A/N: Leo's fun to write; I think he's the perfect mix of gentleman and jerk. I might've made him more prickly though. Dunno. Someone should stop me from writing fics until I've actually played the games :P
And of course, if this actually happened in real life, I'd be mildly distressed and concerned (but shhh, it's for the fluff).
Title: Past the Crowd
Rating: T
Warning: university/college!AU, explicit swearing
Genre/s: Humour (or, well, I tried), Romance-ish
Pairing/s: Leo x Sakura
Summary: He just keeps running into her. Not that he really minds [uni/college!au].
Inspiration/s: Something about coincidences. At first, this was going to be a coffee shop thing, but then I wanted to write a supermarket scene. It kind of evolved from there.
Hope you like it!
I do not own Fire Emblem.
1. coffee shop
There aren't any free seats.
Well, Leo thinks, this is a problem. He could have ordered to-go and headed straight to class—ate on the way there as he's done so many times before—but he's a bit more than hungry and wants a good breakfast for once. Not the kind that his roommates feed him: instant noodles, plain rice, and a single slice of bread. No. He wants coffee, jammed bagels, and eggs and bacon and pancakes, dammit.
So it's a blessing that there is one empty seat, except it's not really empty. On the other side of the table is a woman engrossed in her book, popping muffin pieces in her mouth as she flips the pages. It doesn't look like she has company, but it doesn't look like she wants it either. He's conflicted if he should go sit down.
But gods, he can hear his stomach growling. And there's no harm in asking, right?
Right.
Ask her it is.
"Hello? Excuse me?" He clears his throat and she looks up. Red rushes to her cheeks. "I apologize if I'm bothering you," he says, "but may I sit here? I'm afraid there are no more seats in the shop."
Her attention strays back to the book. She picks her food more intensely. "O-oh. Sure."
"Thank you." He wastes no time sitting down and digging in, almost moaning at the taste of actual, MSG-free, flavourful food. His seatmate's getting increasingly nervous though, struggling to read between all her muffin-pecking and darting glances.
Coffee swallows down the pancakes. What, does she want to tell him something?
It doesn't take long to realize he said that out loud.
Her skin boils, up to her neck and ears. "A...ah," she says, "n-no. I wasn't...I didn't mean to stare." Her muffin's almost done. "It's just...I think... Sssorry, nevermind."
"You do mind me sitting here," he concludes.
"No!" A bit surprised at her outburst, she ducks as people turn. "Sorry," she whispers. "It's...it's nothing, don't mind me."
She stands abruptly, fumbling to sling her bag over a shoulder, take the rest of her food, and tuck her things under an arm. And while she's blushing hard and can't quite meet him in the eye, she still has the grace to bow and say, "I'll be going now. H-have a good meal."
"Have a good day," he says.
She nods and leaves in haste, apologizing to everyone (and everything) she bumps into. Catching a glimpse of her book, he snorts. Huh. So what'd you know? She takes a Science course like him. Granted, it's Biology, but still. Science. What a coincidence.
Leo thinks about it for a moment, shrugs, then shovels bacon down his throat.
2. dormitory
Things he learned today: never owe Odin a favour, never owe Niles a favour at the same time you owe Odin a favour, and he needs to buy nonstick cooking spray.
The first two are things he already knows, but he keeps relearning them at the worst possible timing. Leo swears he'll kick their asses later. They asked for it anyway; maybe he'll wake them up at three in the morning just for giggles.
Screw anchovies.
As if Odin's "hoi boys, let's get some shit pizza tonight; Leo, you're paying, by the way" wasn't enough, Niles just had to graciously nominate him to meet with delivery and trudge back to their room with three boxes of shit pizza. Alone.
Did they even know what they were doing? Anchovies smell disgusting, anchovies taste disgusting, and being the slobs they are, Leo's one hundred percent sure the smell's going to stick to their room. What the hell did he do to deserve this? He's got a Physics test tomorrow that he's freaking out over. All they're doing is skyrocketing his stress levels to Valla.
Screw anchovies.
He tries not to give the delivery boy the so-called 'Leo sneer,' but the look on the boy's face tells Leo he failed. In return, he gives a bigger than usual tip. It's for selfish reasons, but he's hoping it'll help balance out all his negative karma; maybe then his roommates will clean up after themselves.
...But who was he kidding?
