Fantasy chαsıng αfter tıme.

[gouache]

“Leon?” Shmuel quietly exclaimed, poking his head out from the hallway door frame, unsure of exactly who was standing in the kitchen. “Yes?” Leon responded with a rough and flat tone, obvious it was Leon by his voice alone. “Did we wake you up?” Shmuel wearily asked before stepping mindfully into the living room with his daughter, Ariel, in his arms. “No.” Leon rested his back against the kitchen counter in his old pajamas, an oversized long sleeved shirt, and boxers. “Jean’s cold feet woke me up.” Leon muttered, unamused at how many times this has happened already. It was six in the morning now, the sun had just begun to rise, casting an orange glow throughout the room from the small openings in the curtains. Shmuel softly laughed before he anxiously poked around in the kitchen. Leon set his mug of green tea onto the counter and stepped out of Shmuel’s way so he wouldn’t be a bother.

Leon had heard the baby wake up with a start earlier this morning while digging around in the kitchen cabinets for tea, and eventually found a dusty packet of green tea tucked deeply away in a drawer. Leon was very sneaky and talented at being noiseless, so he was sure he wasn’t to be blamed for waking the baby.

“Sorry about this..” Shmuel sighed heavily, eagerly rustingly through the cabinets in search of something while he held his daughter. Leon wondered why Daemen wasn’t awake to help him, seeing as Shmuel was struggling so much alone. “I’ll hold her.” Leon nervously said, unsure if he was capable of holding a baby again, but he couldn’t idly stand by and watch. Shmuel didn’t respond to him from being too distracted, but after seeing Shmuel drop a tin onto the floor, Leon swiftly took the baby from his arms. Shmuel stood in shock, staring at Leon delicately adjusting the fussy Ariel in his arms. “Are you sure?” Shmuel asked, having kept in mind that Leon had been avoiding interacting with Ariel since he arrived here. Shmuel knew very little about Leon’s past, but he was aware he used to have children, and it was possibly traumatic to be close to the baby again.

Leon just nodded his head, his eyes deeply fixated on the baby, it was the first time he got the chance to really look at her. She was warm and pink, and managed to barely fit in one of his arms. Her hair in curly tufts of strawberry blonde on her round head, with these plump and rosey cheeks. He thought Ariel looked angelic, looking similar to a painting of a cherub.

Shmuel quietly observed Leon to see how he was reacting to Ariel, feeling bad that Leon felt he had to step in to help him after avoiding her, but to his surprise Leon looked relaxed and at ease. Leon naturally stepped into the position of a parent again, as if he had never forgotten how to be one after all this time.

“Are you positive?” Shmuel asked with eyes full of concern, not wanting to make Leon feel he had to do something he didn’t want to do. Leon just slowly nodded his head, and without another word, he began to pace around the room. He tenderly patted Ariel to keep her from fussing, while cradling her steadily. Leon intently studied her face, how her eyes would shut in between whimpering, and how long her eyelashes were. He rhythmically moved out from the kitchen to give Shmuel the space he needed, and into the living room.

Ariel looked to be about the same age as his youngest daughter the last time he held her by how small she was in his arms, still smelling new, and clean. Leon slowly took a seat on the cushy sofa before he rested his back onto the couch cushion, and set Ariel close to his chest still in the hook of his arm. He shook his knee slightly to keep the same motion as walking, patting her back softly. She started to give out breathy cries again, so Leon adjusted the collar of her nightgown further away from her face to give her some more air. Leon noticed how she managed to let out these drowsy whines with her eyes still closed. He couldn’t remember the last time he held a brand-new human being so tiny with so much life yet to live.

“I can hold her now..” Shmuel whispered sharply and scooched in beside Leon with a bottle of milk in his hand. Leon instead held out his hand and motioned for Shmuel to hand him the bottle. Shmuel smirked, very set back by how involved Leon suddenly wanted to be compared to the last couple of days. Shmuel wanted to laugh due to how surprised he was, after centuries of knowing Leon- he had never seen this side of him before. Shmuel knew if he were to laugh it would most likely embarrass Leon, and he wouldn’t interact with her again.

Shmuel didn’t feel the need to comment or give advice either, if anything Leon knew much more about babies than he did. Just by watching him for the past few minutes caring for Ariel, was it clear Leon was once a father. Shmuel without hesitation handed the warm bottle into Leon’s large hand, only to hear Leon incoherently thank him. Leon chirped to Ariel like a kitten to get her attention, and gradually nursed the bottle to her lips. Once Shmuel saw his daughter latch onto the bottle, he leaned back into the couch with an exhausted sigh of relief. “She’s cute isn’t she?” Shmuel quietly said with a simper smile on his face, observing his daughter from over Leon’s shoulder. Ariel looked so small in Leon’s arms, like a newborn baby, even though she was a few months old now.

“Mhm..” Leon hummed, lost in how completely enamored he was with her. Shmuel wished Daemen or Jean were here to witness this very new and unfamiliar moment. “Has she been waking up this early?” Leon quietly asked, his eyes still not moving from Ariel. “Well.. she’s hungry at this hour, but most of the time goes back to sleep after she eats.” Shmuel folded his arms across his chest, feeling enough at ease to trust Leon with feeding his daughter to stop watching.

