WHAT: Leon makes another attempt at winning James back, gets Julia instead WHERE: James' house WHEN: Monday, September 5th WARNINGS: Nah STATUS: Complete
If there was one thing that everyone who’d ever met Leon would agree on, it was that Leon was stubborn. Stubborn, and possibly a little thick-headed (was that two things, or did they go hand-in-hand?).
Which meant that Leon wasn’t going to let a little thing like breaking up stop him from winning James over.
The fact of the matter was that Leon loved James, and James loved Leon, and even if, as James had said, sometimes love wasn’t enough, it was enough in this case. With Yelena moving out, it meant they didn’t even have to go house-hunting anymore, and their arguments didn’t count. Or something. Probably, at least. They could work it out.
Or they could if James would just talk to him.
He’d tried calling, he’d tried texting. Admittedly, that was mostly when he was deep in his cups, but he’d texted photos or memes or funny jokes that made him think of James throughout the days too, to no avail. He’d shown up on James’ doorstop a couple days after they’d broken up, when he found Yelena had moved out, only to be turned away by Julia at the door, which he guessed was fair, since they’d only just broken up. He’d shown up a week later, but either no one was home or James was very good at pretending he wasn’t home.
He was half-tempted to show up at James’ work with lunch someday, except even Leon knew that was probably crossing a line. It had been one thing to show up at James’ work as a surprise when they were dating – it was cute, spontaneous, and romantic – but it was different if James had dumped him.
But it had been more than a month since they’d broken up, and Leon thought that was enough time for hurt feelings to abate and tempers to cool, and he was sure they could just talk things out, without all the pressure of finding a house, and everything would be fine.
Which is why he quashed any misgivings he might have had, pushed them deep, deep down his his gut, texted James to let him know he was coming over, got himself dressed up in a suit that he knew was James-nip, made sure his hair was sitting right, picked up a bouquet of roses and some chocolate-covered strawberries, and headed over.
Things were going to be fine.
Julia had known before the official breakup that things weren’t at their best for Leon and James.
House hunting was a bitch, she’d told her brother that over and over. It was a test on a relationship that had gone through some troubles; when your early days with your boyfriend consisted of him being mind-controlled by your former coven and shooting you, there was a good chance it wasn’t meant to last. As far as she was concerned, Leon-and-James had always come with a big old expiration date stamped on them – the exact date was just a question mark for a while.
That wasn’t to say she hadn’t come around on Leon. She liked him fine, and she knew he had tried his hardest. She didn’t think he was a bad guy, just a little dumb and terrible at communicating. For someone like James, who literally made his living helping people communicate, both with themselves and with each other, it was a big source of frustration even before the petty disagreements started trickling in.
So, when the expiration date had come – followed shortly by James’ Outlander roommate, Yelena, moving out – Julia had moved right back in. She knew her brother. She knew, even if he was completely sure he’d made the right call and done what had to be done, he needed support. And, well, on the more selfish end of the spectrum, she wasn’t great at being alone. So, this arrangement seemed to work out for both of them.
It was especially useful when Leon decided to swing by just a few days after the official end. She knew James would have come out to talk to him himself, but she had strong-armed her way past her big brother and stepped in on his behalf. James really did love Leon – that wasn’t what was lacking in this relationship – and while Julia knew he was strong enough to hold his ground, she didn’t think he should have to. She’d gone out there instead to turn Leon away, tell him as gently as she could muster (which was still kind of rough at best) that he needed to leave and accept what James had told him.
He hadn’t gone quietly, but he’d gone when she stood firm. She’d even threatened to put up ‘anti-Leon wards’ if he came by again (which she hadn’t but she’d considered it).
Of course that hadn’t stopped him. She’d scared him off a couple of times, but for the most part, she tried not to feed into it. She hoped beyond hope that a dark house and lack of responses meant he’d get the hint and move on, but she knew how stubborn he was. Luckily, she wasn’t afraid to out-stubborn him.
She had the night off work this particular evening and had taken over the couch with a bowl of cheesy popcorn to watch a movie with Cheeto by her side. James was back in his study; he had a whole stack of books set up behind his armchair and seemed content, so she’d left him to his bliss for the evening. She was a little surprised by the knock on the door, but when she paused the movie and went to peer out the window to see who was there, all she could do was sigh.
