#leonilesweek2017

Leo rolled his eyes. “You’re the one taking it weird. Whatever, are you ready to go?” He couldn’t hide the small blush on his cheeks, which only made Niles grin more.

“I’m ready when you are, Milord.”

Leo handed Niles a tome- a simple one, even though Niles was pretty sure it would tie his tongue in a knot if he tried to pronounce the name. “This one is simple. Just read the incantation and focus on the magic in your hand. Then cast it out.”

“I suspect others have different methods, then?”

“Yes. Since you did read the scrolls I gave you, you should be ready for this one.” Leo seemed a hint annoyed, but Niles nodded. “You know I treasure any gift from you.”

Now Leo blushed again, as if he wasn’t expecting such an answer.

Niles chose not to comment, instead attempting to cast the spell as Leo had asked. Though he tripped over his words a time or two, he finally managed to cast it properly, a chill spreading over the room as ice and snow caked the training dummy that Leo had set out. Its arm fell off unceremoniously.

Niles looked at Leo with an expression not unlike a puppy expecting a treat, and Leo merely looked at the dummy in shock.

“You did it.” Leo said dumbly, mouth agape at what his retainer-turned-apprentice had managed.

“I did?” If Niles had a tail, it would be wagging at a mile a minute. Or, perhaps the cat-like outlaw would be purring- who knows, the point is is that he was happy.

“You did. And with only a couple tries at the incantation, too.” He was still dumbfounded- typically it took budding mages a few tries to master Fimbulvetr. Yet Niles had only needed one real attempt.

“Shower me with praise, Milord.” Niles puffed up proudly, only to deflate sheepishly when Leo placed a small kiss on his cheek.

It was Christmas Eve, and looking up at the stars through his window, poor lonely Leo had open his station for softcore porn: tumblr dot com. But there was luck for him tonight. His favorite blog had updated.

The blogger who called himself Zero had updated. Sexy Santa photos graced his dashboard. Leo was unsure how he felt about the stubble gracing the incredibly attractive man’s face, but he certainly appreciated the open Santa jacket displaying the toned muscles of his chest and stomach.

Leo went to click the reblog button, but upon the many other notes on the photos from other lonely and thirsty bloggers that night, Leo decided it was time to be Hip and do a meme.

As he clicked reblog, he added the comment:

“ If This Guy👦🙏 AINT Under My Tree🚷🌲On Christmas Morning🍆👌IM GON B PISSED🐸🍷Santa🎅👋Dont Come If U AINT Bringing Him 😏💦💯.”

Then, he settled down to go to bed with his phone. The photos open to... Admire, of course.

He fell asleep sooner or later. But when the clock hit past midnight, he awoke. A noise? Or perhaps his body had become attuned to his need to hydrate in order to keep his complexion bright and clear. He rose from his bed and trudged off to go get a glass of water.

But upon reaching the hallway, he stopped in his tracks.

There was a man standing there, dressed as Santa? A sack and all?

Leo narrowed his eyes. Sure, it was dark. But even from behind the man’s stature did not match Xander’s, nor his father’s-- Not that Garon would ever do such a thing.

Now Leo, bright as he was, did not have what one would call street smarts. There was a stranger in his house in the middle of the night. He did not stop to consider that this man may be armed and dangerous.

“Excuse me,” Leo spoke.

The figure turned around with a quiet, “Fuck.”

Then, Leo felt as if he was dreaming. There, in the same very sexy Santa outfit, stood the blogger named Zero.

And Leo was speechless.

“Well, I’ll be, leaving now,” Zero said, edging toward the window, hoisting up his bag. That Santa outfit… perhaps the thief had figured that no neighbors would be suspicious of someone playing Santa on Christmas. A parent playing for the children, perhaps.

“If you leave with that, I’m calling the police,” Leo told him. Really, he should call the police, but? Maybe he was a little more than thirsty for hydration.

That was when Elise came trudging from her room, rubbing her eyes with the sleeves of her night dress. She looked at Zero, then at Leo, and whined in sleepiness, “Leo, who’s this?”

