#lovelake

A dream. It had only been a dream.

Leo’s brow scrunched as he thought. Bee liked him, didn’t she? Perhaps he had been silly, thinking that trip to get her a broom had been a date in the beginning…but what else could it have been? And she had never pulled away from his closeness before. Never recoiled from their cuddles. Never told him he was too much.

He dragged a hand down his face, trying to shake off the lingering sting of words that had never truly been hers.

“Are you alright?” Her soft voice called him from his thoughts.

“I….” The words stuck in his throat. Fine was what he was about to say. But he was far from it at present.

Bee’s gaze softened as her fingers found their way into his hair again, the gentle scrape of her nails easing some of the ache the nightmare had left behind.

Leo let out a breath that trembled on the way out.

Bee noticed. Her fingers slowed in his hair, gentling rather than stopping, as though she feared that if she moved too quickly she might startle him further. That was like her, careful with everything she held dear. Even now, with him half-sprawled across her lap, she handled him as if he were something fragile.

“Leo?” she asked again, quieter this time.

He swallowed. He could usually make anything sound light, effortless, charming. He could grin through embarrassment, laugh off bruised pride, smooth over awkwardness with something clever and bright.

But Bee’s hand was in his hair, and the remnants of the dream still clung to him like spider silk, sticky and hard to ignore.

“I had a bad dream,” he admitted at last, voice rougher than he liked.

Her brows pulled together a little more. “Oh.”

It was such a small sound, soft and full of concern, that it made something in his chest ache.

He stared up at the little painted stars overhead rather than at her. “It was stupid.”

Bee shifted beneath him, the movement careful. “Nightmares usually feel real while they’re happening.”

That pulled the faintest, chuckle from him. “That obvious?”

“A little.” Her mouth twitched, shyly, but the concern stayed in her eyes. “You looked scared when you woke.”

Leonard closed his eyes. He hated that part most. Not the fear itself, but being seen in it. He was meant to be the easy one, the confident one, the one who leaned back with a grin and made everything look simple. And he could manage it well enough. Usually.

But Bee’s fingers resumed their slow path through his hair, nails lightly grazing his scalp, and the comfort of it pried at the words lodged inside him.

“In the dream,” he said carefully, “we were happy. Everything was good. And then suddenly…” He broke off, jaw tightening. “You changed.”

Bee went very still.

Leonard rushed on before he could lose his nerve. “You said I was too much. That I was clingy. That I…I made things strange by always wanting to be close to you.” His laugh this time was thin and humorless. “Which sounds ridiculous now that I say it aloud, but it didn’t feel ridiculous in the dream.”

The silence that followed was soft. Bee was never sharp, and even then it came out more in fidgeting hands and bitten lips than harshness.

He finally glanced up.

Her expression was stricken in a quiet way, as though the very thought of having hurt him made her heart twist. “Leo,” she mumbled, fragile and wounded. “I would never say that to you.”

He knew that. Didn’t he? He did. He must have.

Yet the dream had found the crack anyway, the small ugly place where doubt lived. The part of him that smiled too easily and talked too smoothly because if he kept shining brightly enough, perhaps no one would notice how badly he wanted to be wanted back.

“I know,” he said, though it came out small.

Bee looked down at him for a moment, thinking. She always thought before she spoke, especially when she was nervous. Her free hand twisted in the fabric of her skirt, thumb rubbing anxiously at a fold.

Then, timidly, she asked, “Can I tell you something?”

Leo nodded.

“I like when you’re close to me.” The words were quiet, but they carried startling weight.

Bee ducked her head the tiniest bit after saying them, as if embarrassed by her own honesty. Still, her fingers never left his hair. “I know I’m not always good at saying things. And sometimes I get shy, and sometimes I fidget, and sometimes I probably look like I don’t know what to do with myself…” Her cheeks warmed, but she kept going. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you there.”

Leonard just looked at her.

She took a breath. “I like when we cuddle. I like when you lean on me. I like when you reach for my hand without thinking.” Her lashes lowered briefly.

He stared at her for another second, then covered his eyes with one hand in mortification. “Merlin. I am actually letting a dream ruin my life.”

That pulled a giggle from her, the sound so soft.

“It isn’t ruining your life,” she murmured.

“Felt like it for a minute.”

Bee’s hand slipped from his hair to his temple, as if to sooth him. “It was only a dream, Leo.”

He lowered his hand enough to peek at her. “You promise?”

Her expression turned earnest in an instant. “I promise.” Her easy confession soothed him so completely.

Leo exhaled, some of the tension finally leaving him. Without thinking, he reached up and caught a loose end of her hair where it had fallen forward over her shoulder. He wound the strand lightly around his fingers, then let it slip free, only to do it again.

Bee noticed, of course. Her eyes flicked down, then back to him, and some of the worry in them softened into something warmer.

“That helps?” she asked.

“A bit,” he admitted.

Her lips curved. “Good.”