“Is Daemen waking up to help?” Leon inquired in a flat tone of voice as he turned his attention to Shmuel with a stern look in his eyes. “I mean.. yeah.” Shmuel nervously answered, unsure of how Leon would respond if he told him the truth. Leon didn’t respond verbally, but his brows knitting tightly together told him exactly how he felt about it.

Leon looked different since the last time they saw each other. His hair was grown out, no longer neatly swept back, and instead was just brushed to the side. Leon also used to shave his face everyday, but now he was on the scruffier side. Meanwhile, Shmuel looks relatively the same, only getting a trim every once in a while. Leon looked exceptionally tired compared to how he remembered, but it might have just been because he hadn’t shaved his face. Leon looked older, but Shmuel admittedly thought he looked very attractive with facial hair now- he was the epitome of a “strong man”. Shmuel was lost in thought as to why he found Leon exceptionally more attractive while holding his daughter. Shmuel was also a little thankful Daemen and Jean were both still asleep and missing this, considering they both were so ‘talkative’ about Leon.

“Did you sleep okay?” Shmuel piped up to the distracted Leon and unsurprisingly Leon shook his head. “No..” Leon muttered, as he attentively observed the baby to make sure she wasn’t drinking too fast, “Those two are very loud.” Leon sighed heavily, it had only been two days and he was sick of it. Shmuel just softly laughed at Leon’s flat and honest response. “They were up pretty late..” Shmuel remarked with a sigh, “They got a lot of catching up to do..” He shrugged with a heavy sigh, knowing it couldn’t be helped due to the fact that Daemen was so happy to see Jean again. They have always fed off each other's energy and it just made things more chaotic. They had been living a pretty domestic and vanilla lifestyle up until now with their daughter, so something new happening nowadays was rare.

 

[triples]

It was dark. He could see nothing — which was odd, because there was rarely a darkness complete enough to blind even his kind and their sharp sight. If he had more control over his muscles, Jean would have frowned. Unfortunately, the current him was like a weightless puppet, falling down an endless abyss. He had never been someone with much fear, but that very emotion shot through him like lightning. His heart clenched. How long has it been since he had really, genuinely been scared?

As Jean struggled to understand his situation, a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, cold, stone-like. Who? Leon? It shouldn’t be. That giant was never so affectionate. Then again, there were many things happening right this moment that should never be happening.

Décembre, the voice attached to the arms whispered in his ears. If he wasn’t already frozen, Jean would have froze. Or, perhaps, he would have struggled against the hold that suddenly felt like restraints, and ran away from this ghost.

Mon chéri, another voice called. He felt a touch on his face, though the arms maintained as strong a grip on him as ever. Jean wanted to vomit. Could he even vomit? Was that physically possible? He didn’t know. All he knew was that he wanted to be out of here. Was this death? Hell? He couldn’t stand it. He wanted, needed to get away. He-

***​

Jean jerked awake. He could see in this darkness. There was nobody around. He was fine. He swallowed thickly as he sat up properly, running a hand through his recently-cut hair. A nightmare, hm? It’d been a while since he had one. He never had one if he was sleeping with someone else, which he hadn’t done since…

Wait.

Why was he alone?

He glared at the empty space where Leon should have been. That man always complained about him being cold, and maybe he was but at least he wasn’t so damn coldhearted. He heard a vague conversation from outside, which meant that Leon was probably out there with Shmuel or Daemen. Probably Shmuel. There was no way Daemen was already up and running, if the time the neon numbers of the digital clock across the room was accurate.

A quiet sigh left Jean’s lips. He’d continue sleeping but he doubted that would work now. He glanced at the door. Should he go out? He was pretty sure they’d be with that baby Shmuel & Daemen practically adopted — Jean had still yet to be told exactly how that happened — and he was just simply awkward around such…fragile things. Especially since it would be disastrous if he breaks that one.

But… he also didn’t want to be alone now. Jean scoffed at his own thoughts, finding it quite ridiculous. How old was he already, anyway? He should be over and done with sentiments by this point. Still, he got off the bed, messing up his hair yet again as he headed out. He’d only cut his hair short because long hair was one of many complaints Leon had about him, and hadn’t yet gotten used to it. Honestly, the lengths he goes to for one guy and still he’s left alone in the middle of the night. What had that girl called it? A toxic relationship? Maybe it was. Jean was a connoisseur of those at this point — at least, by her definition. At least all Leon does is be a brick wall rather than hurt him.

Talking about brick walls… as the door opened and Jean caught sight of exactly what was going on out there, he paused. Leon was holding the baby, rather carefully. And feeding her. Feeding her. The baby. A sweet scene that would have been if not for the inexplicable nature of it… was he still dreaming?

“Leon?” Jean asked tentatively as he approached the duo in the living room. As he got closer, his voice gained a little more clarity and proportionally more incredulity as he continued with, “what are you doing?”

