Showtime (Dell x Leon)
The melancholic piano melody caused the silver-haired male to stop in his tracks. Of course there's someone still here. It was foolish of me to think that I could actually leave on time. With a groan, he turned around and made his way to the piano wing of the music institute, violin case swinging in hand. Seeing as the male had somewhere important to be, it didn't take him long to reach his destination. However, upon entering the piano wing, the person sitting before him was one he was not expecting to see.
"Dell?" There it was, the familiar voice with just a faint trace of a French accent. "What are you doing here?" The pale blond tilted his head to the side, questioning the man's presence. Not feeling the need to answer in a hurry, a long, awkward silence filled the room. Dell, the only one unaffected by the pause, took this time to examine the male in front of him, who fidgeted under his intense gaze, a faint blush freckling his face. "Is there something you need?" The years of tension between the two of them was almost tangible.
A shake of Dell's head was all the acknowledgement the male had earned. "I have a concert to do, and needed to lock up. Just make sure to do it before you leave." With that final comment, Dell spun on his heels and left the room, not wanting to be in the company of the blond for longer than he had to be.
There was no way to tell if his racing heartbeat was caused by that unexpected confrontation, or the fast pace he had set for himself; although, that was the least of his concerns. What is he doing back here? Even though I left him all those years ago. Due to the current situation, the lesson that Dell's grandmother drilled into his head decided to flit through his thoughts. If you love somebody, let them go. If they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were. The ironic part about that statement was the fact that his grandmother had been a hopeless romantic; she could never keep a boyfriend of more than a week. He snorted at the thought of her still flirting with men 40-50 years younger than herself; even lying on her deathbed hadn't stopped her from making her comments that usually bordered on the line of sexual harassment.
Dell was so caught up in his memories that he failed to notice a certain blond haired individual calling his name. That is, until the male decided to grab onto the silver-haired violinist's arm, causing him to drop his violin case out of shock. Fearing for his life, Dell quickly curled his hand into a fist and swung at the man holding him captive. Red eyes met with green ones as his fist came to a halt only centimeters from the male's nose. "Leon?" Their maladroit eye contact only lasted for a few seconds, as Dell's cellphone decided to go off just at that moment.
Feeling relieved for chance to get a moment's reprieve from Leon, he turned away and promptly answered the ringing gadget. "Yes? Hello?" He drew in a sharp breath at the news the speaker told him; determined not to let his emotions show, he cast a stone-cold look over his face. "Ah, I see. That is fine. I will just have to find someone to take your place then." Giving a curt nod and a grunt of affirmation, he quickly announced his goodbyes and hung up the cellphone. Before he could stop himself, Dell had already uttered a groan.
"What's wrong, Dell?" The silver-haired male faced the inquisitive blond, and found himself staring into a pair jade green eyes. Leon gave his old friend a sympathetic smile and patted his shoulder. "I'm here for you if you want to talk about anything." The caring aura that radiated off the blond was enough to draw harsh laughter from Dell.
The man gently removed the hand from his shoulder and gave Leon a questioning look. "You cannot possibly care about me after everything I put you through. There is no way in hell you'd be able to." His words had sunk down to a mere whisper; the barely audible sound of his voice required that the blond move closer to hear him. "Why did you choose to come back now of all times? When I left you, it was for the best. I'm not a good person, you do realize." Dell's voice had taken on a pleading tone; it was obvious that he was in a great deal of pain, but what caused it was a different story. "I thought you wouldn't come back."
Leon's grin pulled at the strings of Dell's heart. "I came back because I love you." Those were the exact words Dell had been hoping to hear, but he refused to acknowledge if they were true or not. Even if they were, his words wouldn't change the fact that he and Leon didn't belong together. "Just because you smoke or joined a gang doesn't mean that I loved you any less than I did." Leon placed a gentle hand on Dell's cheek, which the male leaned into. "When you love someone you learn to see past their faults, and love them despite it." The blond leaned in and gave the shocked 25 year old a kiss.
Another alarm from Dell's cellphone broke them apart. He shot the offending object a glare and checked the alarm. "Oh no...I'm going to be late!" Leon cocked his head to the side out of curiosity. "My pianist for the concert said she couldn't make it tonight. I don't think I'm going to be able to make this concert.." Disappointment dripped from Dell's voice, making Leon feel terrible. Usually the stoic male hid all signs of his emotions in order to seem tough, but now, sheer terror was evident on his face.
"I could help you out if you want. Just let me read the sheet music on the way there." Dell's eyes widened in shock; he hadn't considered the option of having Leon replace anyone. After giving it a thought, Dell picked up his case and removed the sheet music; he handed it over to the blond male with the specific instructions of memorizing every part, which earned him a very enthusiastic "yes, sir!"
Leon's comment caused the silver-haired male to snort. "Whatever, let's go before we arrive later that we already are." With that final statement, Dell walked toward the exit, Leon following close behind, his eyes absorbing every note on the sheet music. The blond took this chance to slip his hand into Dell's. Although the action was surprising, he made no move to take his hand back. "Thank you for coming back, Leon. I missed you."
He smiled and gave the violinist's hand a squeeze. "I had to come back eventually. It's not like just anyone can put up with you, you know?" That caused Dell to laugh, a sound that Leon greatly enjoyed.
"Well...I wouldn't doubt it. Now, come on, slowpoke. It's almost showtime." With that, Dell tugged on Leon's hand and pulled him out into the night air, a faint smile spreading across his face.