“...This is my friend.”

“Who?”

“Uh.”

“Niles,” his now-guest replied.

“Niles. He’s visiting,” Leo tried to rectify. Deep down, despite the precarious situation, he was a tad warmed up. This hot man he had... Admired, many a time, just, here. And now he knew his real name. He felt special.

“For Christmas!?” Elise brightened up, “Yay! Guests!”

Niles’ eye widened, and he looked to Leo, “Uh, yeah.”

Elise looked at the bag Niles was carrying, “Okay, but put your presents under the tree in the morning. You’ll scare away Santa if you go down there now.” The bag was clearly not presents. Elise, however, did not connect that Niles had been robbing them. He was Leo’s friend after all.

“Elise, you’re sixteen,” Leo said, exasperated.

“And that’s why Santa doesn’t bring you presents,” she shot back, then blew a raspberry, and returned to her room in a huff.

Leo looked back at Niles, “Put all of that back and you can stay for Christmas.” The man probably needed it if he was robbing their house?

“Uh. Yeah, sure.”

Niles had always held the belief that the blood running through Leo’s veins must be so vastly different from his own. It had to come from simple breeding, right? Niles had seen his own blood spill hundreds of times and there's no way he can imagine something so dark and thick and red pulsing underneath Leo’s skin. The blood of royals had to be something magical - why else would they obsess over marrying nobles to nobles?

Niles knew from the beginning that there would come a time when Leo had to marry. Even as the second prince, it was important for him to find a good wife that could give him strong children. Did royal blood breed strong heirs, was that it? Was that the reason for the social binds that kept him separated from Leo? It was all worthless to Niles who in the eyes of nobles might as well have blood that’s made out of mud.

What happened to that fairytale romance little kids dreamed of at night? Did the rich and powerful not have that? Yet, if the poor gutter trash like him never dreamt of it either, who did?

Niles stared up at the stars littering the sky above the castle. They seemed dull tonight, not quite the vibrant specks of light they usually were. The cold distant comfort they typically provided him was nowhere to be found. He couldn’t quite blame them; if Niles had a choice he would be as far away from this castle as possible by now. Anything to get away from the festive cheer and jubilation as the second prince of Nohr celebrates his new wife and marriage.

Niles watched the sky closely. Perhaps he could find a star falling from the black canvas, something he could pin a small wish to. Niles was not inherently a hopeful person; years of living on the streets scrambling for survival taught him that there was no place in the world for naive eyes and idyllic dreams. Still, perhaps tonight he would allow himself just one moment. One chance to act on a childish behavior. Niles trailed his eyes across the sky until he landed on the North Star. He supposed a permanent star was just as likely to grant his wish as one falling to the ground.

Impossible either way.

I wish…

“Niles? Are you out here?”

Niles felt just the tiniest flicker of surprise run through him, before he turned to face Leo walking his way. His lord looked finer than ever tonight, his clothes made of the best of cloth and tailored to perfection. A true royal decked in clothes meant for that kind of status.

It just looked stiff and uncomfortable to Niles. Although the ever constant to Leo was the headband perched perfectly in his hair. It looked just as ridiculous now as it did when Niles first met Leo; being caught and on his knees, resigned to his inevitable death. Death instead of warm hands, soft and uncalloused and not yet truly burdened. Death instead of a position, a reason to live, to do more than survive-

“There you are, I was wondering where you had run off to.” Leo folded his arms, giving Niles an appraising look. “Hiding from me?”

“Of course not milord,” Niles said, keeping his face calm and casual. Always quick with a mask. “Simply searching for some fresh air.”

“I suppose I can’t blame you, it really is quite stuffy in there.” Leo pulled at the collar of his shirt. “... And these clothes don’t help much.”

Niles smirked. “Care for me to help you out of them~?”

Leo shot him a disgruntled look. “Something tells me my wife won’t appreciate that.”

