There were times when Leo barely talked to anyone at all. He barely did in the first place, but in these times he seemed reluctant to even talk to me. I worried about him, but for the most part I tried to brush it off. He'll be better soon, I always told myself. And he was, eventually, back to his old self. But he would just as easily fall back into that phase.
"There are times," Nolan explained to me one day. "That Leonardo just doesn't feel very well. But you should be there for him when he isn't, being his best friend and all. Make sure you look after him." So the next time he was all held up and alone in our tent, I decided to go check on him. He was laying down under his blanket, and I wondered just how bad he was feeling. I called out to him, but his only answer was to shuffle around slightly to look at me. I went over to him.
"Hey, Leo!" I said, smiling down at him. He looked up at me, still unresponsive. I studied his face more and tried to figure out what was wrong. "Huh, that's weird... Nolan said that you didn't feel too good but you look fine." Leo sighed and closed his eyes.
"What do you want, Edward?" he asked me. I shrugged in response.
"I dunno. What do you wanna do? We could play."
"I don't feel like playing."
"You never do... But fine. Wanna train?" He shook his head. "... Is there anything you wanna do, Leo?" He shook his head again.
"Not really..." he said. "As you heard, I'm not feeling very well."
"But you look just fine! Well, kinda... You don't look sick, though. I'm sure you just need some fresh air! C'mon, Leo!" But he still wouldn't budge.
"I'll be fine, Edward, if I just rest for a little while." I pouted slightly at him. What was wrong? It was becomming obvious that he was upset over something.
"Hey... Leo?" I asked him then. "What's up?" He sighed again.
"I just don't feel well, all right?" he answered. "From the last battle, I suppose."
"The last battle? Did you get hurt? Are you ok?"
"Yes, Edward. Fine."
"Oh... Good." He reopened his eyes to look up at me, and I tilted my head slightly as I looked back. There was a strange glint in his eyes, one that I had seen many times before. It made me a little uncomfortable. Not because he was mad at me or anything, but because it made him look so upset, and I hated it when Leo was upset. And whenever I saw that look in his eye, I tried my best to get rid of it. "Leo..." I decided to try again. "C'mon, get up!"
"... You don't have to waste your time on me, you know." He wouldn't give in, either. "If you want to go do something, then go ahead. I'll play with you later."
"No you won't! You never play with me." He sighed again.
"I'll do something with you later. Just not right now. Go on, you don't need me." With a short huff, I turned to walk away, and he closed his eyes to rest. But I could swear that sad glint in his eyes flickered even more when I did. So I didn't actually go very far. Instead, I sat at the foot of his cot and crossed my arms over the blanket to rest my head in. I closed my eyes just as I felt Leo shift around. "What are you doing?" I heard him ask a moment later.
"Resting with you."
"Why?"
"You seemed lonely, so I just thought I'd stay with you until you got up." He shifted again, but didn't answer. I expected him to be more upset with me, but when I opened my eyes to look over to him, he was smiling at me. I instantly smiled back. He sat up, then, and I raised my head.
"All right, Edward... Get up," he said. I blinked at him.
"What?"
"Well, you wanted to go out, didn't you?" he reminded me with another smile, and I smiled even more in return.
"And you'll go with me? You're feeling better?"
"Yes... A bit." Jumping back up onto my feet, I waited for Leo to get out of bed and stand next to me. I wrapped my arms around him, and he embraced me gently back for a moment.
"Let's go, Leo!" I said, grabbing his wrist to lead him outside.
"Thank you..." he said suddenly before we went.
"Huh? What for?"
"You made me feel better."
"Ah, well of course, Leo! That's what best friends are for, right?"
"Yes... You're right." That look in his eyes still came back every now and then, but I always watched after him as Nolan told me to do. And not only because of that, but because I wanted to. Because I still hated seeing Leo upset, but it made me happy whenever I was able to make him smile again. It made me feel closer to him somehow, being able to make him feel better whenever he got like that. And maybe someday, he'd never feel like that again. We could both just be happy beside each other. But until that day and after, I'd always be beside him. Together, we could get through anything.