He shifts the boxes around as another delivery comes and calls down a room. He notes it's Hoshidan—lucky—before Pizza Boy launches into a rant. Their store's starting to give out complimentary peppermints and towelettes (and Leo thinks this is it, the gods have finally answered his prayers), so if he could wait a while until Pizza Boy finds them, that would be great-
He either takes an insanely long time or the Hoshidan order room comes incredibly quick, because both deliveries are out of the doors at the same time. Leo juggles everything on the highest box—change, a receipt, tissues, the breath mints and wet towels—and he wonders how long it'll take before something falls to the floor.
"Do you need help?"
Not a long time, apparently.
Some of the coins slip as Leo turns to whoever spoke. Then he blinks because wow, it's the girl with the Biology textbook; blush, short stature, red hair and all. So she lives here too?
Huh.
He thanks her as she takes a box, picks up the coins. Her own food is slung on one wrist. "I'd appreciate it if you'd help me carry that to my room," he tells her.
"Sure... If it's no trouble though, could we stop by mine first?" She colours, does that fidgeting habit with whatever she's holding. "It's because it's nearby, s-so I could drop off my stuff before we drop off yours?"
He weighs the pros and cons and shrugs. "At least you're agreeable with your demands, unlike my roommates."
A giggle escapes her: short, high, a tad stifled. Then there's guilt on her face, like she wasn't supposed to laugh and did.
She opens her mouth. Probably to apologize. He's got her patterns down to a T. "Don't think too hard about it," he assures her. "They won't mind being jokes."
Her lips twitch.
Leo smirks. "So, where are we going?"
She leads him across the hallway until she knocks on one of the doors. Leo's in the process of calculating how far—or close, really—the entrance is when a cheery brunette answers. She starts a greeting but stops midway, eyeing him down.
A whistle. "Hot damn, Sakura. I didn't know you had it in you!" Her scrutiny makes Leo disgruntled. He leans back as Sakura coughs.
"I-it's not what you think, Hana."
"Oh yeah? Then let my imagination run wiiild." Glancing at Leo, she adds, "Hey, buddy. Do you like miso soup? ...Please tell me you're Hoshidan enough to understand."
"Hana!"
"I know what it is," he grumbles, getting a bit more than grouchy. The smell of anchovies hit his nose (ugh), Physics equations run through his head, and his impression of this woman is less than stellar. "Why do you care?"
She makes a face, more in disgust of the topic instead of his attitude. "Knowing us, we won't even touch it. Wanna have it instead?"
He stares blankly.
"I'll take that as a yes!" Grabbing the bag from Sakura, she fishes the soup out and dumps it on top of the pizza box. He scowls. "Go crazy. It's yours now, pretty boy!" To her roommate, she says, "And you. We're having a chat later."
Sakura sighs. "Alright."
"Great! I'll see you soon; don't forget, your curfew's at nine. But have fun with Blondie over here, 'kay?"
"...What did you-?"
Hana slams the door.
This just wasn't his day, was it?
"Please don't take it personally," Sakura whispers, balancing the miso soup on her box. She's quick to change the subject. "L-let's go to your dorm, shall we?"
They're silent through the elevator ride, through the halls, and just before they reach his room. By then, his temper's simmered off a bit, and he's amiable enough to regard Sakura with politeness. "You can put the stuff down by the door," he tells her. "I apologize for any...inconveniences. I'm grateful you went out of your way to help me."
"It wasn't a bother."
"Still-" A thought appears. "If not my gratitude, would you at least accept some of the pizza?"
She shakes her head vehemently. "No thank you. I'm not really a fan of...anchovies."
Although he's disappointed he can't get rid of it sooner, he's happy with her answer. Coupled with her pleasant personality (compared to everyone else's, that is), it's at this very moment in time and space that he realizes he could get along with her. His mood brightens. "Then what about mints?" He's got three at hand—one for each box—but considering he isn't eating anything, the third one's useless anyway.
Sakura hesitates. Aha, there we go. "Take one," Leo says. "I insist."
"...If it—if you don't mind then." She gingerly picks one up, cheeks rosy. Leo unknowingly smiles back. "Thank you."
"Pleasure's all mine."
He hears the door creak and, with a glance, sees a shade of blond peeking through. Leo's eyes narrow. Oh hell no. Half of his day was already messed up; he wasn't letting this get screwed over. Discreetly hiding the door, Leo forces it shut.
"Well," he says, happy to hear a muffled 'how rude' from the other side of the wall, "I think I've kept you here long enough. Thank you once again. Have a wonderful evening."
