Leon's older brother starts to question who Leon's secret girlfriend is. Modern AU. Establish Morgana/Leon.
The Oh So Secret Girlfriend
Matthias walked out to the pool with two beers and plopped down onto a recliner near the shallow end. Leon emerged nearby and pulled himself out of the water on to the deck. Upon noticing his older brother he shook the water from his hair. Matthias yelled. Leon smiled before grabbing the offered beer.
Leon watching his brother lean back in the recliner as if he had no cares. Aviator sunglasses, a suit vest over his dress shirt, nice slacks, and polished shoes. Matthias had come from work – so there were definitely cares on his mind. Matthias kept quiet. "What are you doing here?" Leon asked.
"I am visiting my baby brother," Matthias said. Still sounding nonchalant. Leon believed this not at all. Not even for one second. And now he was suspicious.
"I can count the times you've been to my house on one hand," Leon pointed out, sounding suspicious. He had not mastered the art of hiding his intentions quite as well as Matthias had.
Matthias sighed and sat up, he took of his sunglasses, "Mother called me."
"Ah?" Leon immediately averted his eyes. This was one of those visits.
"She worries," Matthias added as he scooted down the recliner to sit on the end.
"Anything in particular?" Leon asked, looking back up to meet his brother's eyes.
Matthias rolled his eyes, "She thinks you're lonely."
"Why? You're the one who spends all his time at work or home," Leon was confused, "I have a social life at least."
Matthias chuckled, "But you don't have a girlfriend." Leon was about to object when Matthias added, "At least not one any of us have ever met."
"You don't have one either," Leon pointed an accusatory finger at his brother. Talking about his love life was never easy. If his parents found out about Morgana, Uther would, and then he might as well dig the ditch himself so he'd at least get a grave.
"Mother's given up on me giving her grandchildren though," Matthias took a swig of his beer and gestured with the bottle at Leon, "You're still a viable option."
Leon scowled and practically drowned himself with how quickly he drank the rest of his beer. That was when the tattoo came to Matthias' attention.
"That's new," Matthias nodded towards the ink decorating Leon's chest. A lion and lioness, with evergreen leaves and rose. It was an odd choice given that Leon had the family chest – with said leaves and a roaring lion – on the opposite side of his back. And this one was over his heart.
"Not really," Leon smiled nervously, "Had it almost a year." Matthias narrowed his eyes on the tattoo. He didn't see Leon particularly often – the worked in different parts of the family company – but Leon always liked to show off his new tattoos. It was usually very annoying.
Matthias shrugged, feigning nonchalant, "If you say so." The conversation quickly turning to work and whether their father was finally going to fire his dimwitted secretary – Leon relaxed. Matthias' mind was still turning though.
That weekend was some god-awful benefit their father couldn't attend – coincident, Matthias thought not. Matthias quickly found a balcony and lit up. His mother hated that he smoked, but she wasn't the one putting him with the debutantes.
"I thought you quit," Morgana smiled at him as she walked out onto the balcony. She leaned back against the railing as she drew her own pack of cigarettes out.
Matthias looked pointedly over at the Lothian sisters, "I have earned this cigarette." Morgana just laughed. She turned around to lean out over the railing as she took a drag.
"I'm just bidding time until Uther is well into his cup of brandy and distracted by his friends so I can sneak away unnoticed," Morgana told him, she was usually quite blunt with him. Matthias appreciated it.
"The usual then," Matthias was amused as he turned to speak with her more directly. Once more his eyes were drawn to a tattoo. It was in the center of Morgana's shoulder blades, well-hidden beneath a shawl given her backless dress.
The light was hitting the material just right and Matthias could make out some of the details – a lion and lioness.
"I didn't know you were inked up, Morgana," Matthias smirked at the sudden spin she did to move the tattoo from his sight, "Rather unbecoming of a lady of your position I would have thought."
Morgana stood tall, she was much better than his little brother at this game, "That would be why it's underneath a shawl." Matthias nodded and they remained quiet for the rest of their smoke break.
When Matthias went back inside he was swarmed once more by the Lothian sisters, but he was a little less repulsed this time around. Oh, he so loved when he figured out his brother's little secrets. He was usually so bad a keeping them, but this one. Oh, this one he'd been trying to puzzle out for years.
Matthias knew who the oh so secret, shy, and long-distant girlfriend was that Leon would occasionally moan about when drunk. Leon and Morgana. Uther would hate that.
Out on the balcony Morgana watched Matthias through the open doors. He was a smart fellow, too-smart according to his own father, but he was trustworthy. Most of the time. He wouldn't tell her father about any suspicions he had, Morgana was sure of that.
Matthias probably preferred having a living brother after all.
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