#ft. leon

"Oye -- what's that?" Then, without waiting a beat, he snatches it out of Leon's hands. "Can I have it? I want it."

𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 the details of the bomb scare, combing through it all for something, anything that she could hand off to conall or isaac or leon, someone she trusted to actually chase it without getting spooked by politics or pantheon’s shadow. the minutes bled away while she sank deeper into the case files, oblivious. in the kitchen, forgotten chicken turned from raw to perfect to charred. a knock finally broke her out of it. she pushed back from the table and headed for the door, opening it to find leon. “hey. god, the fucking day absolutely got away from me. but i hope you’re hungry because i made—” it hit her mid-sentence. “shit,” she muttered, already turning, near-sprinting into the kitchen. “shit, shit, shit—” she yanked on an oven mitt and pulled the tray out, the smell confirming what she already knew. she paused, staring at it for half a second before letting out a breath, then glanced back at him with a crooked smile. “okay, so. pizza?”

the  news  hadn’t  even  cooled  on  the  broadcast  before  gideon  was  at  leon’s  door,  knuckles  sharp  against  the  wood.  he  didn’t  wait  for  a  greeting—just  stepped  through  the  second  it  opened,  shoes  kicked  off  in  the  entryway,  the  storm  written  plain  across  his  face.

“do  we  know  where  they’re  keeping  her?”  the  words  were  low,  rough,  pushed  out  like  they  burned  in  his  chest.  he  moved  deeper  into  the  room,  jaw  locked  tight,  muscles  strung  taut  as  wire.

“fucking  idiots,”  he  muttered,  more  to  himself  than  leon.  “first  thing  any  cop-hating,  law-breaking  son  of  a  bitch  is  gonna  want  is  her  head  on  a  stick.  and  the  mayor—”  his  voice  edged  with  a  bitter  laugh,  sharp  and  joyless,  “—the  mayor  really  thinks  she  had  a  hand  in  levi’s  death?”

he  turned,  eyes  dark,  restless.  “all  they’ve  got  is  a  video.  no  face  to  run  through  recognition,  nothing  solid.  stinks  of  something  fouler.  veil’s  fingerprints  all  over  it.”  he  was  rambling  and  it  was  rare  for  him.  gideon  was  a  sharp  thinker,  worked  in  codes  and  tech.  but  this  news  has  him  outside  of  himself.  his  pacing  slowed,  gaze  cutting  to  leon.  “they  have  to  be  holding  more  than  that—something  worse.  otherwise  it  doesn’t  make  sense.”  a  pause,  the  weight  of  it  heavy  in  the  air.  “we  need  to  get  to  her.  you  spoken  to  her?  is  she  answering  your  calls?”