"A-ah. Yes. You too." She bows low, lingers a bit more than necessary, and walks away after one last smile. Leo watches her disappear from sight. Until the door opens again, he doesn't realize he's been standing there like an idiot.
Odin pokes his back. He glares. "What did that fair maiden need from you?" Odin asks.
"None of your business." As Leo pushes everything inside, there isn't a word of thanks or an offer to help; Niles doesn't even bother to look up from his magazine. Bastards. "I expect this room to be tidy. Keep everything at one corner, clean up after yourselves, and Odin, you will not speak do not test me I am done with this conversation."
"Ten bucks says it was his ex," Niles drawls.
"Insinuating he used to have one," Odin points out.
"Ehhh. Was she pretty though?"
"Quite. Had the likeliness of a dove. Interestingly, he hid her away when I went to check the noise. Them, really."
The magazine flips. "Oh yeah? Did we disturb your love life, oh prince of mine?"
Without a word, Leo drags his school work, miso soup, air fresheners, and cushion into the bathroom.
Slam.
Click.
Silence.
"Definitely disturbed," Odin says.
"Mmm hmm."
3. convenience store
Maybe he's just never noticed before, but she's everywhere. Laundry rooms, lecture halls, bus stops—Leo keeps catching glimpses of her and it's driving him crazy. They've either got an amazing sense of timing or they're unknowingly stalking each other. Neither sounds appealing.
Honestly though, he's become so hyperaware that his radars are off the charts. In a sea of people, he can find her easy-peasy, just turn his head around and oh look, she's over there. It's uncanny. Creepy. Weird. He knows these are only coincidences, but Divine Dragons, these coincidences keep piling up.
So when they reach out for the same pack of chips at the same place at the same time, he's sort of impressed. Horrified, yeah, but impressed.
Sakura's quick to jump back, swatting his hand and the chips in the process. Leo feels the sting, hisses as the bag plops on the floor. Just as quickly, Sakura flushes, drops down to pick it up. Her head is slung. Hands shake. He crouches beside her. "S-ssso sorry! I didn't—I wasn't looking. I'm-"
"No harm done," he interrupts.
Her gaze flicks towards him, freezing. "Oh," she says in a quiet voice, and Leo never thought it was possible for someone to blush as intensely as now. "Hello?"
"Hello." He helps her up. As he gets his own share of chips, the ends of Sakura's bag crinkle. "We run into each other a lot, don't we?"
"Yes, um..."
"My name's Leo."
She blinks. The crinkling stops. Then, her eyes warm and she smiles. "I'm Sakura."
"It's nice to finally be acquainted," he tells her, means it with as much sincerity he can. It translates well; Sakura's smile widens. He mirrors it. "Are you done with your shopping?"
"A-as a matter of fact, the chips were the last... And you?"
Nope, he's not; Leo still needs that blasted cooking spray. The recipe for microwaved eggs and cheese is a godsend he intends to use (preparation time is under five minutes? it won't make a huge mess? it'll be a better meal than plain white bread? yes please). But he doesn't want the conversation to end, so he supposes instant breakfast can wait another day.
Leo shrugs. "If you'd like, we can go to the cashier together."
4. campus library
Nowadays, he's been looking forward to their meetings. It's part curiosity, wondering where they'll meet up next, but simply talking to her makes his day. Past her shyness and stutter, she's a great conversationalist; who knew amino acids could be such an engaging topic?
The only downside is Hana. When she's latched on Sakura, she's like an oil stain to paper: ruins everything and is impossible to get rid of. He can't say he's warming up to her. He doesn't think he ever will. She's a weird mix of Odin and Niles and the guy down the hall who blasts his music at full volume, and that's three personalities he can't deal with at the same time. If he's lucky, he'll see Sakura without her. He counts his lucky stars every time.
Today, the stars have failed him.
And they fail him in the library, no less. When he's doing homework. Math homework.
Why.
He tries to be discreet, hides behind a hand visor and makes himself look busy. Shit. There's a free seat beside him. Should he put his bag on it? Maybe his textbook will be enough to deter them. Or maybe the gods will take pity and grant him divine protection.
But when he peeks through his fingers and sees them coming closer, he wonders why he prays.
"Hi, Leo."
That's Sakura. He grunts in greeting. "Hi."
"Whatcha studying?"
That's Hana. He grunts again, more dismissive. "Calc."
"I see," Sakura says knowingly and there we go, that's the reason why he likes her better. "We shouldn't keep bothering you then. Good luck?"
He lets a smile slip. "Yeah. Thanks."
