards the front door, followed by the noise of the switch turning on and off. No light came back. "Fuck..." Chris muttered when he peeked through the window and noticed the whole campsite was bathed in complete darkness. "Are we going to die?" One of the campers asked. "We definitely will." Another answered immediately. "We are not going to die." Chris tried to hold back a small smile tugging at his lips with the reaction the campers had. "You cursed. That never means something good." A girl said from the middle of the room. All of you let out a small laugh. "We just have to check the supply cabinet to fix it," Leon explained, rummaging in the drawer beside you. Once he found a flashlight, he turned it on, directly pointing it at your face. You immediately covered your eyes. "Hey!" You complained. "Revenge." He joked, reminding you how you did the exact same thing when you had to do the night patrol.

"I'll go check the cabin," Leon said, grabbing a small umbrella from a bucket next to the front door as if that would help in the middle of the storm. "I'm coming with you." You immediately said, walking close behind him. "Just in case." You added when everyone looked at you suspiciously. That seemed to convince everyone because, far from staying in the activities cabin with everyone else, you were walking under the rain with Leon towards the supply cabin. "You should've stayed inside," Leon said, barely covering you with the crooked umbrella. "I'll be fine." Your grip tightened around his hand when you almost slipped.

The door to the supply cabin creaked as you opened it slowly. "Stay by the door, I'll check the fuse box," Leon ordered, handing you the flashlight so you could point at him while he fixed the problem. You did as he told you, holding the door open so it wouldn't get closed because of the strong wind. "Fuck." Leon muttered under his breath. "What happened?" You asked. "I can't see anything. Can you come closer?" Leon replied. Once again, you did as he asked, leaving the door without supervision for half a second. The moment Leon found the problem and turned the fuse back on, the door slammed loudly behind you. Chris had made it pretty clear not to let the door close unless you had the keys with you because the handle was broken. Thank God Leon had the keys, right? "Leon, give me the keys." You said, pointing the flashlight towards the closed door. "I don't have it," Leon said. He's kidding. You thought to yourself. "Very funny." You laughed nervously. "I'm talking seriously." Leon looked at you dead in the eyes. "I left them hanging on the lock when we opened up, thinking you would grab them when you came in." He explained. Great. Now you were locked in the supply cabin alone in the middle of a thunderstorm and without any communication to ask for help. Right when you thought nothing else could go wrong, the flashlight flickered a few times before turning off. It was out of batteries. Both of you sighed repeatedly as you tried to force the door to open, but nothing seemed to work. You tiredly leaned against the door beside Leon, already giving up.

Rain hammered against the supply cabin while thunder shook the walls around you. Leon stood inches away in the dim emergency light, staring at you like he was trying very hard not to do something stupid. "You keep looking at me like that," you whispered, "and I'm starting to think you're actually the dangerous thing out here." You joked. His jaw tightened. "That's the problem." He muttered. "What do you mean?" You frowned. "Would you think I'm crazy if I say this is the universe giving us some alone time finally?" He said quietly, almost embarrassed. You snorted immediately. "I didn't imagine you were the universe-sign type of guy." You laughed, walking closer to him. Maybe Leon was right. Maybe the universe really had conspired to trap the two of you in the only place where nobody could interrupt you, the red emergency light casting sharp shadows on your bodies. "If you keep looking at me like that, it'll be really hard to control myself," Leon admitted with half a smile, looking down at you. "If we're going to do it, we should do it before they wonder where we are." You playfully suggested. He let out a laugh. "I think I like this version of you more than the other," Leon admitted, closing the space that separated you.

Your back smacked one of the shelves as Leon grabbed the back of your neck and messily kissed you. Your arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer as well. You both breathed heavily as the kisses got deeper, hungrier, and messier. It's been a couple of days since the last time you could kiss each other properly without having to check around you every five seconds, so every touch felt much more desperate than what you would like to admit. "Fuck, I've missed this." Leon breathed against your lips, smashing them with his again, biting your lower lip just like he knew you loved. You would never understand how someone could know another person so well after sleeping together just for once. Whenever Leon touched you, ever since the weekend trip, it felt like you'd known each other for a lifetime. His lips had perfectly memorized the weak spots on your neck and collarbone, making you throw your head back immediately, leaving enough room for him. "Leon..." You whispered. "Yeah?" He asked, still pressing soft pecks to your neck. "Give me your hand." You almost begged. He smirked wider when he saw the thought crossing your mind. "You're so bad." He quoted you from a few hours ago. You simply laughed as you slid his hand into your pants, guiding him to touch your clit. "Like this, sweetheart?" He asked against your ear. "Yeah..." You managed to say, your knees already weak at the sudden pleasure.

Your hand slipped inside his boxers as well, rubbing his dick slowly. "Oh, fuck..." He breathed out, speeding up the movement of his fingers around your clit. You felt his dick harden under your touch, earning a smirk from you. "You're learning too fast..." Leon whispered, biting his lower lip to hold back his groans. Both of your hands moved in sync, your sounds muffled beneath the tapping sound of the rain on the outside walls of the cabin. "Fuck... Leon..." You gasped when he curled his digits inside you. "It feels great, doesn't it?" He asked with a huge, proud smirk. Your hand movements became more erratic as you got closer to your climax. "Fuck, Y/N... slow down... I'm gonna cum if you keep doing it like that." Leon said. His voice was slightly higher than usual as he begged you to stop before he made a complete mess in there. Right when you both were about to finish, a clicking metallic sound, followed by Chris' voice calling Leon, froze you.

Chris swung the door open. You and Leon stood there, too close for two people who were simply trying to fix the blackout problem. Leon's hair was messy, both of your cheeks were fully flushed, and your breathing was slightly heavier than usual. The short-haired boy raised an eyebrow before deciding to ignore the fact that you looked completely undone. "...Power's back." He said before walking away and leaving you alone once again. Outside, the rain had started to let up, letting campers go back to their respective cabins. Chris watched you closely from a distance with a deep crease forming between his brows. "That face never means good things happening." Claire joked, walking up to her brother. Chris snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of his sister's voice. "It's nothing." He shrugged off without removing his gaze from you and Leon talking across the hallway that separated your room and his. "You've been staring at them for what? 5 minutes straight?" Claire leaned in the doorway. "It's just..." Chris finally said. "I'm pretty sure something is going on between those two." Chris finally admitted. Claire snorted. "Congratulations! You're the last one noticing." She joked, tapping her brother's shoulder and walking away.