Flowers and Chocolates

Part 10

There were certain people in the world who were just incredibly fun to mess with. Their complete overreactions were always so amusing and worth any pain that that they may later impart upon you. Arthur was one of those people. So was Leon.

And Francis rather enjoyed invading Leon's apartment. For various reasons...

Leon's responses to his invasions were always rather entertaining, for one thing. Since he never seemed entirely sure how to respond; whether he should kick him out or just let him stay. And, since he was never sure what he should do, he invariably let him stay, which was usually enjoyable. Francis had noticed rather early-on that Leon seemed to dislike being alone for any amount of time. Which meant that his home invasions had a positive impact, right?

There was also the fact that Leon's apartment had a rather nice kitchen that was usually stocked with the ingredients Francis needed to make delicious treats. And there weren't any cooks wandering around complaining at him for being in their way... Always a plus.

And he actually had someone to talk to when he was in Leon's apartment. Unlike when he was locked away in his own home.

Anyway, so there were reasons why he enjoyed invading Leon's space. And why he'd decided to come over here today before his Valentine's dates.

And now he was staring at a woman standing in Leon's door, holding a toddler in her arms. Which hadn't been what he expected to see when he opened the door...

Not that Leon even allowed him to say anything more than "Bonjour" to the mystery woman, as he immediately pushed him out of the way after saying his name scoldingly. As if Francis had done something wrong by answering the door and being hospitable.

"Hi, Tracy. Sorry about that. Francis was just leaving."

No he wasn't. He still had an hour before he had to leave. He'd even changed before coming here—into a pair of jeans that fit absolutely perfectly and a sky blue, silk dress shirt that was unbuttoned the exact number of buttons... You know, he honestly had no idea how Leon could keep refusing his offers.

And now he was curious. Who was she? A date? Leon wasn't dating anyone, though. Francis would definitely know if Leon was dating someone.

He had to admit that she was attractive, though. So he supposed it was possible. She was probably in her mid to late-twenties with dark skin and short, dark curly hair that was held back with a maroon scarf. And she was wearing a maroon and black patterned cocktail dress, large silver hoop earrings... She definitely looked like she was going on a date.

Since when did Leon date without him knowing? Francis knew about everyone's love lives in this town. It was practically his job.

"Oh, it's fine," this Tracy woman replied, waving Leon's remark away with a flick of her wrist. "He just startled me a little bit."

Francis ignored the look that Leon sent him. That had definitely not been his fault.

"Yes, well…" And he was still sending Francis a look like he should apologise or something. "How's Kaylin doing today?"

Kaylin?

And then she shifted the weight of the little girl on her hip, re-drawing Francis's attention to the child. Who was just resting there with her head against the woman's chest. Silent. She was pretty cute, wearing a little sweater with a big red heart on the front and a pair of red sweatpants with her dark, curly hair up in pigtails.

Francis had almost managed to completely forget about her, more curious about Leon's new date. A single mother perhaps?

That could work, he supposed. Leon was good with kids from what he'd seen.

"She's a little tired. Had a pretty busy day in pre-school, didn't you?" She kissed the girl on the forehead, and then sent Leon a smile. "It's really so sweet of you to do this for us. It's been ages since Benjamin and I have been able to go out."

Wait…

"No problem at all." And Leon reached forward at that, waiting as the woman entangled the child from herself and then settled her in his arms.

Wait, he was…

"Kaylin and I always have lots of fun together. Don't we, Kay?"

The girl didn't respond. She just stared up at Leon with chocolatey-coloured eyes, apparently not at all bothered by the fact that she'd just been handed off to some strange man by a woman who Francis assumed was her mother. Which probably meant that she knew Leon pretty well.

"You be a good girl for Mr. Leon now, sweetie," the Tracey woman continued, leaning over to brush a curl behind her ear.

On Valentine's Day?

Francis had always known that Leon was pretty clueless when it came to romance, but he really couldn't be this bad. Francis knew for a fact that there were plenty of people in this town who would go on a date with the extremely attractive cop in a heartbeat. Including yours truly.

And the woman now bent down and picked up a bag that had been out of Francis's sight. "I brought her rabbit. If she gets fussy, then you can just give her him to play with."

"Sure." And Leon was completely ignoring Francis's presence right now, which was kind of annoying. "I went to my grandmother's house just today and got a bunch of my dad and my old toys, so she should have plenty to play with."

Francis's eyes flickered over to the mysterious box. Toys?

"And you're sure it's no problem?"

"No problem at all. I was planning on staying in today anyway. Now I have some company."

…And what about him?

Francis sent Leon a slightly dirty look at that statement, which was completely ignored. He knew that Leon had noticed it, though, since he smiled slightly and turned away, lightly bouncing the girl in his arms. In a way that was definitely calculated.

The woman only remained for a few more moments, quickly going over her contact numbers, feeding times, bedtimes, Leon nodding occasionally and giving reassuring answers. And then she left, her dress swishing around her knees.

"You're baby-sitting on Valentine's Day."

Leon nodded once, shrugging with the arm not filled with a rather clingy toddler. "Yeah."

Francis wasn't entirely sure why he was so surprised. It was such a Leon thing to do. To babysit for one of his neighbours on the day of l'amour... Actually helping another couple celebrate their Valentine's Day together.

Still, he was a little disappointed that that woman hadn't been Leon's date. It would've been another thing to hold over the man's head.

A/N: Not nearly as interesting at you thought? Lol.

Still, Leon's a sweetie. Being helpful so the lady can celebrate V-Day with her husband. And omg, the little girl in my head is like the cutest little thing ever. Another moment I wish I could draw, because there's so much adorableness.