Hana glances between them, snickers and snorts before saying, "Jeez! After talking about him for ages, I think you could try talking to him more. Dummy." Leo slides his gaze to Sakura, who turns beet red and looks away. "Ooh, just take the seat. I think I saw Felicia here, somewhere, so I'll bug her instead and let you braniacs do your own thing, 'kay?" She leaves with a grin.
She also leaves silence behind. Leo stares at his notes. Sakura fiddles. "You're free to sit down, you know," he says after a moment.
"Ah," she says. "R-right. Yes. Thank you very much."
She slides down beside him. They don't talk. Leo tackles math problem after math problem as Sakura highlights in blue and yellow and green. The only sounds they make are pen scribbles, and a short conversation when early evening comes—she excuses herself for dinner; he reminds her to wash her hands.
When she's gone, Leo stops writing for the first time in hours.
He stares at his work.
And takes a deep breath.
And he wonders if he's got enough change for a bottle of white-out.
5. subway
He's not all surprised that Sakura's on his train. What surprises him more is there are empty seats far, far away from him, yet she chooses to stand to his side. She slips her hand on the railing, just below his, and she gulps and looks at him. Leo stares back. He lets the words tumble.
"I haven't seen you in a while," he says. "How are you?"
"Good. A-and you?"
"Same. Nothing special happens these days."
"Oh."
Silence.
Then her knuckles tense, whitening in her grip. "Leo, about last time-"
"Canyon station. Arriving at Canyon station. Doors will open on the right."
Ding. A flux of passengers rush past them. Poor Sakura grabs the rail with her other hand, looking winded as people begin to shove, and he drapes an arm across her shoulders. It works to steady her, though she's a bit redder than before. He drops it as soon as train moves.
"Th-thanks," she says.
"No problem."
"...Um-"
"It's funny," he starts, startles her a bit. "I've mentioned it before, but we bump into each other a lot. Especially in crowded places like these. Isn't that strange? Sometimes, I think it's on purpose." It's supposed to be a quip to ease the tension, but Sakura purses her lips. He frowns. "...It isn't on purpose, right?"
Her eyes widen. "Y-y-yes! It's not!" Twisting her hands, she adds, "I'm thinking about something else, sorry."
"Mm."
"You see, w-well, I'm not good at talking to people."
"That's not true," he says, smiling. "I think you're an exceptional talker."
"Really? How kind of you. B-but I digress. Could—should I say I'm bad at socializing instead? Because I'm bad at that. Meeting new people, talking to strangers, starting conversations... It kind of scares me. So I keep to myself."
He nods. "Alright."
"Yes. And. Yes. You know how we live in the same dorm?"
"Of course."
Sakura breathes. "Well, I see you all the time. A-always did. At first, I also thought it was on purpose. I'd see you fill up an ice bucket or leave the building. But whenever I tried to say something, you never noticed, so...so I realized it was just a coincidence. And it was interesting, so I told Hana. That's what she meant. Last time. I keep t-telling her how I want to speak to you."
"But you're bad at socializing," Leo finishes.
She nods.
He lets the words sink in. "Then, in the coffee shop...?"
"That made me happy," she admits, though the smile on her face explains it all, "because now, I have a reason to talk."
The train announcer comes on.
"So-"
"-station. Arriving at-"
"-wh-what I'm trying to say is-"
"Doors-"
"-I'm glad you talked to me."
The train comes to a stop. Leo watches as people get off and on. There are mothers with strollers, men in suits, students like him and her. And maybe, he thinks, he's seen them before. Or maybe, he thinks, they've seen him. But he won't talk to them to find out. Not them.
The doors close. As the station pulls away, everything's a blur, and he says he's also glad he did.
6. coffee shop
It's mid-afternoon on a Tuesday, with perfect temperatures at the perfect time. Leo's thankful to have found such a nice café after classes. The coffee here's superior to the one near his dorm, and the food tastes simply fantastic. Plus, the atmosphere's great for studying. It's a quiet haven he wouldn't share with just anyone.
The bell rings. Through the silence, Leo looks up to see who entered. He grins. When Sakura notices him, she smiles back.
She skips her orders, heads straight to the seats. Between the small amount of patrons and unoccupied tables, she gravitates towards him like he does to her.
Before she even asks, his things are out of the way. "Is this seat free?"
"Yeah." Then he laughs like he has the best idea in the world. And in a quaint café like this—coincidence be damned—Leo thinks it might as well be. "Hey. You know what? While we're at it, your coffee is too."
.
fin.