Disclaimer: Nothing's mine but the hobby of making words match to celebrate the beauty of fandoms.
A/N: Shout out to Ary Hyuga for fueling my motivation to get to writing this chapter! :)
And just let go, if you don't, we'll never know
So if you're loving this
Just give me one more kiss
'Cause you ain't seen nothing yet
[Avril Lavigne – You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet]
CHAPTER 14
Reyna was know for being able to keep her calm in just about any challenge life could surprise her with – it was one of her most valuable trademarks, actually. Usually, there were simply no circumstances that would be enough to make her lose her cool, and when the situation was clearly public, not her own private struggles for whatever cause, it was absolutely out of the question for her to just freak out like that!
She looked at her watch for probably the millionth time during those last five minutes she had been sitting outside one of the university's buildings, one of her hands playing its thoughtless game with the end of the woman's braid she took six full more minutes to make into a piece of perfection on that special day.
Gods, she was nervous!
It wasn't that Reyna didn't have faith in their abilities, oh no! She was well aware of how much potential their duo had, facing the competition, and she had never been a fan of forcing too much unnecessary modesty to try to hide it.
The problem was that she cared, cared so bad for giving it her best that the tension she had let build up inside was beginning to weigh upon her just a little bit too much…
Jumping off the bench she'd been spending those recent, not the most pleasant, moments of her life on, Reyna began walking down the pavement to the parking lot, considering texting her chemistry partner to check if he was alright and would finally kindly show up to stop her heart from thumping so loud in her chest! She was keeping a fast pace, rummaging through her bag in search for that damn phone, a part of her mind quietly congratulating herself once again for having at least had enough reason to have denied those tempting high heels the permission to be worn on that day. The woman had settled for a close-fitting yet smart black dress that was comfortable enough at the same time, she'd hate to do any worse than she could just because of a flashy piece of clothing that would restrict her movements in any way!
Not surprising when taking in consideration the amount of time he'd been spending chasing her around the campus, it was Leo who spotted her first.
He was just, as usual, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, neat and professional (guess who'd even woken up earlier to iron it right before the event?), wondering briefly if he shouldn't have cleaned those black shoes he only put on for most important occasions, after all, and if Reyna would notice, and what to do if she did and if she didn't like it… But all of that was degraded into a bunch of unimportant details when the goddess herself caught his eye out of the blue, when he wasn't yet fully prepared for their meeting (what about the self-boosting speech to himself and mierda, had he forgotten to take those mints, after all?!)!
It was a good thing they would have to wear their usual, plain lab coats later on, because if he were to focus anyhow when she was looking like that..! Well, they could just be going home already, as there was not a chance he wouldn't accidentally blow something up (again), or spill acid in the face of one of the judges, you know, just your casual mindless reactions of a guy infatuated so madly with his partner in Chem (you get it? Partners in Chem, like partners in crime..! No..? Ahem…)…
Scratch that, she was always gorgeous. And if he had been able to bear it for so long, that day would be no different. After all, he'd rather taste those funny deadly substances himself than disappoint her when they'd come that far!
Leo got Reyna's attention with a short, cheerful wave her direction, and watched her take an abrupt turn to meet him halfway to the competition site. "¡Hola, reina, how are y-!" he didn't get to finish his brilliant greeting, unfortunately, as all sound was cut off in his throat when she grabbed his hand (and he was more than sure that hell of a grip must have been thanks to her working out those fingers well!) and pretty much dragged him behind her inside, into the crowded hall filled with other contestants and their mentors using the time left to the fullest, discussing things and judging their rivals with discreet glances over the arm.
She found what she'd been looking for – some more peaceful square of space by the window, and when her eyes pierced his in a way so intense it was enough to make the tips of his ears burn, Leo sensed right away that something was not the way it was supposed to be. "Where have you been?!" Reyna hissed quietly, frowning, "It's already-"
"Exactly half an hour until it begins, right?" Leo double-checked the time, nodding to himself and once again returning the tense look he was given, "I figured it would be more that enough time to sign in and not that much so I wouldn't start stressing over how cool and victorious all those guys here seem," he shrugged, motioning for the crowd that radiated finest chemical knowledge and Reyna's eyes followed the move of his hand, but she didn't say anything.
Leo was right. She'd done it the stupidest way possible. At the very beginning, she let the most annoying traits of hers take over, disturbing her mind when she needed to stay calm the most. She shouldn't have come there alone, after all. Reyna had slowly been getting that into her stubborn system, that sometimes, it was alright to rely more on others… Since they had parted ways with Hylla, it had always been her to stay the strong one in the times of hardship… But with him, it was different.
