WHAT: Leon goes to pick up Chris after Revy fails to appear back in Vallo WHERE: Darla WHEN: April 4th, a couple days after Wild Vallo WARNINGS: Just depressed, references to drinking STATUS: Complete
Leon had showered before he left the apartment, so at least he didn’t still smell like rum. But that was about the best that could be said for his appearance. He looked like he hadn’t slept in nearly two days. Looked like he’d spent most of those two days drinking – which he had. He hadn’t shaved, either, and the two days of stubble on his face was obvious. More obvious than it had ever been. Leon had always made sure to shave every single day, regardless of his mood or whether or not he was ill or hungover. His father had taught him that no matter what was happening, there was always five minutes in your day to shave – or, if Leon ever chose to grow facial hair, to maintain whatever hair he grew – or else you would broadcast to the entire world that shit wasn’t okay.
Leon had taken that advice to heart. And so, no matter what, whether he was focusing on a case that took up all his time or energy, or whether he was hungover, or whether he was just feeling like shit for any other reason, he always took five minutes out of the beginning of his day to do so.
It was hard to remember the point of it now though. Hard to remember the point of much of anything, except for the fact that his little brother was here in Vallo and needed him. He had thought… well. He’d thought a lot of things, about a lot of people, and had been wrong every time.
“Hey, Adora,” he said flatly, when she let him into Darla. “Sorry that it… took longer than I expected,” Leon said. He’d only meant for them to watch Chris for one night, not two. But when Revy hadn’t come home that first night, he thought, well, maybe she’d come back the next, and had sat there with the beer and the bottle of rum that he’d picked up for their reunion, and then the bottles that he purchased to replace the first one. “How was Chris?”
Adora felt bad for Leon; really, she did. She had cared about Revy, too, despite their rocky start, and she knew losing her would eventually hit Leon hard. The problem was that he refused to let it sink in. It hadn’t been long at all between Revy making the disappearance list and a portal sucking a bunch of people out of their Vallo without a disappearance list following. Somehow, it had given Leon this false hope that Revy was still out there, still reachable, and he hadn’t let up since.
Now, it looked like it had hit him. He had been so sure that finding Revy in this last round of portal madness would bring her back, and gods, Adora had hoped it would for Leon’s sake. She didn’t want him to end up miserable. She knew how much Revy meant to him, and she could only imagine how much he hurt now that she hadn’t followed him through the portal like he’d been so sure she would.
“Hi,” she said, wrapping her arm around his back and squeezing him in a one-armed hug. “Chris was good. He loves hanging out here.” She didn’t tell him she thought Chris was a little disappointed Leon had dropped him off with someone else so quickly after being gone an entire week; they didn’t mind taking him in for sleepovers, and Leon was feeling bad enough as it was. “You want a Gatorade?”
It took Leon a moment to register that he was, in fact, being hugged, and while he returned it, it was with much less enthusiasm than he might normally have done.
“Yeah, he’s a big fan of the zoo,” Leon agreed. He wasn’t entirely sure how Catra and Adora managed it all, especially with a toddler.
He hesitated at the offer. “I should probably just get Chris and go,” he said after a moment’s consideration. He knew he wasn’t good company right now. If he could manage it without guilt, he probably would have let Chris stay a couple more days. But Adora had been right when he’d initially asked them: Catra had been gone for a week as well, and she and Adora deserved some alone time with their family. And Chris… Well, he’d been gone too long without Chris and he missed his little brother, and even if Chris would probably be better off with literally anyone else right now, Leon wanted to see him. If only to make sure he was still here.
“Well, you can take a Gatorade to go,” Adora insisted. She ushered him into the living room where Chris was, in fact, amongst their zoo animals. The cubs had gotten spoiled lounging around in the cool air Darla provided. They were mostly still outdoor menaces but spent plenty of time here acting like lazy housecats. Cheddar specifically was lolling around on the floor with his head in Chris’s lap.
“Hey, buddy, your brother’s here,” Adora announced, leaving them to say hello while she stepped into the kitchen.
There had been a year when the trauma of learning he’d been adopted, and that his mother had died during childbirth had caused Chris to go mute. Even now, when Chris was sad or upset, he rarely spoke. And so he didn’t offer Leon a greeting when he saw his older brother, but Leon opened his arms and Chris slipped out from under Cheddar’s head and ran at him.
Leon caught him up on his arms, squeezing tight and, with a grunt of effort, lifted him. Chris really was too big to still be carried, but Chris didn’t seem to mind. He just wrapped his arms around Leon’s neck and rested his head on his shoulder.
After a couple quiet moments, he asked, “She didn’t come?” and Leon shook his head, and answered, “No buddy, she didn’t come.”
“Are you going after her again?” Chris asked. Leon couldn’t tell from his tone whether Chris hoped he would or wouldn’t.
“I don’t know,” Leon said, and swallowed. “I think we might have missed our shot.”
After all, it sounded like if they hadn’t already fixed the animal that had been causing the portals, then they would soon. He didn’t think there’d be any more chances to go to other portal worlds to find her.
Adora re-emerged with two bottles of Gatorade for each of the Orcot boys. She really did hate how sad they both looked. Revy had been important to Chris, too, and knowing that they both had lost her sucked. But after this, it was hard to hold on to even the smallest hope that she was coming back. This would have been the moment, and it hadn’t happened.
“You both still have a lot of people here who love you,” she pointed out, “including Kate and Yelena. They called last night to check in on Chris.”
Leon gave Chris another squeeze, and Chris returned it before he set the boy back on the floor. “Yeah, I know,” he said, subdued; none of them had his name, misspelt and blown out, tattooed on their arms.
He rested his hand on Chris’ shoulder as he took one of the bottles of Gatorade; Chris took the other.
“Thanks, Adora.” He wasn’t thanking her for the Gatorade. “And thanks for watching him. He was good, right?”
Adora had been more than ready to pack the Gatorade up for the boys’ trek home, but she was glad when they took it—especially Leon. She knew how he coped. She knew he’d likely been drinking to get through whatever he was feeling, so hydration was necessary. And even if she was wrong, it was good to be hydrated anyway.
“Of course he was good, as usual.” Adora smiled and leaned down to hug Chris. “You’re welcome here anytime, buddy. Thanks for keeping the cubs company.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Leon said, smiling tightly.
“Thanks for having me, Auntie Adora,” Chris said, stepping forward to give Adora a hug.
“Yeah, thanks,” Leon agreed. “We should probably take off.”
Adora hugged Chris back, slinging her arm around him and rubbing his back. She knew he’d missed Leon and was glad they’d been reunited. She wished there was more she could do for Leon, especially knowing what that look on his face meant, but this was something he was going to have to grapple with himself.
“Clawdeen will walk you to the Waypoint,” she offered as the cotton candy pink lioness approached. She gave her mane a few affectionate rubs. “It’s getting dark, and it would make me feel better.”
Leon looked at the lioness, who, to Leon’s eyes, looked like a buxom woman with curly, pink hair, and sighed. He felt the initial urge to tell Adora that he and Chris would be fine walking the few yards to the Waypoint and that they didn’t need an escort. But it was hard to muster up the energy to bother.
“Alright,” he said. “See you at work, Adora.”
He took Chris’ hand when Chris reached for his and, trailing after Clawdeen, headed off the ship.