Pairing: Zapp Renfro/Leonardo Watch.
Warning: Hint of relationship. OOC!Zapp because he sure as hell ain't gonna care about Leo ;_;
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot of this fic.
Note: Unbetaed... there may be a lot of grammars mistakes. Image cover pixiv id 50592517. Used without permission but I gain no profit from this so don't sue me ;_;
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He might have been an asshole, thought the tan male when he gazed at the lying figure on the bed. He could have treated the boy a bit nicer but somehow, just looking at his face made Zapp wanted to tease him even more.
.
When boss had entrusted him with the task of looking after Leo, he snorted and downright refused. His job wasn't babysitting and he sure as hell wasn't going to stick to the kid for the whole day or something. He could tell that the boss was worried about the new recruit. He possessed the All-seeing eyes of God, a valuable artifact in the Otherworld, or so he heard. His naïve and gullible personality makes him an easy target for monsters, creatures from the Otherworld.
And human.
In a city like this, it was hard to find someone who would help a random stranger like this boy. In fact, Zapp thought that kind of people had already extincted in this hellhole. The more reason to make him an endangered species which requires protection.
Of course, it wasn't Zapp's problem if Leo got abducted or something. He couldn't careless if he got his eyes poked out by some Blood Breed. He, obviously, would show no concern and walks away if Leo looked at him with a tear-stained face asking for help when he was being mugged by some half-ass robbers. It wasn't like he was paying attention to that small, helpless, virgin boy.
That's right. He doesn't care.
Which totally and completely doesn't explain why he dialed the number of the Domino pizza branch where Leo was working and placed an order even though he wasn't that hungry. It also doesn't elaborate his confusing actions of following the kid around just for the sake of robbing his pizzas. And the most unintelligible thing is that he did it because he enjoyed doing so. Just seeing his expression was so interesting that he just wanted to pick on him more. So in the end, he followed the boy when he was on his way to delivery an order.
The getting-beaten-by-a-monster-under-disguised part wasn't that enjoyable though but he survived and successfully tracked that bastard for his comrades to come and rescue the boy, just in time.
Klaus's punch was so strong that it sent the laundry truck into nothingness along with the culprits. No one thought about the well-being of the boy when Klaus landed the final hit. It wasn't until Steven pulled the boy, tattered and beaten but luckily still in one piece, out of the remnants of the fight did everyone freak out and drove the boy to the hospital in a rush.
Zapp was also in the same hospital, in a recovery room for patient who has just undergone surgery. The injuries weren't grave but the doctor insisted on staying in the hospital one night to be on safe side even though he thought that wasn't necessary at all. Leo was brought in when he was looking for a place to smoke. The nurses were pestering him to put his cigar away every two minutes but he didn't pay them much heed. Just an absentminded "yeah, yeah" and they would leave him alone.
The weather was fine that day. Not too much fog and not too sunny to his liking. Leo was brought in at about four o'clock in the afternoon, Zapp noted when he spotted boss running on the corridor with a heap, which he suspected was Leo, in his arms. Everyone was also with him, Steven, the wolf woman and Gilbert. Deciding that it would be better to visit Leo later, he stayed where he was and let his mind wander.
The kid was probably pissed at him. That was to be expected, he did go a bit overboard with his teasing but still, he did his job. Zapp did was boss asked him to do and in the end, the kid was still alive and breathing by the end of the day. Personally, he thought that alone should receive a compliment. Or a raise in salary this month.
Glancing at the direction of the hospital's surgery quarter, his mind drifted toward the boy, wondering if his injuries were fatal and blamed himself, just a little, because he was the awesome Zapp whose job wasn't babysitting but kicking asses, for letting him got taken away by those freaks from the Otherworld.
.
After having a smoke or two, he went back inside the hospital and headed toward Leo's room. Steven texted him not long ago, informing him of the boy's room number in case he wanted to drop by and check on him. Out of everyone in the team, Steven was the only one who could comprehend the motive behind Zapp's antics. Unlike Klaus who is a bit clumsy when it comes to socializing, he is a shady man who has a lot of connections. Dealing with people is what he is good at and the tanned male hated to admit it but he was irritated by how Steven could see through him sometimes.
'His room is on the right side, third floor. You can go and see him, you know?'