Leo was funny. She couldn't recall the last time she'd spent her days with anybody capable of brightening them so much with the mere force of his jokingly behavior. That positivity was something else entirely from any of her friends. It was comforting. And at that particular moment, it was doing more than just an amazing job of calming her down...
She still wasn't completely familiar with simply accepting how he'd been gradually becoming somebody in her life… But it didn't feel so horrible at all.
When she looked at him one more time, Leo couldn't help but feel himself loosen up right away at the restored look of confidence in those most beautiful eyes, the ones that should have never lost their faith in their owner's strength. After all, was there anybody powerful enough to be capable of achieving just about anything Reyna could dream of? He would bet all the content of his lab on a big fat NO answer to that dilemma. He could even add his favorite tool belt to the bet, if anybody insisted!
"You're right, I…" she trailed off, turning her attention away from him with a small smile gracing those already marvelous pair of lips… Had he mentioned how bad he was craving disgracing the queen with his underdog jester mouth..? (Like a thousand times, probably, yet it was only the achingly undeniable truth!)
She never got to finish the sentence, as their (well, more like his…) intimate staring session was suddenly interrupted by no one else but the tornado herself, the thunderbolt of their university, the feared storm of a teacher, the-!
"There you are, Valdez!" Mrs. Lupa growled at him, clenching his elbow with a little too much force, if he were to complain, and ripping him apart from the dream of a forever (but not always..!) single Latino that had been those sweet minutes alone with the one that would (hopefully) soon turn that gloomy fate of his into Leo's own boyish fairy tale… "You haven't signed those stupid entrance papers yet, what are you waiting for?!"
He didn't even hear all that much of the angry rant. The only thing that mattered to him was that the painful sacrifice forced upon him had succeeded in making Reyna laugh again…
X
Reyna could feel a small trickle of sweat flow lazily down her back. Well, at least her subconscious was attentive enough to notice, as all the focus for those past minutes had been reserved only for the chemical glass and numerous substances that were supposed to help her and her partner carry out the reactions they had been asked for by the all too strict-looking judges... How much time did they have left? Would they even make it in time?
The competition site was a large laboratory in the central part of the building, one of the most professional, well-equipped place she had ever been to throughout her not so short scientific past - on a completely different level than even Leo's small paradise!. However, with this many contestants struggling their hardest, determined to prove their best, plus the usual generous California weather, even the greatest air-conditioning one could install would have had a tough time with its usual responsibility…
Or maybe it was just the godsdamn pressure she'd been beginning to feel return to her in gleeful bounces, making her just enough vulnerable to the heat in the air for it to start becoming significantly more unpleasant..? Leo seemed to be doing just fine, at least that's what she made out of the determined look on his face and the way he'd been working on his part of their project – if reality only allowed such a phenomenon, she wouldn't have risked anything, calling his progress spotless!
"Reyna, could you get me that flask over there, please? Reyna..?" it was only when he stopped right in front of her, lost in her thoughts, the steps of the experiments yet to be completed, what she had to prepare for those and request him to start doing next… that she had realized her companion had been talking to her, asking for her assistance.
"Oh, yeah, right away! Sorry," the woman answered shortly in one shallow breath, turning around to fetch what he'd been seeking and hurry to return to her own job, but then he, unfortunately, didn't let her get away with that one just that easily, instead opting for a concerned frown twisting his features and a piercing question of his eyes drilling hers with their stubborn stare that took no objections…
"What's wrong?" Leo asked shortly in a gentle half-whisper, however making it clear with the firm tone of his voice that he wouldn't back down before getting a proper answer and that any form of resistance was pointless! At least that was the effect he was hoping for, who knew if it had actually worked on the girl of steel, the stealer of his heart! To his surprise and content, which one more, he wasn't sure, it appeared that the tough warrior had taken pity on him that time, deciding to reveal a part of herself to the humble admirer…
He could almost see the exact moment Reyna let the mask of undoubted confidence slip off just some, giving way to the uneasy gleam in her eyes whose meaning he could, unfortunately, make out too easily, that many times had it plagued him in his own reflection in the mirror...
"Alright, queen, you don't need to say anything," Leo assured her, breathing in deeply and thoughtlessly mussing the hair at the back of his head, unsure of what to say next but searching for any way to make something out to solve the recurrent problem at hand, the blood of a creator obviously flowing in his veins at all times… Somebody please remind her, since when could she read his usual set of gestures that well..?