 

[gouache]

“What’s her name?” Leon asked, still gently patting the babies back. He studied her face intently, focused specifically on how rosie her cheeks were. “Ariella, but we call her Ariel for short. ” Shmuel quietly replied, “It means ‘lion of god’ in hebrew..” He was the one who chose her first name, after his late nephew who’s name was Ariel. Daemen decided on her middle name, Leah, in honor of his grandmother. “That’s a very nice name.” Leon wistfully said, and adjusted the bottle slightly to keep Ariel from drinking it too quickly. He looked to be lost in thought, which was usual for him, but felt to hold much more weight. Shmuel wondered what he was thinking about while cradling his daughter. He couldn’t help but be distracted by how large Leon’s hands were as they gripped Ariel. Leon’s hands holding her with such confidence and experience. It had taken Shmuel many weeks to learn how to hold and care for her properly, so it was rather shocking to him seeing someone so gracefully attend to her. After a long silence between the two seated on the couch, Leon spoke up. “I wanted to ask you something..” He turned his murky green gaze to Shmuel, “How did you end up with a child?” Leon said sternly, and with his brows knitted tightly together.

He had wanted to ask this upon seeing the two of them with a baby in tow. Many centuries had gone by sense he had last seen the couple, so it was surprising to say the least but now with a child. “It’s a long story.” Shmuel couldn’t help but smirk, he had not heard Leon speak so much and so clearly in a very long time. Hearing his husky and deep voice again was calming. “Don’t worry.. we didn’t kidnap her from anyone..” Shmuel softly laughed, “If that will help put you at any ease.” Leon just slowly nodded his head, before he turned his attention back to the baby. “Almost four months ago, Daemen and I were walking back from a bar late that night, and found her abandoned in a duffle bag next to a ditch.” Shmuel sighed through his nose, he could still hear the shrill blood curdling cries from a distance. It was uncomfortable for him to recall the scene they happened upon a few months ago and how traumatizing it was for the both of them. “We could tell she had just been born because the umbilical cord was still attached to her. She was covered in blood too.” Shmuel muttered silently to keep Ariel from overhearing, even though she couldn’t understand what he was saying. Leon remained silent, but Shmuel could tell he was stewing in anger by the bouncing of his knee.

Shmuel fixed his attention onto the sudden movement coming from the other room. He couldn’t tell which room it was coming from, his bedroom, or the guest room. “I can hold her now..” Shmuel whispered, he already had an idea it wasn’t Daemen because he slept like a rock. Leon could already be able to tell who it was based on the sound of his feet and smell alone minutes ago. Shmuel assumed Leon would have given Ariel back to him if someone else had walked in, but he didn’t fidget and continued to give his attention to the baby. Regardless, Leon just didn’t seem troubled by it at all. He also didn’t have a fragile sense of masculinity, so seen as “maternal” wasn’t something that would tamper with his already non-existent ego.

Shmuel could see Jean appear from around the corner, and he quickly turned his gaze to Leon who had no reaction. Instead, he just sharply shushed Jean. “Quiet.” Leon stated, as he stared intently at Jean with a tough brow and a shallow grimace on his face. Shmuel laughed softly to himself, he hadn’t seen the both of them interacting with each other in a long time, and it was obvious their relationship hadn’t changed in the slightest. Leon turned his attention back to the baby once he felt her beginning to fuss again from the sudden interruption. “Do the both of you want to go on a walk with Ariel and I?” Shmuel chimed in to settle the uncomfortable situation, “It would be fun to sight see since you two haven’t been back here in awhile.” Shmuel’s routine usually began at daybreak, sometimes he would put Ariel back to sleep again and run by himself. Other times, he would go running with Ariel in the stroller. It depended on if she was sleepy or not after eating.

Daemen rarely ever joined him in the morning, but instead would go on walks with him and Ariel before putting her down for bed. They both had a consistent and mundane routine before the baby arrived, and now their lives just revolved around caring for her. Their lives slowly started to gain normalcy again, which he looked forward to the simple days of just watching Ariel. With seeing Leon and Jean again after so long of being separated from each other, Shmuel was surprisingly glad to have another change of scenery. “We haven’t left the house since you two arrived here. There are also a lot of great cafes around the corner from here as well.” Shmuel warmly said, thinking it would be nice to have some company. Leon gave it a thought, and nodded his head slowly. “Sure..” Leon responded before he adjusted the bottle away from Ariel once she finished drinking and lifted her carefully back into Shmuel’s arms again. Leon had considered going out already, so he didn’t mind going out now that the opportunity presented it. Shmuel thanked the scruffy haired Leon, and cradled Ariel in his arms while tenderly starting to pat her back, “It’s cold outside, so you would have to dress warmly.” Shmuel continued, now sitting himself up straight to rest Ariel against his chest, “I have extra coats too if you need any! It’ll be fun.” He smiled, fumbling to get onto his feet, just for Leon to hold him by the arm to carefully help him up. Leon stood up right with his arms folded over his chest, staring down at Jean with a stern look on his face.