บท 42: Reunion
The battlefield was illuminated with a glitter of gold as the sun peaked through the horizon.
The dark clouds had wisped away, leaving a clear, open sky that would soon brighten up.
The Monarch of Death lay lifeless on a pile of bones, slowly disintegrating.
Rey stood victorious, with Everlasting Light shining in his hand.
Penny fell to her knees, exhausted and tired.
Valora hoorayed in excitement.
And Leon gazed expressionlessly at the scene.
"We did it!" Valora laughed happily as she squeezed Penny into a hug, "We saved Seven!"
"Let's go back quickly," Penny mumbled tiredly, "I want to sleep,"
As they celebrated together, Rey turned around to meet Leon's eyes. He stared at him for a while, looking at the sword in his hand and the life in his eyes. His entire being was telling him that this was Leon. That this was Leon standing before him. That it wasn't a hallucination. It wasn't a dream. He hadn't gone to the other side yet.
But as much as he wanted to go and hug him right then and there, he stopped himself from doing so.
Because . . .
What was Leon doing here?
Why was he here?
Something must be up.
Leon must be planning something again.
He had a thousand thoughts running through his mind, and he prepared himself for anything that might happen. But he came to the realization that even if Leon had planned something, he wouldn't be able to take it anymore. If Leon still wanted to commit suicide, he might just let his wish come true. In fact, he will simply follow behind him.
If whatever Leon desires is waiting on the other side, then he will go there as well.
So, Rey waited. He waited for Leon to make the first move. Right now, at this moment, whatever Leon does, he will allow it to happen.
Seeing Rey frozen stiff and not doing anything, Leon sighed heavily. He scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit annoyed. Then he crossed his arms and gazed back at Rey. He knew what Rey was thinking. He would too if he were in his shoes, but shouldn't this be a heartwarming and happy reunion right now? Sure, the last couple of times were bad. But this time is different, isn't it?
With an awkward smile and rolling eyes, Leon opened his arms and said, "I'm here, that's all that matters,"
Rey's face lit up, ". . . That's true,"
And Leon was immediately squished into Rey's chest.
The only thing that mattered was that Leon was here.
Rey's questions no longer needed answers and he didn't need to hear the reasons. Whatever may happen in the future can happen, and he'll take care of it then. But right now, Leon is here. Awake. Talking. Walking. Living. That was all that mattered.
Rey hugged him so tightly that Leon even found himself struggling to breathe. But just as Leon was about to yell at Rey to let him go, a couple of wet drops fell on his shoulder. He paused for a second, surprised. Then he let out a sigh and eased into the embrace, softly patting Rey's back.
Valora and Penny stared, bewildered. They had never seen Rey cry before and didn't know how to react, but the moment felt too intimate for them to watch. So, they decided to turn around and view the beautiful sunrise instead.
That was a good decision, because right after the hug, Rey immediately started showering Leon with kisses.
Smack!
"What do you think you're doing?!" Leon yelled as he smacked Rey away.
"I missed you," Rey replied as he took Leon's hand in his, "I missed you very much,"
Leon looked at him with squinted eyes. Then he went to pull his hand back. Or at least tried to. Rey wouldn't let go of his hand, though. Leon waved his arm back and forth and even tried ripping Rey's fingers off, but it was of no use. Instead, Rey intertwined their fingers and held his hand even tighter.
Leon twitched his eye, "Let go!"
This time, he tried pulling out of Rey's grip like a tug-of-war, but Rey didn't even budge.
'Protagonists and their damn monstrous strength!'
Rey looked at him, confused as to why Leon was acting like this, "Why?"
"I should be the one asking why!"
"But we hold hands all the time," Rey stated like it was a fact.
"No, we don't!"
They bickered for a while. Or at least, Leon bickered for a while. Rey just stood there, confused and happy. Though his expression didn't show it, there were flowers popping in the air with how happy he was.
In the end, it was Rey who won. Leon just accepted that that was fate. Just like everything else. And like that, they walked all the way back to the village where Seven was, hand in hand.
---Seven---
Seven was lying in bed, not knowing if he should be happy or sad. The death clock was gone, which was great! He was going to live! But Leon was also gone, so now he was going to die.
He cried as he stared at the ceiling. It didn't matter whether or not the curse disappeared, because in the end, he was going to die anyway. And if he was going to die anyway, he preferred the death clock. At least that will be a painless death! Who knows what Rey would do to him?! He shivered at the mere thought of it.
Should he beg for his life?
Should he pretend to be in a coma?
Should he play dumb?
Seven didn't know what to do!
Step
Step
Step
He heard quick footsteps in the hallway and instantly knew whose they were. He started sweating profusely and his heart sped a million beats per second. He wasn't ready yet! He hasn't prepared himself yet!
Slam!
The door opened wide.
