AN: I'm actually really glad that people are into reincarnation AUs, and find this interesting enough to stick with.
Enjoy!
Just the thought of her leaves him in a daze.
Leo hardly focuses during his lectures, and sits in his chair even after the professor dismisses class, and the rest of the students pile out. He's underneath his shower head for over an hour – mind clouded with thoughts of her. Both the girl in his dreams and the girl who locked eyes with him on the cobblestone bridge.
Since that fateful day, Leo has reevaluated his thoughts about her. He admits it, it was silly of him to conclude that she's the same girl in his dreams. People don't dream of others they've never met before, so the only other logical explanation is that he's seen her in passing before.
However, that feels wrong. Leo is sure he'd remembered her face if he saw her in passing. She's pleasing to look at, and a face like that is unforgettable. He sighs. Even if her face is unforgettable, logic overrules instinct. He must have forgotten it somehow and his subconscious placed her in his dreams.
This is the answer he decides to stick with so that he can finally give his mind a break. At least, this is the answer he tries to stick with. His resolve wavers when she enters his sight, and he's back to square one yet again.
He has no classes with her, nor does he see her hanging around the bridge again. She does show up in the library from time to time, and it is sheer torture for him. He often sneaks quick glances at her while she's doing school work. On occasion, he's caught her with her eyes fixated on him as he's working. He doesn't let her know that he knows.
Once in a while, their eyes meet. The first time, he is the one to awkwardly break eye contact. The second time, her cheeks turn a vibrant shade of red before she clumsily covers her face with a rather hefty book she's been reading. With the way she acts, Leo thinks that maybe he has met her once, and he's done something to slight her.
Maybe he's bumped into her accidentally, and didn't apologize for it. Or maybe he's cut her off in line for something without realizing. Either way, he's sure that she doesn't like him, because when she has to return a book, she dumps it in the return bin, and walks right past him.
It annoys him, but he does his best to shrug it off and continues to work diligently.
When his shift is over, he heads back to his apartment to finish up some homework. Maybe afterwards, he'll give that video game that Odin's been raving about a try. It has something to do with defeating a dragon, if he remembers correctly, and Odin said he'd like it because it was a strategy game. Leo didn't think Odin was one for strategy, but he appreciates the recommendation either way.
Before that, he runs into her again. This time, it's in front of the student services building, just before the path leading to the apartments. She just happens to be reading a flyer on the bulletin board, and he just happens to be passing by. They lock eyes again, but before she can scurry away, Leo's lips move to greet her. It's one of the rare moments where he's done something without thinking it through.
She stutters a small hello of her own, and Leo briefly thinks that she sounds exactly like the girl in his dream. But now, Leo hasn't got a clue of what to say next, and they stand in front of each other awkwardly. She's looking at the ground while he eyes the bulletin board she'd been looking at, trying to come up with a decent conversation topic.
Nothing good comes to him, so he settles on something generic. "I'm Leo, and you are?" He asks, with and outstretched arm.
For a second, he swears he saw her eyes widen with surprise before reluctantly shaking his hand. "I… m-my name's Sakura," she mumbles.
Sakura, Leo thinks. It's one of the same names the first prince called when he rallied his siblings to fight against us. This is too strange not to ignore. Not only did the share the same face, but the same name as well. This is no coincidence, and his resolve is broken beyond repair.
Leo is now certain he's never met this woman before, even though she exists inside and of his dreams. Do the rest of her siblings exist too? But what does it all mean? Leo bites down on his bottom lip as he tries to suppress the state of confusion his mind is currently in. "Sakura," he says aloud. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
She nods. "L-likewise… Um, I should… uh… I should g-get going now… s-so…"
"Yes, me too," Leo says, a little taken aback by her stammering and obvious discomfort. "See you around." Even when they part ways, Leo's thoughts still revolve around Sakura. She is different. In his dreams, Nohr is somewhat made up of the people in his normal life. His family is there, his friends are there – there's nothing strange about it other than how intricate it all is.
He never had to question it before. But Sakura's mere existence forces him to do so, and he isn't quite comfortable with the thought of analyzing his dreams. Not by himself at least. When Leo gets back to his apartment, he doesn't feel very hungry, and skips the dinner Laslow has prepared.
He does his homework, washes up, and prepares for bed. Odin asks if he still wants to play, but Leo tells him that he'll do so another time, and that he's feeling tired. Despite this, he isn't able to fall asleep right away, and stares up at his ceiling. How can one girl cause such an imbalance in his life when all she's done is stumble over her words and shy away from him?
The only thing that takes his mind off her is cleansing day. Ever since freshman year, Leo organized a day during the weekend where he and his roommates would randomly draw chores from a hat and complete them before noon. Because how else is he going to get Niles and Odin to do any work around here?
Luckily, they each have their own bathroom this year, and are responsible for that and the messes in their individual rooms. Odin draws first, and shuffles his hand around in the baseball cap. He begs not to be on dish duty, and Niles asks him how long will it take for him to pick one of four strips of paper.
When Odin draws mopping, Leo watches him deflate. "Ugh, I hate mopping! I always miss a bunch of spots and then Leo makes me do it all over again!"
In Leo's defense, Odin will miss huge sections and say, "What? I was supposed to mop there?" Of course he's supposed to mop there! It doesn't make sense to not mop there. Leo decides to bite his tongue and draws from the hat. He's in charge of tidying up the common area. He shudders, and eyes the cups without coasters on the table, as well as Odin's pizza box from the night before.
There were still leftovers in it too.