"I know that you're nervous... And how much this competition means to you... Just... Remember that I'm here too, alright? We're together in this one," he took a deep, reassuring breath once again, allowing it to shudder almost unnoticeable, and Reyna couldn't help but feel this warming little flame light up in her stomach, an occurrence she'd been slowly growing more familiar with throughout all those crazy situations with Leo that had brought them where they stood in that moment, side by side, united and on their way to a mutual goal. It was obvious to her that her partner didn't feel a master of fighting other people's demons with just his words, there was no doubt that he was a man of action. It was also quite probable that with the walls she had built around her, it seemed even more difficult to him to try with just them when it came to cheering her up...
Yet there he was, trying his best. And Reyna would have hated herself if she hadn't acknowledged such sweet efforts...
Leo jumped up when it occurred to him that Reyna was touching his shoulder, visibly forcing on a brave smile, though in the depth of her onyx eyes there still hid a shadow of uncertainty. But it was so much of a better outcome of his clumsy mumble than he had expected!
'Thank you, Leo. I really appreciate it. It's just that..." she hesitated, but words seemed to be coming out at their own will, it only felt natural to open up to him that time, "I kinda feel like if I let myself loosen up anyhow with those tasks... It'll all be in vain and..." she didn't know why but suddenly all sound stopped leaving her with a noiseless crack of her voice, and the not too graceful ending to the confession came out a simple awkward shrug. Gods only knew which one of them was more astonished with that one.
And so it was like that... Leo felt his lips curve slowly to form the famous grin of his and while he didn't know if it actually were the right expression to have in a serious situation like that one (most likely: not at all, he had never been that lucky!), he was, for once, a hundred percent sure as to what to say next. And hopefully his instincts wouldn't disappoint him and it would work out just fine...
"So... Take a risk!" Reyna's eyebrows jumped up in surprise at the sudden change in attitude of her companion's. Leo crossed his arms on his chest and stared her down from the top of her head to the very tips of her toes, a bold gaze that would have surely stirred her up a whole lot more if it weren't for the grotesque feeling of it when it was matched with the more grave mood of their short talk up until then. Luckily, before she were to analyze what the hell was just happening, the most unpredictable of the people she knew was kind enough to rush to explain, "I get it. You're not the type to just chill out and let it be… But could you trust me on this one..?"
"I… I don't quite get what-" she tried to protest, but he didn't let her finish, sighing and letting her know all too well that he wasn't yet finished with the half-desperate, half-amused look in his eyes smiling almost as bright as his mouth. Reyna swallowed. Damn, she was going to go completely crazy with that guy but well… Why the hell not! Reyna would hear him out if he wanted it so badly…
"Please, reina… Just for me… Could you take a risk of not forcing all the weight only on yourself, after all..?" he finished quietly, suddenly very aware of how brave the move he was just developing must have been and just what arguments he was using to convince her – that meant absolutely none, if not counting how he was hoping she would really agree to try to go along with his advice for his own sake..!
What Leo didn't believe in, but that would very soon prove to be true about their universe, however, was that ridiculous miracles did happen sometimes!
Reyna didn't know how much time they had already lost. She also had not the slightest idea about just what that scrawny Latino with a goofy smirk, in a wrinkled lab coat and his adorably curly hair sticking out in every possible direction, had in himself that he had been able to keep stubbornly forcing his way into her head… and heart… But…
She simply nodded her head shortly, embracing the newly found determination that was starting to fill her whole in an unstoppable wave – the second time on that day, and yet another one that was mainly thanks to Leo Valdez! It also helped a lot that the simple gesture of hers made her favorite, unmistakable smile come back onto his face, where it belonged…
"Let's kick their asses, partner," she smiled at him, to which he only chuckled shortly before they rushed to the final fight of their own battle without any more encouragement needed.
X
And so the journey had been coming to an end… All the time spent preparing for the most important competition in their lives (be it because of its meaning in the scientific world or the one they were taking part with, depending on what held more value to either of them) was just reaching its finale…
In just a few moments, they would know everything.
Leo and Reyna stood near the podium, awaiting in tension. Neither had said anything to the other since when the bell rang, announcing that their time had been up. For those fifteen minutes that had followed, the time for the judges to do their job of deciding how much all of their work had been worth, he had been pacing back and forth in front of a chair that had been prepared for him to ensure that the funny killing time of the wait were the most comfortable possible. She, on the other hand, felt as if she had been born on that simple piece of wood and that she would die on it, her eyes boring gravely in the backs of their greatest friends or meanest foes judging their chemical creations, they would find out soon enough…
And now it was the time to finally hear the verdict.
Reyna couldn't do anything about the sensation of blood slowing down in all her blood vessels, cold, freezing, when they had been reading the names of the pair that had won third place…
And it wasn't them. Something inside of her twitched violently. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw well that Leo didn't move a tad, which was an indication good enough of that nervousness had finally struck him, too. Maybe she shouldn't have been feeling that way, finding comfort in that he wasn't all well, himself… But it was pleasant to know that he had kept his word. She wasn't alone, not with him around…
And now, the second place…
When would they make the announcement, what were they waiting for..? And why was Leo suddenly shouting so loud..?