He played with the end of her hair again, slower this time, savoring its softness between his fingers. Bee’s hand returned to his hair in turn, and soon they were both doing it at once, her gently combing through his blonde strands, him absently twining hers, until the quiet of the room settled around them.

Leo looked up at her again, more clearheaded now, though still a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

Bee blinked. “For what?”

“For being ridiculous.”

Her brows knitted together. “You aren’t ridiculous.”

He gave her a look. “Bee.”

“No,” she chimed firmer now, though still gentle. “You had a nightmare and it upset you. That doesn’t make you ridiculous.” Her fingers slowed, brushing soothingly through his hair. “It just means you were hurt.”

That undid him a little more than he wanted to admit.

Because that was it, really. Not just fear. Hurt. The dream had taken something precious and turned it cruel, and some foolish part of him had believed it because insecurities were greedy things. They only needed the smallest opening.

He turned his face slightly into her lap, no longer bothering to hide the need for comfort.

Bee’s hand paused for only a heartbeat before settling more fully against his head, cradling rather than soothing. The gesture was tentative at first, then surer when he didn’t pull away.

“You’re not too much,” she said softly.

Leo’s throat tightened.

“You aren’t clingy.” Her thumb brushed lightly near his temple. “And you don’t make things strange.”

He shut his eyes again.

Bee swallowed, clearly nervous now that she was saying so much at once, but she pressed on with shy determination. “I like that you care so openly. I think it’s… nice.” Her cheeks pinked a little at the word. “I like that you make it easy to know where I stand with you.”

His fingers curled around the end of her hair.

“And,” she added after a tiny hesitation, “I hope I make you feel wanted too.”

Leo opened his eyes.

Bee was looking down at him with so much vulnerability, fidgeting slightly with the fabric near her knee while her other hand remained steady in his hair.

He sat with that for a moment, chest full. Then he said, very quietly, “You do.”

Bee smiled down at him, still a little bashful, and kept combing her fingers through his hair. “You can go back to sleep if you want.”

He arched his brow. “Really?”

“If you’d like.” Her voice grew small with self-consciousness. “You seemed comfortable.”

Comfortable was an understatement. With his head in her lap, her hand in his hair, and the nightmare finally fading into something distant and foolish, Leo felt safer than he had any right to.

So instead of making a joke, he simply nodded and let his eyes drift half-shut again.

After a moment, he murmured, “Bee?”

“Yes?”

His fingers gave the end of her hair a gentle, absent twist. “Thank you.”

Her hand slowed, then smoothed tenderly over his hair once more. “Always.”

Avieeeee hiii my beloved valentine!!!!🥹🥰 I promise I’ll answer that last valentines ask soon🙈 in the meantime- Bee would NOT do well😂 she’s in no way prepared to survive something like that, as her idea of ‘intense activity’ is literally just flying a broom😅 I’m sad to say she’d probably die or get infected pretty quickly is she didn’t have company😔

3. @syrooo

SYROOOOO OMG THANK YOU SO SO MUCH😭🙏 they’re SOOO CUTE AGHHHH😆🥹🥰😍 “not extravagent”?? IDC THEYRE ADORABLE!!!! Thank you SO SO much for this it made me soooo happy to see both of my girls drawn in your endearing style!!!😍🥰💕💗

4. @willowwhisk

WILLOOWW!!!!🥹 I saw this in its post already and reacted to it🥰 I love it sm!!!💖 I made you a little soemthing in return🫶

5. @karajluce

HIIII Carel!!!!💕 also such a joy to see you in my inbox🥰 That’s a great question!!! Hmm…I don’t know about sundaes specifically😅 but as far as ice cream flavors go, I’d say cotton candy!! Why? It’s sweet and cute like her! <3 (also I love cotton candy ice cream so there’s that too😋)

6. @willowwhisk

Hi ‘anon’🤭To answer your question- YES!! That seems very accurate🥰 what a sweet, adorable cinnamon roll pairing they’d be too🥹🙏💕

7. @amethystandemma

Emma hiiiii!!!! <3 always such a treat to see you in my inbox🥰

Jocie loves hanging out in the library for reading, the quidditch pitch for flying, Hogsmeade for some fun time with friends, the transfiguration courtyard for chatting, and those corners in the halls for makeout sessions😘 she also likes whenever her Beloved frequents🥰 for example, @amus-2110’s Orpheus; she’d be spending a lot more time in the owlery to see him💕

Good question!! <3 I’ll stick to canon characters since she’s got a lot of oc friends lol🤭 Garreth is her cousin, so they’re obviously besties!! She’s also pretty close with Natty and Amit! She mostly knows Sebastian through her obsessive crush on Ominis😂 but those two are friends too✌️there’s also the many many manyyyyy people she’s dated/had flings with😂

Without a doubt, Professor Ronen; charms is also her favorite class!!💖

Garreth lol🤭 he is her cousin, and those two have been very close since childhood❤️

8. @lyra-prag

Bee: Leo!!!🥹 you found her!!💕 oh my goodness, thank you so much, I’ve been looking for her everywhere! My hero🥰