Someone in the Discord server had the idea of Leo napping on the Seer, and I figured I would share it with everyone here, too. 😌
I kept an eye on the clock hanging above the door, watching the hands spin without reserve, dreading every faithful tick of the time. It was dangerously close to twenty minutes past two o’clock.
Leo had insisted on twenty minutes, only. Even half-asleep, they shook their head when I insisted on a little longer, mumbling about reports and meetings before fading into sleep’s grasp mid-sentence. I knew the spring season was busy for the pride, of course, yet it seemed unfair that Leo couldn’t spare even an hour for their own good.
Not that Leo would complain. They loved their pride and its people with everything they were. Sparing sleep was a worthy loss in their opinion, and it was one I disagreed with entirely.
As the minute hand ticked past the twenty-minute mark, I resisted the urge to stay silent and let them sleep. Leo had trusted me to wake them up, and I wouldn’t stress them out by ignoring that trust, not even for an extra ten minutes of rest.
Still, I couldn’t resist waking them up slowly.
The nap was my idea; Leo had been yawning all morning, rubbing at their eyes as they poured over pages of scouting reports and budget papers. I had chosen one side of the couch to review my case files, and Leo had happily claimed the coffee table and the other side of the couch to work next to me. We worked best together, our shared silence holding comfortably unless I needed them to check a fact in my reports or Leo wanted my opinion on a pride matter.
I had coaxed Leo into a nap the way I convinced them to do anything: a pointed look, and a small comment about how I was worried about them. I was worried about them, after all. I would worry about them until we faded into stardust.
So I had said, softly, “Come here, lay down a minute.”
And Leo had sprawled out on the couch, their head pillowed in my lap, relaxing into my touch as I combed my fingers through their dark curls. They hadn’t moved at all in the past twenty minutes, either, their breathing soft and deep. They still looked exhausted, even in sleep, and it tugged at my heartstrings.
“Leo,” I murmured. My fingers moved from their hair reluctantly, trailing down their brow to trace the side of their jaw. Leo twitched in their sleep, but they didn’t open their eyes. Slowly, I leaned down and pressed a fleeting kiss to their temple, then another to their cheek, smiling despite myself when Leo finally opened their eyes.
They turned their head to meet me in a soft kiss, their lips tugging into a warm, sleepy smile in response. Too soon, I pulled back to rest my forehead against theirs. We took a quiet moment to breathe each other in, alone in our own world, safe and sound. Together.
“It’s been twenty minutes,” I finally told them.
“I’m awake,” Leo hummed. Warmth swirled in their irises, teasing. “No dream can compare to you, my darling.”
“Flatterer,” I laughed, and I leaned in to kiss them again.
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