He didn't ask the guy to give him that type of information but the scar-face man just went and sent him anyway. And what was with that suggestion?!
'So annoying, that Steven.'
Ten minutes later, he found himself standing in front of the room Leo was resting. Talk about irony.
Twisting the door's handle open, Zapp invited himself in. The room was silent, save for the steady breathings of someone sleeping. He made his way toward the bed near to the window. A very fast movement caught his attention and he realized that it was Leo's monkey. It disappeared behind the curtain surrounds the bed. He walked over and sat down on the chair right next to the bed. The monkey was sitting on the bed, on the pillow, staring at him in a questioning manner. Its yellow pupils unmoving, focusing only on the person who was his owner's partner.
'You gotta problem, monkey?!'
On the bed, the monkey sat still but its eyes didn't leave Zapp. He then reached out to pet it and it leaned into his touch. His gaze diverted toward the boy lying immobilized on the bed. He was covered in bandage from head to toe. There was white gauze covering his eyes and scratches on the skin of his cheeks. The dressings was new since he could find no trace of old blood leaking from it. Leo looked like shit, and he snorted at the thought of it. The kid had just joined Libra for a few days and he already found himself hospitalized with pretty nasty wounds. Boy, he just had the worst kind of luck for a newbie.
Zapp leaned back on his chair, hand itching to reach into his pocket and light another cigar. The fire alarm in the room stopped him. Leo was sleeping soundly. His chest rose and fell in rhythm with his breathings. Perhaps it was one of those rare times that Zapp didn't feel like picking on him. How strange. They barely knew each other but the silver hair male felt at ease around the boy. He was someone whom he could joke around with and made fun of but at the same time someone he treated as an equal, a partner. He knew that in Libra, everyone cares for each other and basically, the organization itself is a big family. However, there is always a line that you can't pass at workplace. It is obvious that one can't really act all casual around your boss or people you respect like you do with your friends.
That makes Leo his friend, and he didn't mind one bit. People who can put up with him are quite rare and the boy did that well. Well enough for the silver hair male to come and pester him almost everyday. They ate lunch together, watched movie together when there was nothing to do. Sometimes, they pulled up an all-nighter to play games or slept over in the office. Despite his look, the shorter male is quite competent. Zapp thought that he was just a wimp with good eyes which Libra can make use of but turn out, Leo was more than that. Interesting even. When he was determined, he could do a lot of things which no one can nor even think of.
By the look of his condition right now, Zapp doubted that he would be released soon. Even with the Otherworld's technologies and advances in the medical fields, it would still take at least a full week for the kid to recover enough to get out of bed by himself. The tan male has his share of hospital experiences and from those numerous visits, he could estimate the length of stay for someone just by looking. A full week without the boy's company. That kinda sucks, thought Zapp and he wondered what he should do to kill time. The usual pattern of his habits had somehow changed a little over the past few days with the presence of Leo in Libra. Somehow, the brunet had gained a place in his timetable.
He wouldn't say that he was getting attached, no, it makes him sound like a woman. They got along well and he liked to pick on Leo but was that all?
'How embarrassing. He wasn't looking at me with those God eyes but still he managed to mess with my head.'
He muttered under his breath and reached out to touch his bandaged hand. There was a thick layer covering it but he could feel the frail presence of broken bones and healing skin. He held Leo's hand in his and leaned over the hospital bed on his elbows. With Leo's hand touching his forehead while he held on to it, he thought about how embarrassing it was, what he was doing, but he did it anyway, never mind the monkey watching with curiosity.
'Hey, get well soon, pube-head.'
The nurse scowled disapprovingly at him for not going to his own room to sleep but stayed in another patient's room. He couldn't careless but taking advantages of his charm, the nurse easily let it slide and promised to not tell anyone. He stayed with the boy until he fell asleep of fatigue and only left when he deemed that he was about to wake up.
There was no way in hell he would want the boy to know that he stayed with him for so long. Not when he has a reputation of an asshole to uphold in front of the kid whom he liked to pick on so much.
(- unbeknownst to him, some times later, Leo does find out eventually, thanks to his pet monkey, but that is for another story -)
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It's been a while since I tried to write something. I'm following Kekkai Sensei now since it has a similar atmosphere like Baccano and Durarara. I admire Ryogo Narita very much! But Yatsuhiro-sensei is so cool, too!