"PLEASE SPARE ME!" Seven wailed, "It wasn't me! It's not my fault! He just up and left! I don't know where he is! I didn't do anything! I-"
"-Seven!" Valora beamed, "You're awake!"
Seven's eyes twinkled at the sight of Valora before he yelled with great distress, "SAVE ME!"
"You sure have a lot of energy," Rey said.
"PLEASE SPARE ME-"
Step.
A figure entered the room, and Seven immediately started crying bigger tears, "LEON, YOU'RE ALIVE!"
Leon opened his mouth to reply, but decided to shut it again. He instead shrugged his shoulders and went to sit at the little table. Rey followed closely behind him and sat across from him.
Seven began drying his tears and asked, "Where's Penny?"
"She knocked out the moment we stepped into the inn, so she's sleeping in our room right now," Valora answered.
As Seven and Valora conversed, Leon stared at his unfinished drawing. Then he flipped through the pages of his sketchbook, quickly glancing at all his drawings.
'It really is full of Rey,'
There were doodles, portraits, and even full-body gesture drawings of Rey. There were even naked drawings of him. Leon skipped through those as fast as he could, telling himself that studying the human body was an important part of art. Leon kept flipping through the pages until a specific photo caught his eye.
It was still Rey.
But it was Rey with Everlasting Light stabbed through his chest.
The pages that followed were all pretty similar. Just different ways of dying.
Leon could probably even name it "A Hundred Ways for Rey to Die."
He glanced up to look at Rey.
Rey had been looking at the same photos but hadn't made a single expression. He must've already seen these before. Leon wasn't feeling guilty, though. When he drew these, it was not just out of anger, but it was also his deepest wish. The pages after those were back to normal, but with the occasional scenes of death.
Rey felt Leon's eyes on him, so he looked up to meet his gaze.
And he smiled.
Leon raised his brows a little stunned, but didn't return the smile. He just frowned and closed the sketchbook.
"Ah, you know how to paint, right?" Seven asked, "We can buy some paint to cover up the stain-"
"-No," Leon interrupted, "It's fine,"
Rey quickly snatched the sketchbook out of Leon's hand and threw it in his inventory.
"Rey?!" Seven and Valora gasped. They looked back and forth between the two. Seven, silently freaking out. And Valora, wondering if a fight was going to occur.
Leon chuckled, "Nothing passes your eyes,"
"I want to keep it," Rey stated.
". . . Whatever you want,"
Leon leaned back into his chair and stared out the window. He was planning to throw the sketchbook away. Burn it or something. What's the use of carrying around such an embarrassing thing?
"Stay," Rey muttered, his eyes downcast and solemn, "Don't go back to sleep,"
". . . " Leon breathed a sigh, "Where could I possibly go?"
And once again, Leon found himself squished into Rey's arms. Leon struggled to fight back, yelling and pushing him away, but to no avail. Rey just hugged him tighter.
"W-well, I'm gonna go rest now," Valora said as she quickly waved goodbye and left.
Seven cried quietly, 'Take me with you!'
Unfortunately, Seven shared a room with Rey and Leon. Their bed was just on the other side of the room, right across from his. Seven closed his eyes and shut his ears, hoping that he'll be able to ignore whatever they were doing.
BOING!
"Kuh," Seven gasped in slight pain.
Leon had jumped onto his bed, shuffling him around.
"Stay away, Rey!" Leon yelled, "I already said I'm not going anywhere!"
Rey reached out to grab Leon, but Leon instead picked Seven up and hid behind him.
Rey tsked and was about to shove Seven out of his way, but Leon dodged the arm with Seven in tow.
"Don't hurt Seven! He's still injured,"
"Then put him down," Rey scowled.
"No way! You get out of the room first,"
Rey glared, "Leon,"
Seven cried silently, his injured body shoved and dragged around like a ragdoll. This time, not by Rey, but by Leon instead.
'Why?' Seven wept, 'Why is this happening to me?!'
Rey continued to charge forward, unhappy and frustrated. Leon finally came back, but he's kept running away from him, evading his touch. And Rey just wants to hold him. Keep him still. Keep him where he can feel him.
"Leon!" Rey yelled like he was a child throwing a tantrum.
"Listen!" Leon shouted back, "Listen to me!"
"Stop running,"
"Listen!"
"Come. Here."
"This is exactly why I don't like you!" Leon roared, "You don't listen to me!"
. . .
Seven sweat nervously, "L-Leon, you don't actually mean tha-"
"-GO!"
With clenched fists and gritted teeth, Rey stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut. Only then did Leon put Seven down to rest. Seven watched silently as Leon walked to the other bed and sat down. Then he watched as Leon took a few frustrated breaths before pinching the top of nose bridge.
Noticing that Seven was staring at him, Leon looked up and said, "What?"
Seven continued staring, but with a serious expression, "What are you doing here?"
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