Chapter 325: On The Bench

"So how's hero life been treating you?"

Leon sounded normal, spoke amicably, and overall looked his typical beguiling self, minus the black eye of course, and also the little strap around a red nose… and that busted lip of his too, kinda hard to forget that one. But yeah, apart from those little trivial things, he was pretty much the same as ever.

Which, undoubtedly, was the hardest thing to ignore.

"Loud," I told him, walked with him. "Honestly, a little grueling." 

Leon chuckled at that, it was a sympathetic chuckle he gave as he settled himself onto one end of a stray bench, and I the other. It was there that he eyed me down again while nodding his head more and more.

"You wear that very well," He remarked, reaching a hand out to unfurl some creases in my robes. "Too well, actually. Better than me, I'm envious." 

"Ah, yeah, this thing…" I said, flattening the rest of the folds. "Guess it's a better time now than any to thank you for letting me borrow this for a bit." 

He held his arm up, shaking his head. "Save the thanks. You aren't borrowing anything for me." 

"Excuse you?"

"It's yours, Hero," He lowered that arm, unveiling another smile. "Just do me a favor. Try not to eat anything while wearing it, stains aren't that easy to wash off." 

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. I had to have it custom-washed, cost me a good hundred - "

"No, you're really just gonna give this away to me? This looks expensive, authentic - I'm guessing tailor-made too?"

"Best tailor in the country."

"Exactly," I gaped at him. "Sheesh, how are you so rich?"

He shrugged. "My father's well-connected… maybe a bit too well connected."

It's the way that he said it, the little hint of a grimace at the end that had me gaping even wider, pausing to stare just a little closer, seeing an uncanny resemblance within all that charm and grace on his face that I never once placed before. 

Now it could be just my imagination, but it also might not be, so…

"Does he have a limp?" I asked. "Uses a cane to get around?"

"Why yes, yes he does, indeed," Leon drew his head back, blinking rapidly in surprise. "How do you know that?" 

Small world, even smaller town… I nearly shot up to the roof at this answer, took all I could dig my boots deep into the pavement to stop myself. This went way beyond coincidence. 

This is just great. Now what happens? Leon goes home, his old man finds out I just beat the shit out of his home, should I expect myself to wake up at the bottom of the ocean with cinder blocks tied to my ankles, or am I good?

I think I'm good. Snitches get stitches, and I don't think Leon was the type to go snitch on me.

"Well, you know…" Leon put his arms around the bench, staring up at the holographic evening sky, where the sun between hills, and the horizon sprinkled with a fair few twinkles. "What's a quest without its rewards? It's the least I could give you for taking me down a peg. Imposing myself between the two of you was the worst mistake I could have made. But I daresay, you're probably rewarded plenty enough already." 

Then he frowned, confusion in his glances left and right, "Speaking of which, why are you not with them? Why are you by yourself to begin with?"

I shrugged, sighing with a small smile. "Hero life. You know how it is." 

"Oh, I see now," He said, catching sight of a couple pairs of eyes peeking at us around the bend. "You know, if you don't want them to disturb you. All you gotta do is say so."

"Didn't wanna be rude… y'know, seem ungrateful, conceited, about my newfound fame."

"Rude?" Amused, he gave a scoff. "This coming from the same guy that rearranged my facial features? Did you know there are threads about our fight already? Memes too… I never knew I looked that stupid knocked out. That's gonna leave a stain, sadly can't just custom-wash it away either." 

I turned to offer my apology, but he beat me to the punch, no pun intended, and nonchalantly waved it off before I even got the chance to.

"Oh, this just simply won't do, then," That's when I stood back up, staring me down with wide urgent eyes. "Go be with them, be with Ash… you didn't beat me just so you could lounge around all day, did you?"

"Of course not."

"Good, then go, give my best to her as well, and good fight by the way, you showed me I still have a ways to go..." He walked a few paces away, before stopping to give a glance back once. "Oh, if you need that cleaned and you can't. Just give me a call. I gave Ash my number in that letter I gave her… feel free to hit me up… I really did mean what I said to you back then, you know?" 

"You said a lot of things to me back then," I called out from the bench, "Which one, specifically? That part where you wanna beat the shit out of me? If so, I'm walking the other way now."

"That having you as a friend would be a great pleasure."

Leon turned away again, a smile showing just so faintly out of sight, and bid a hearty wave goodbye. 