Opening the door, she stepped right outside and closed it neatly immediately behind her. She shook her head, arms crossed over her chest, and gave Leon an exasperated look.
“Leon, seriously.”
Leon stiffened when Julia, not James, came to the door, but he set his jaw and unconsciously widened his stance a little, as if he was ready for a fight. He didn’t think they’d come to blows – he’d be pretty fucking surprised if they did – but a contest of wills was still a contest.
“Come on, Jules. I just want to talk with him, that’s all,” he said. His hand tightened a little around the flower stems. “I know that we can work this out. You gotta let me try.”
Julia really did feel bad for Leon, in a certain way. He was so desperate to make something work that didn’t really work, and she could sympathize with that. It wasn’t going to happen, and she suspected deep down that Leon knew that, but she had to give it to him for his tenacity.
“He told you it was over, man,” she pointed out. “Have you heard from him since then?”
“Well, no,” Leon said. James had certainly heard from him, but he hadn’t heard anything back since the first time Leon had drunk texted him, and all that text had said was Leon, go to bed.
“But I know… If he’d only just talk to me then I know we could work this out.” His shoulders drooped. “He’s the best thing to have happened to me in a long time, Julia.”
Julia sighed, uncrossing her arms and letting her hands settle on her hips instead. “You know what? He might have been,” she agreed. She was trying to remain impartial because obviously her brother was the best thing to happen to anyone he deigned to date, but saying something like that wasn’t going to help Leon here. “But that doesn’t mean it has to be forever. You guys had a good thing going for a while, but sometimes relationships run the course they’re supposed to and that’s just…it.”
Leon had never been one to just let something run its course. He’d let himself fall out of touch with Harry when Harry had moved, and he was still convinced that if he hadn’t, if he’d stayed in touch with Harry, had been there when he was needed, then Harry would still be alive. When D had left him, Leon had tried going on with his life, but in the end he couldn’t. He’d packed it all up – he’d quit his job, sold his belongings, and had spent the next ten years chasing D all over the world.
And James had been the reason he’d stopped. And if it took ten years for him to win James back –
He jerked, frowned. Did he want to spend the next ten years chasing someone else?
“But maybe it’s not supposed to have run its course yet,” Leon said, a last ditch effort.
Julia was truly trying to be gentle here, flashing him a smile that was small but understanding, maybe even encouraging. She’d gotten to know Leon well enough over his time with James to know what he was like, and she didn’t expect any of this to be easy. Her brother must have been rubbing off on her, making her want to help this big, grumpy dumbass.
“I think it has. If one half’s out, there’s nothing you can do about that. He told you he thinks the differences are too much, and since he’s not willing to put in the work, then that’s the end. And he broke up with you, Leon. It isn’t up to you to chase him.”
Leon’s shoulders slumped, because of course Julia had to sound entirely fucking reasonable. He could fight all he wanted, but if James didn’t...
He felt, suddenly, like the world’s biggest asshole, standing here on his ex’s doorstop dressed in his best suit and carrying flowers and chocolate-covered strawberries for someone who didn’t want anything to do with him.
“Will you at least give these to him?” he asked, holding out his gifts. “Tell him to call me?”
“Yeah,” Julia agreed, reaching out to accept the flowers and strawberries. “I’ll let him know.”
It was a sweet gesture. She knew it wasn’t just complete stubbornness that had spurred this kind of action: Leon had a good heart. He really loved James, and she felt for him that it hadn’t worked out. But it was for the best, for both of them. She really believed that.
“See you around, alright? Take care of yourself, Leon.”
As Julia headed back inside, Leon headed back to his car, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He didn’t drive away as soon as he slid behind the wheel. He needed a moment, a few moments, to just rest his forehead on his steering-wheel.
And maybe some part of him thought that when Julia told James he’d been there, gave him the flowers and the strawberries, that James would come running out to catch him. Would tell him he was sorry, and he was wrong, and that obviously they were meant for each other, please come in.
Because when the door remained firmly closed, when James didn’t come running out after him, not after a minute, not after five, Leon finally felt it.