Chapter Text
That afternoon, Leo was cleaning his hands, his gaze lost on the open hood of a car, when the sound of familiar footsteps made him look up.
It was him. The guy who visited him from time to time.
_____ walked with that tranquility that Leo found so intriguing. It wasn't arrogance, but a kind of calmness that comes from someone who no longer has anything to prove to anyone. He wore a light coat and, in his right hand, carried a brown paper bag that gave off a sweet scent.
"Hello," said _____, stopping at a respectful distance. His voice was soft, but firm. A barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of his lips. "I hope I'm not interrupting."
"No, not at all," Leo replied too quickly. He felt heat rise to his cheeks and looked down at the cloth, rubbing his hands together with unnecessary insistence. "The... the car hasn't given you any trouble lately, has it?"
He never told us how they met, did he?
It happened in the first few days after Leo arrived in town and started working at the mechanics workshop. The guy pulled in with his car, which had a noticeable dent in the front. It turned out he'd been in a car accident, nothing serious, no one was hurt, except the car. Leo spent several days trying to find the parts to replace the broken ones, with a little help from his magic tool belt, to be honest.
The guy came around often, watching the rebuilding process, and they talked a lot. Leo's a real joker, and the kid just laughs easily. Aren't they the perfect duo?
_____ visited him frequently after that. He says he's in debt for life because he knows Leo helped him pay for part of the expensive repair, even though Leo keeps insisting it's not true.
"The car's perfect, really," he interrupted with a low laugh, taking a step forward. "In fact, it starts better than ever. That's why I'm here."
_____ lifted the paper bag and held it out to him. The paper was warm to the touch.
"There were a few things left over from my shift, and I remembered you telling me last time that you skipped lunch when you were really busy," he said, keeping his gaze fixed on Leo's eyes, but with an unreadable expression. "Consider it an extra thank you."
Leo froze for a second before reaching for the bag. His fingers accidentally brushed against _____'s. It was a contact of barely a millisecond. He looked inside the bag, a couple of freshly baked croissants and a blueberry muffin.
"No... you didn't have to go to all that trouble," Leo whispered, feeling his heart pound in his throat. _____'s kindness overwhelmed him and, at the same time, left him wanting more. "It's my job. Besides, it's been weeks since that, you've thanked me enough."
“I know,” he nodded. He took a step back, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. “But at this point, I just like bringing you things and making sure you’re okay. Enjoy your meal, Valdez. See you.”
Before Leo could string together a coherent sentence. _____ had already turned around and was calmly walking out into the street. Pressing the warm bag to his chest, his mind a jumble of thoughts, one question circling in his mind. Why would someone like him care?
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It was almost eight o'clock when Leo finally turned the key in the lock. He pushed the door open with his shoulder, carrying his work backpack and a shopping bag that looked like it was about to burst. He switched on the light and let out a sigh that betrayed his weariness and resignation.
The apartment was a mess. It looked like the scene of a minor natural disaster.
He left the groceries on the kitchen counter and, before laziness could overcome him and drag him to bed, he decided to get to work. He grabbed a large trash bag and started with the most obvious things, fast-food wrappers and useless papers. The crinkling of the plastic broke the silence, and seeing the wooden table reappear gave him an unexpected surge of energy.
He was in a good mood that night, which was encouraging.
He took the dirty glasses to the sink. And finally, after a long time, he started to actually clean, instead of just putting things away and hoping they'd clean themselves.
As the water ran over his hands, Leo's mind began to relax, finding a strangely peaceful rhythm in this little bit of chaos that was finally starting to feel comfortable.