The walk was silent. The buzzing of street lamps and the occasional passing of a car were the only things to fill the resounding quietness between them other than their soft footsteps. It was probably Alekai's fault if he was being quiet. It wasn't that uncommon for him to just be more silent than talkative but this silence held a tense heaviness as his thoughts swirled in his mind like that small tornado in the middle of the sink as it drained.

After the breakfast that Oscar had given them, Alekai was quite abruptly thrown back into reality when he realized he had to go back to... that place. He couldn't call it home anymore, not after what happened last night. If he was being honest, it hadn't been home for a while but what was he supposed to do when it held one of the only things that mattered to him.

Felicity.

There was no way in hell he was ever going to let her live in that house without him there, so he knew despite what happened last night and despite wanting to just stay with Leo as much as possible, he knew that he couldn't. Of course, having noticed the change in his demeanor as Leo often did, she had forced him to tell her what was wrong, and now, by some way or another, he was walking back to the Boyce House with her.

"You really shouldn't be coming.", he finally said, breaking the silence between them. They were close to where he lived, maybe a few streets down and if she wanted, she could still turn back. He hoped she turned back. The Boyce's were dangerous and he would never tell her this, but he feared that she might drown in their murky depths.

But this was Leo he was talking about.

Grunting softly when she yanked on his hand and pulled them to a stop, he hesitantly met her eyes. They were an emerald color, a dark green with flecks of yellow that never failed to captivate him. They were so expressive, so beautiful... but also held a fire that had Alekai wincing slightly and forcing himself not to turn away.

"Alekai.", she said firmly, her voice chasting and firm. "You were a mess last night. So much so that you ran to me out of everything else you use to turn your thoughts off", he winced again, shame filling his being despite it being common knowledge that he was an alcoholic, "and if you think I'm just going to let you keep me from the rest of your family for the rest of our lives, then you've got another thing coming. I'm going to meet them, and I'm going to meet them today."

The two sank back into silence. Leo firm and unyielding as she stared hard at him, practically daring him to refuse her words and Alekai stiff and tense with the millions of thoughts running through his head. It was true that he had never had any intentions of letting her meet his family. The reasons were obvious with just his dad, but his mother was just as dangerous with her manipulative words. Toss in a younger brother who practically loathed him and a younger sister who had a superiority complex, it was basically a whole nest of potential things for Leo to use to run from him. The only one who he had considered letting her meet was Felicity, but even then, he was hesitant.

Finally, Alekai submitted and with a decisive turn, he interlocked their fingers and began to walk once more.

"Fine but don't run from me when you realize how fucked up my shit actually runs.", he said, his voice light with a fake jokingness.

Leo rolled her eyes, closing the distance between them to grab his arm with her other hand and lean her cheek against his shoulder. "Shut up, we won't be leaving you any time soon. I'm too invested in you now, Boyce.", she said softly, turning slightly to rest a comforting kiss on his cheek, "and you're too in love with me to force me away."

Alekai scoffed and shook his head, a small smile hinting on his lips like it always did around her. He wished she wasn't so right about that, but they both knew she was and it was the only reason why he practically let her get her way in everything while he never let anyone else. He was practically wrapped around her little fingers, a silk ribbon that she had the power to weave through her hands... or tear apart.

The power she had over him was quite the thing to behold, he thought wistfully. He didn't hate it though, in fact, it was almost like she gave him a purpose in his otherwise dark world. He wasn't sure what the future would hold or if something would happen that would make her think twice about staying when she had the chance to run but he was going to revel in their time together no matter what.

And he hoped that didn't end soon, he thought to himself as they finally came to a stop on the sidewalk. Alekai stopped at the impending black gates, their bars cold and steel and weaved in intricate patterns so that it was almost impossible to climb over their 10ft height. He stared at the house that followed the path a hundred meters past these gates. It was almost sad that such a beautiful house held such dark moments. Alekai always found it excessive, but the large white and light blue colored house had 5 floors, all decorated on the inside with chandeliers and winding staircases, columns of art littering the hallways. Quite a few of the windows were colored glass, making it stand out against the background it was submerged in; a garden of white rose and tall green bushes. His parents were more than glad that this very place was featured in multiple magazines as the most beautiful place in the city, and he was more than disgusted that people didn't know what actually went on inside of it.

Reputation meant alot to his parents, and if theirs was ruined in anyway, then their lives were ruined.

Such was the reason why they hated Alekai.

Swallowing, he continued to stare hard at the house of demons, "You know, you can still just walk away."

It was quiet for a few moments, Leo staring at the side of his face intently. He could feel it's fire like the sun was right next to him but he refused to look at her lest it influence her thoughts. He wanted this decision to be made only by her, with nothing to tell her to leave or stay because at this very moment.... He wasn't sure what his eyes would tell her.

Her hands released him, making his entire being go cold. Of course, she would choose to leave. If he were in her position, he might've as well. It was for her safety, so he couldn't blame her that she did-

"Stop thinking.", was the only thing she said before grabbing the sides of his face and kissing him long and hard. It was different from the soft kisses they had been having this whole morning and just like always, Alekia responded unconsciously, his hand wrapping around her waist to pull her closer and his head tilting in such a way that their passion deepened.

Abruptly she pulled away, small gasps leaving him breathless like it always did when she suddenly attacked him like this. "Open the gate, Alekai Boyce."

It was almost as if she wasn't actually talking about the black ones behind her...

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DISCLAIMER
Leo does not belong to me. Any and all creative credit for this oc is to PokechuBirdie.

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𝙿 𝚕 𝚊 𝚢 𝚕 𝚒 𝚜 𝚝
"𝙴𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚍 𝙴𝚢𝚎𝚜" 𝚋𝚢 𝙰𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚂𝚎𝚊𝚋𝚛𝚊