He looked so cool walking away like that, that I didn't really wanna spoil his vibe by telling him I threw out that letter a long time ago. Oh well, just gonna have to make do with detergent, I guess.

In spite of his insistence, and despite my own, I continued to park myself on that bench there - I just wanted to take a short moment to reflect back on this one particular afternoon day, and all the crazy shit that happened within it.

I came here a clown, witless and hesitant, encountering rivals that I could never hope to rival, now I sit here with robes lined with gold, deterring away a group of admirers with a wave, parting off with both rivals in terms that could be described as somewhat… cordial?

And I suppose if it weren't for them too… I'd be sitting here still ever as witless and hesitant as I once was, so in a way… I guess I'm indebted to them. 

To Nick, for having me finally get off my ass and do something. And to Leon, for giving me the reason to act on that something. Then there's Amanda that kicked off this whole saga…

I'm not so sure what to say to her as of this moment, but I'm sure that also goes both ways for her - if her flustered face was anything to go by - she was just as clueless as I.

If I were to go and meet her now, no doubt her first words would be - 

"There you are!" 

Not that. Certainly not that, and certainly not that excited. 

"I've been looking everywhere, I - didn't I say to meet me when they're done with you?"

In an instant, I spun my head right in the slightest.

Amanda alone, Amanda without her dewy-eyed crowd, tapping an impatient foot to the ground, with hands on her hips in an air of mild annoyance. 

"Well," She tapped faster. "What do you have to say for yourself?" 

So much for being clueless, I guess. Smiling, I scooted myself ever so slightly, patting the newly made empty space right beside me, "Have a seat." 

Her nose high in the air, she pompously took her time striding forward, settling herself down in a manner befitting high royalty. 

"You kept me waiting, you know?" She muttered, eyeing me with a little pout. "It's not easy walking in heels…"

"Too many people," came my sorry excuse accompanied by an even sorrier smile. "Hard to talk when there are a million other people vying for your attention… thought I'd wait it out here." 

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head and ending up looking in the total opposite direction. 

"You could have just told them to buzz off, and they'll go," She said. "You're allowed to do that."

"And so I've heard."

"Seems you're still new to this whole fame thing." 

"And so I am."

I looked around, seeing no one else coming to approach us.

"Where's Ash?" I asked.

"Oh yes, she mentioned she was going off to see Sera," Amanda explained. "Something about Sera wanting to talk to her about something. She was very vague about it. Thought maybe you might know something about it."

Going off to see Sera, huh? Interesting…

"Maybe…" I nodded. "We'll see though." 

The moment silence seeped its presence in between us, it made itself comfortable and right at home with the heavy tension that swayed in the air. 

At that moment, her gaze slowly, surreptitiously, shifted back towards me, only briefly, I caught only a glimpse of her staring before she was looking the other way again.

"You, uh, you," She was starting to fidget, fingers clutching tight the seams of her dress. "You look very nice in that outfit, I forgot to mention, very handsome, you look dashing… I, uh, I like it."

I nearly busted a gut holding back a chuckle, smiling at her, "Is that seriously what you wanted to talk to me about in private?" 

"No… not, not particularly," She didn't smile back, and her grip on her dress tightened. "I just wanted to say, I've been thinking… maybe, I don't think - you, you like me, don't you?"

Where was this going?

"Yes," I said at once. 

She still wasn't meeting my gaze, but I could see her ears were burning a bright red.

"I… I like you too."

"You made that clear plenty of times already, you know?" I said, trying to keep the tension from crushing me under its growing pressure. 

"I know, I just…" She heaved in a breathe. "I just wanted to say it again. Clearly this time… no subtleties or anything like that, no hiding it. So - I like you." 

"I know."

She stiffened that breath. "I love you."

I took her hand, loosening her fingers, and held them between mine. "I know."

Amanda finally turned towards me again. Her eyes finding it difficult to meet mine, but I made sure they didn't steer, I kept them staring straight, kept my hand in hers.

"The thing is," She continued, exerting all focus to keep her words from fumbling. "I know you love Ash too." 

"I do," I told her.

"More..." Her lips went narrow, her voice, soft, a whisper so faint, and yet so loud all the same anyway. "A lot more…" 

I stayed my lips, kept my stare... finding myself reflected back in the brown of her eyes.

"And that's what I want to talk about."