“She can help too,” Niles said, smile still as light and airy as before. Thorns felt like they were jabbing into him at the mere mention of his lord’s new bride. Sometimes Niles wondered if Leo kept an invisible vine coiled around him or if the pain he felt truly was all his imagination. “I don’t mind the company.”

“That’s enough, Niles,” Leo huffed. “Are you planning on staying out here for the rest of the night?”

And return to watch you give fake smiles with your noble blooded wife? Niles shook his head. “You know I’m not a fan of these things, milord.”

A faint smile ghosted Leo’s lips. “Can’t leave your secluded demeanor even for my wedding night?”

“I doubt anyone misses me much. You know how nobles are - all uptight and affronted when someone like me even looks their way.”

Leo sighed. “Yes, even after so many years of serving me some nobles are still… hesitant to trust you. Not like you do a good job of making a positive name for yourself.”

Niles barked out a laugh. He wondered in the back of his mind if Leo paid enough attention to him to know when his laughs were fake. “We both know that acting as if I’m on the same level as you milord wouldn’t breed anything good.”

“You don’t have to act like you’re royalty to know when to hold your tongue.”

“But milord, my tongue is one of my best weapons. Care for an example on what it can do~?” A part of Niles was arguing with him to reel himself back in but it was too late in the evening and there was too many glasses of wine in Niles to keep a real filter.

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, Niles. I don’t need to start rumors already when I haven’t been married for a full day.”

“Well the marriage isn’t fully in effect until you bed her, right?” Stop talking. “There’s still time for you to change your mind.” Stop talking right now. “Why, we could run away together milord. Surely there will be romances written about us.” You’re an idiot. Do you think he thinks you're genuine?

Leo was silent for a moment, before letting out a real honest laugh. “I can’t imagine something that would aggravate the court more. However, while roaming the countryside with you as fugitives sounds far more entertaining I’m not going to leave my wife.”

Niles fought to keep his face neutral. “Do you even care about her, milord? Surely you’d rather be with… someone you’re actually interested in.”

“Don’t we all. However, marrying her is good for Nohr as a whole. I don’t have time to waste my marriage on frivilosity.”

“And yet you nobles act like I’m the one with a cold heart.”

“It’s just politics,” Leo said. “Comes with being well-off and in power.”

“The silver spoon has a lining of dirt, I see.” Niles held back a sigh. He felt rejected even if his proposal wasn’t taken seriously. Somehow, that made it even worse.

A short silence fell between them. Niles wondered if it was heavy for Leo too or if his lord was unbothered by it all. Niles had hoped that the ache in his chest that had become a familiarity to him over the years would disappear once Leo had announced his engagement. Once he got the final confirmation that his ridiculous thoughts and wishes were impossible to happen he would go back to normal. Go back to before he realized that his servitude and feelings for his lord went far past platonic. Not even seeing the two get married was enough for him to quit it however, because even staring at Leo, dimly lit in the night, tugged at Niles’ heartstrings like he was an ignorant child.

“Hm, I must be getting back inside or people might start to look for me,” Leo said.

“Last chance for you to run away with me,” Niles joked. “Free yourself from such harsh tyranny.”

Leo let out a short chuckle as he turned to leave. “If only I could Niles, you would be first on my list to run off with. Are you coming with me or staying out here?”

Niles wished he would stop pinning his hopes onto sentences thinly veiled as jokes. He shouldn’t feel such a sting over this. Why was Leo able to craft such magic to keep Niles ensnared like this? “I’ll be back in a bit. Go ahead without me, milord.”

Leo nodded and left him alone, heading back into the castle. Niles watched his retreating form for a few moments before turning to stare up at the night sky once more. His gaze fell back onto the North Star. Various naive, impossible wishes flitted through his mind but one kept coming back to him.

I wish I could be reborn to have royal blood like yours.

Niles had always known life to be cruel and unjust, and he supposed it was his fault for ever thinking that would change.

A/N: Hey, if you liked this fic and want something written personally just for you, why don’t you check out my commission info?