¡Reina!
Why was he grabbing her shoulders and grinning so wide, what did he keep saying that she couldn't quite make out, and why wasn't she able to do that?!
¡Dioses mios, mi reina! ¡Les ganamos!
And then he was suddenly pulling her in for a bear hug, and while she was still confused a little, a part of her began to understand that what he had said wasn't entirely true… They hadn't beaten everybody. But only one pair had done better than them… The two of them had done it. They had won the second prize in the competition!
She didn't know which one of those played a greater role in making her feel this wonderfully light – the joy of success that had exploded inside of her when the realization of the truth hit her, or the heat and the touch of his body pressing hers tight to himself like she had been the most precious prize about that whole game all along. She had made her dream come true and would proudly stand on the podium while the crowd clapped and pride filled her heart with every moment of triumph not to be ever forgotten…
No.
They had made that goal into reality. It wasn't just her that time, but also him.
Leo Valdez. The joker she hadn't even paid too much attention anytime earlier, other than noticing his presence in class, knowing his name and that he was friends with Jason. The careless, irresponsible student that had engaged her in that memorable explosion in the lab. The regretful, sincere heart that had taken her to Taino's as amends for his fault. The bold flirt and quite a decent dancer that had made her pulse rise, though at the time she only considered it an unwanted interruption and nothing else. The sweet dork that had embarrassed her in public with the most meaningful one of her favorite flowers. The funny, intelligent, persistent pain in the ass that had refused to ever give up before she gave him a chance…
And she suddenly remembered what he had told her not that long ago… Take a risk! Just for me…
"Game over, Leo," she whispered when he pulled away ever so slightly, not for once taking her eyes off those of his own, and for the first time, the only one surprised with just how gentle her gaze seemed while discovering all over again the beautiful depths of theirs, was him. She finally knew perfectly and fully acknowledged the meaning behind that expression of hers.
Reyna leant in slowly, ignorant of any sound and the turmoil around the two of them. Those were all petty distractions. Everything that was worth remembering about that single moment were his arms wrapped around her waist and the weight of flesh touching her body, the addicting smell of his filling her lungs and how quickly his heart fluttered under her fingers on his chest. She closed her eyes.
Reyna kissed the corner of Leo's mouth.
He couldn't believe that. Of course he had been dreaming that, one day, the woman of his dreams would have finally given up the resistance. That he would be able to give the world to her and prove it to her that it had been the only proper choice to let him inside of the armor of distance she had been putting on since they had met. That was the goal he had been struggling so much for. It was only natural to assume that what he did, he did for results like that sweet kiss, an eternity too short, if he were to name the only thing it had lacked!
But actually getting the results for real..? What he had learnt was that he had never been truly prepared for what it would feel like to succeed…
Reyna had kissed him. And he was just screwing the whole thing up by making her wait all damned too long for any proper response. (And gaping at her like a total idiot he proably was was so not one of them!)
"You want… Maybe… Like… Hang out..?" the high-pitched, croaky, mock sound something that came out of his mouth was certainly not the voice he would have wanted as an answer to his queen giving him the desperately awaited green light to continue on the road of love… But wait… What if it meant nothing to her, what if he had just misunderstood the whole situation and she-
Reyna laughed, clean and joyful. It was the most marvelous sound he had ever heard. Better than calypso. Better than any musical wonder anybody could think of. And it was so beautiful because it wasn't anyhow vicious or mean, as it would have been, had she been to be making fun of him. It was real.
When she had calmed down, the women he already couldn't imagine not holding in his arms forever like that, she looked at him with those unbelievable eyes one more time. Like in that moment, she didn't give a damn about anybody else… but him. "Yes, I think I'd love that, actually…" she replied simply, and he could as well keep pretending those judges didn't bother him with the prize at all – the biggest treasure, he already had there with him.
ZJeM, 17-25.06.16
From author:
So I'm almost sleeping on the desk and this A/N won't be any useful anyway, haha. XD
If you have liked this chapter, or hated it, or you don't even care at all, please let me know with even the shortest review, it's always so nice hearing from you (and knowing that there still is quite a number of us in the Leyna fandom!), plus I could probably make my reply any less pathetic than what I'm writing right now… ;)
But hey, I've just realized. WE'RE HERE, FINALLY! Gods, I almost thought Reyna would never stop resisting, and I know what'll be happening in here from the very start, haha!
THANKS FOR READING!