"There's a spider," Reborn says, lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.
There's a pause.
"Are you going to kill it?" Reborn asks.
Leon glances over from his perch on a particularly leafy plant on the window.
"Le~on," Reborn complains. "I don't wanna get up but it's going to eat my insect friends."
Leon lazily locates the spider and then shoots out a four-meter-long tongue with the accuracy of a sniper.
"I love you, mwah," Reborn says happily.
Reborn and Viper are tangled together in the garden, on a nice wooden lounging chair – bright green because thank you Leon. They lazily, almost mockingly, watch Luce struggle in the dirt with the succulents.
"I wanted to be a tree when I was younger," Viper say, apropos of nothing. "I wanted to eat the sun."
Reborn hums. "I wanted to be a princess. Because I could wear pretty things, and people would fight over me, and I could rule over commoner scum like you."
"I mean, you've ticked all the boxes," Viper allows.
Reborn smirks. "And you can eat me if you really want."
Viper leans over and licks the Sun's face.
Reborn squints, pleased.
Luce huffs, throwing down the spade and then flinging her arms around until the gloves fly off in different directions. "You know, that's cute and all, but maybe you'd like to come and help me garden?"
"I'm afraid of plants," Reborn says earnestly.
"I'm afraid of pregnant women," Viper tacks on.
Luce takes a deep breath. "Oh, you're going to be."
Reborn rolls over in bed and smushes his face into Leon, who is belly up on the pillow next to Reborn.
A moment passes.
Reborn opens his mouth and gently munches down.
A moment passes.
Leon's neck stretches out and curves around, his mouth widening into a sharks with serrated rows of teeth. He engulfs the back of Reborn's head, tiny pin-pricks on Reborn's scalp.
A moment passes.
"Do you have a-" Verde begins as he ducks into the room. "…Is everything okay?"
"Hungry," Reborn complains, half muffled.
"Yes, I can see that," Verde muses. "There is food downstairs."
"Leon, get in my stomach," Reborn demands.
Leon's mouth turns jelly-like and engulfs the entirely of Reborn's head.
Verde purses his lips and steps back out of the bedroom. "I'll let you two have a moment alone."
There's a massive bang that shakes the floor and Reborn abruptly whips around, abandoning the espresso maker because Skull is the only other person in the house right now.
A giant, seven-meter-long Leon is standing in the living room, his bulk having shoved the furniture backwards with a screech of the wooden floorboards.
Reborn frowns. "Skull."
"Um," Skull says. "So, because Oodako grows, I was just wondering…"
Reborn sighs and walks over. "It's going to take Leon forever to work that much Cloud flames off."
Fon ducks his head in through a side window. "Is everything…okay?"
"Skull is being annoying again," Reborn complains.
"Then do what you always do and punch him in the face or something."
"It doesn't work anymore! He just shrugs it off!"
Skull gives Reborn jazz hands.
Five minutes later, Reborn is riding on a bright green dragon who is breathing purple fire as they chase Skull around the large backyard.
Fon watches them and wonders if he'd win a fight against a dragon.
Reborn and Colonnello are lying stomach down on a flower patch, hiding from Lal, when a beautiful butterfly in hues of blue flutters past.
Reborn raises a finger and it drifts closer, hesitating a moment, but lands lightly on his finger. Icy blue-tipped wings come to settle flat, blending to a lighter daytime sky at the centre and ringed with streaks of dark midnight blue.
Leon eats it.
Reborn starts to call for another one.
"That's dark," Colonnello mutters.
"I don't think I ever asked how you two met," Shamal says, slumped over the table so he can reach Leon, petting the lizard's head.
Reborn is leaning back in his chair, too full from dinner. "He just showed up one day."
"When?"
"When my mother was pregnant with me," Reborn admits. "At seven months, my dad said."
"Is this the dad in Interpol, or the one you killed, or the one you never knew, or the one who threw you out, or the one who still spoils you-"
Reborn shrugs. "Pick one, it doesn't matter." Reborn looks at the last few bites of tiramisu from desert and thinks about it very hard.
Leon lifts a little foot and puts it on Reborn's wrist.
Reborn huffs but looks away. "Anyway, Leon showed up and I grew up with him. I used to think we were both lizards, and when he shape-shifted, I'd try to do it too."
Shamal sits up in shock. "Oh, this explains so much. Your obsession with disguises, your cold-blooded nature, your weird contortionist skills!"
"Cold-blooded nature?" Reborn scoffs and scoops up the last bit of tiramisu with his fork. "If I eat this, will I actually explode do you think?"
Leon eats the desert, and the fork, just to make a point.
"Aww," Reborn says.
Shamal purses his lips. "So did you want to be a hitman and Leon joined in or did you have to convince him?"
Reborn waves a vague hand and slumps even further, head lolling back. "I didn't have active flames then so Leon didn't feed off me."
"And what does that mean?" Shamal asks after he realises Reborn isn't going to elaborate.
Reborn lifts his head with effort and raises an eyebrow at Shamal. "It means Leon would eat people alive. People thought I was killing everyone, and then I got a hit request at some point and…I mean, it all fell into place really."
Shamal nods along slowly. "You really are just a pathological liar."
"Am I lying?" Reborn muses. "Uh, damn, I really ate too much, carry me to the couch."