Covered in Bruises
It wasn't losing the sparring match that set Leia off.
Sure, she was a little miffed that Jude had so easily snap pivoted away from her attack and then claimed victory by sweep kicking her legs out from under her and thoroughly pinning her to the ground, but Leia knew when she'd been outplayed and wasn't a sore loser about it. At least, not until her boyfriend started teasing her.
"Really, Leia? Did you actually get worse since the last time we fought?" Jude laughed as he rolled off to release her. "I would have thought with all your talk of 'working hard', you'd actually be getting somewhere."
And it was just a joke, Leia knew it was just a joke and Jude was only giving her crap because they'd been giving each other crap for most of their lives, and normally, Leia would have smirked at him and fired back some sort of equally biting retort. But this time, her heart stopped and her throat clenched up at his words and it was suddenly very difficult to breathe and even more so to speak.
That was one can of worms she really hadn't needed him to open.
Leia swallowed hard as she pushed herself up and stood, forcing out a laugh that felt awkward and probably sounded that way too. "Ehehe, yeah. Y-you know, I think I've had enough sparring for today, actually." She didn't bother to wait for Jude's response before turning and swiftly walking away, straight back into the Leronde Lodge.
Jude didn't come after her and Leia wasn't sure if that made her feel relieved or even more upset.
She had every intention of just heading up to her room so she could be alone for a while, but as Leia passed by the lounge, a flicker of movement caught her eye, and a better look informed her that Milla was sitting on the sofa with a book in hand. The blonde wasn't reading, though—she was looking right back up at Leia with an expression of concern.
"Leia? What's the matter?"
…Well, if her boyfriend was going to be a jerk, then their mutual girlfriend was probably the best person Leia could turn to.
With a burst of sudden speed that surprised even herself, Leia just about launched onto the couch and sidled up beside Milla, slipping her arms around her girlfriend's waist and squeezing tight as she dug her face into her neck. Milla froze up for a moment before relaxing and putting the book aside in favor of tenderly patting her head, and Leia found immense comfort in the gesture. Yep, "Mama Milla Mode" had definitely been activated.
"Jude said I'd gotten worse at sparring," Leia mumbled, feeling like a whiny child, but Milla didn't seem to care about her immaturity and just kept stroking her hair. "And he acted like all my training had been for nothing."
"I see." Milla didn't say anything else for a while and Leia didn't need her to, because right now all she needed was to concentrate on the feel of divinely soft hair brushing against her cheek and fingers running soothingly over her scalp and the warmth of Milla's body against hers. Then:
"Did he mean it?"
By now, Leia was significantly more at ease thanks to the snuggling, and she pulled back to shake her head slightly. "No. I know he was just messing around. But it…I dunno, it just hurt to hear that. Like, a lot." She pursed her lips. "I guess it's stupid of me to feel that way, huh?"
"Your emotions are never 'stupid', Leia. They're human," Milla said, and Leia couldn't help but roll her eyes a bit. Yet another example of the Lord of Spirits' love for anything human. "Jude crossed the line with you. And if you're bothered by what he said, you should tell him so."
Leia fidgeted in her seat, finding the idea both tempting and uncomfortable. "Y-yeah, I guess so."
Milla smiled reassuringly and grabbed Leia by the hand. "Come. I'll help you." Leia didn't even try to resist as she was dragged all the way outside, and they found Jude still in the same area she had sparred with him in, sitting with his back against a tree, his head hung down in what Leia abruptly realized was guilt.
"Jude," Milla called, her voice somehow both warm and stern as she released Leia's hand and gently pushed her forward. "I believe you and Leia need to talk."
They did need to talk, Leia knew that they did, and if Jude's ashamed expression was any indication, he knew that too. But Leia just wasn't sure what she could say and Jude wasn't speaking up either and for what felt like the longest time, they just stood there, not even able to fully meet each other's gaze, the heavy silence only becoming more and more unbearably awkward—
"Sparring time!"
The sudden shout caught Leia entirely off guard and she was treated to an even bigger shock when not a second later, she was pounced upon with enough force to sweep her off her feet yet again. By the time Leia realized what was happening, her chest was pressed to the ground and Milla had one of her arms pinned behind her back and Jude was, rather uncomfortably, squished up side-by-side with her on the grass, trapped in the exact same hold as Milla loomed over both of them.
"You both would do well to improve your reaction times," Milla taunted, suddenly seeming the epitome of dominance. "That was far too easy. Perhaps two against one isn't enough to even the odds after all."
"H-hey!" Jude cried. "Wait, Milla, what are you doi—nghggnghh!" Milla released her hold of Leia's arm to instead pinch Jude's cheek, and Leia instantly saw her opportunity. With a sharp buck and turn of her hips, she rolled herself out from under her girlfriend, then grinned and jolted up to shove Milla with all her might. It wasn't enough to dislodge the blonde immediately but it must have caused her grip on Jude to loosen, because the next instant, he was twisting out of her hold and Milla was dodging his playful swipe at her and Leia was attempting to get a hold of the spirit's retreating ankles, to no avail.
Soon, all three of them were tussling in the dirt together in what was more a chaotic wrestling match than an actual spar, forming a messy pile of entangled limbs and halfhearted blows and shrieks of ringing laughter. Leia and Jude worked in tandem but the Lord of Spirits refused to be taken down so easily and it wasn't until Leia successfully got a firm grip on Milla's leg that Jude managed to also grasp their girlfriend's wrists and force them over her head. Trusting Jude to keep her hands pinned, Leia pushed herself up until she was securely straddling Milla's waist, then gazed down into their captive's face.
Milla was disheveled and defenseless and defeated, but even so, she smirked like it was her victory.
"Ready to talk it out now?" the blonde asked pointedly, and as Leia abruptly remembered what they'd been trying to do just minutes ago, she also realized that the nervous tension that had been hanging between her and Jude then had entirely dissipated. Leia glanced over at Jude and he met her eyes with a sheepishly apologetic look that was already more than enough to convince her that he truly did feel bad about making fun of her.
"Uh yeah, listen," Jude murmured, his cheeks taking on a hint of pink. "I'm really sorry for being a jerk earlier, Leia. I went too far, and I should have realized that saying something like that would bother you."
"Damn right you should have." Leia made a show of huffing indignantly, but really, she had stopped being upset with him the moment their impromptu little skirmish had started. "But as long as you don't do it again, I'd say we're good."
"I won't. Thanks, Leia." Jude breathed a sigh of relief as he then looked down at Milla, who was still trapped beneath them but obviously didn't mind it one bit if her pleased grin was any indication. "And thank you too, Milla," he chuckled, bending down to give her a kiss that Milla readily reciprocated, and as Leia watched them, she felt very appreciative.
Leia had crushed on Jude for ages and she knew that he now shared her feelings even if they bickered til the cows came home and sometimes accidentally bullied each other, and Milla couldn't stay with them all too often because of her duties as Maxwell but she was still the glue who held all three of them together when things got rough and the main reason this relationship worked out as well as it did, and Leia didn't know what she'd done to deserve being blessed with the two of them but she was immensely grateful and she loved them both so, so much.
"Yeah. Thanks Milla," Leia echoed as Jude pulled away, leaning in to pick up where he left off. Milla's lips were soft and sweet against her own and when Leia finally broke the liplock, she turned towards Jude with every intention of completing the kissing triangle. But then he quirked a brow, cocked his head to the side, and shot her a cheeky smirk.
"So I guess this makes us a prime example of 'kiss and make up', huh?"
Jude snickered at his own bad pun, Milla groaned disapprovingly beneath them, and Leia forwent kissing him in favor of punching him in the arm.