Laslow draws sweeping and vacuuming, and that leaves Niles to straighten up their kitchen. From 10 a.m., the boys set out to do their own chores, and it seems that Laslow is having the most fun out of all of them. He dances while he sweeps, and Niles thinks it's a good idea to pull out his phone and record him instead of focusing on his own duties.
Leo wastes no time scolding him for it, and Laslow, upon hearing of Niles' deeds, quickly becomes embarrassed.
When the common area looks decent, and the garbage bin is filled up to the brim, Leo takes it out. It smells utterly disgusting since Odin ordered anchovies on the pizza he left to collect flies last night, and after he dumps it, Leo feels like he needs to take at least three showers to feel somewhat clean again.
Something in his peripheral vision catches his eye. He turns to get a full view, not disappointed by who he sees in the least. His mouth says her name, but his body takes a step back. He's feeling a bit self-conscious about the garbage smell. She's a bit confused by his actions, but gives a shy hello anyway.
"What are you doing around here anyway?" Leo asks. He's sure that she doesn't live in the apartments in this area, or he would have seen her a long time ago.
"Oh, I um, I'm v-visiting a friend b-but… all these apartments look the same so…" Sakura's voice trails off.
Is that all? Leo thinks. "What's the apartment number?" When she tells him, he smiles. "Ah, you're on the right track then. If you keep going along this path, it should be straight ahead." She nods, and quickly thanks him before making her move to leave. Why is she so hasty to get away from him all the time?
Leo calls out to her once more, and she stops. He takes a slow breath. "Sakura," he starts, "have I done something to offe–"
"Hey, Leo!" A voice calls out to him. He inwardly groans. "Maybe you shouldn't have taken out that garbage. Odin's decided to clean his room for once, and – why hello there." There goes Laslows notorious smooth talker voice. If Sakura can't handle their generic conversations for two seconds, there's no way she could put up with Laslow's constant flirtations.
The hello she gives him is barely audible. Laslow smiles. "Now, now. No need to be shy. Leo, why didn't you tell us you were bringing company?"
"Laslow, please. I'm trying to have a conversation," Leo says through gritted teeth.
"Ah, and we can all have one together over tea," he smiles. His eyes are directly on Sakura. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name, darling."
Sakura, clearly flustered by the encounter, shakes her head. "I-I'm sorry, I really have to go!" With that, she heads off in the direction of her friend's apartment.
Laslow tilts his head in confusion. "Boy, she's a shy one, isn't she? Kind of reminds me of my mother…" He says. "Where did you find her anyway?"
The pure look of annoyance on Leo's face is enough to make Laslow apologize, though he stops halfway into it. "Wait a moment, were you trying to smooth talk her? And I got in the way of that? …I honestly didn't know you had it in you."
"What? That's not what was going on, honestly!" Leo argues. "She just happened to be asking for directions and I–!" Before he can finish, Laslow is already racing into the apartment, and tells Niles and Odin all about his weird assumptions of what went on between Leo and Sakura. "Laslow! Don't walk away when I'm talking to you! Laslow!"
When he's inside his apartment, his roommates all sit in the newly cleaned common area, chatting about his encounter with Sakura. Leo temporarily forgets his desire to take a shower, but he does go into the bathroom to wash his hands.
From there, he can hear Niles let out a wolf-whistle. "Damn Leo, I didn't think you were capable chatting up girls."
That's not even what happened, but there's no use in denying it at this point. His friends are already coming up with their silly ideas as to what happened earlier. Niles thinks that Sakura was "checking Leo out" and stopped to talk to him. According to him, it's always the shy ones you need to look out for. Laslow disagrees, and thinks Sakura passed by, and Leo made the first move. Then, Laslow refers to him as a "sly dog."
While he isn't wrong about Leo saying something to Sakura first, he'd hardly call it making a move on her.
Odin likes to think that the two of them clumsily ran into each other and were awkwardly apologizing before Laslow cut in. That's how all the romances on television happens anyway, right? All it takes for Laslow to ask what happened is for Leo to rejoin them and sit quietly with a book in his hand.
As soon as Laslow asks, he swiftly closes it. Oh, so now they were interested? "For your information, I've met her before today. We greeted each other, I helped her out with directions, and then Laslow butt in and scared her away."
Niles gives one of his usual wicked smirks. "I have a new name for you buddy. It starts with 'c' and ends in 'ock blocker.'"
"If nothing was going on, then what was I really blocking?" Laslow counters. "And if nothing was going on, why were you so annoyed earlier, Leo?"
"Because you can't just cut into people's conversations like that. It's rude," Leo scolds. Well, that and the fact that he was so close to figuring out why she acts so aloof with him. They didn't need to know that, though. "But it's over with now. No more talking about it."
The room is silent for a moment before Odin asks what she looks like. Leo frowns. Didn't he just say to drop the subject? Laslow entertains him, and accurately describes Sakura's every detail. Leave it to Laslow to never forget a pretty face.
Odin points to the window. "Isn't that her walking past right now?"
The rest of the boys all scramble towards the window. Laslow and Niles are only there to be nosy while Leo is there to make sure that his friends don't embarrass him further. His only warning is, "Don't you dare do anything stupid." As he watches her from the window, he notes that she isn't alone. A couple of her friends, he presumes, walk with her, and they look to be chatting normally.
He's thankful that she's not alone so he doesn't have to worry about one of his friends doing something they'll regret. Still, he's grateful that Odin points her out.
This is the first time he's seen such a bright smile on her face. He has to admit, it suits her far more than the looks of apprehension she often casts his way.
Apologizing to Sakura about Laslow's behavior last weekend is harder than Leo thinks. Of course he manages to say it, but there's a slight hesitation before and after he calls her name. This is always the hardest part because there is a chance that she'll freeze up and run away. That is the last thing he wants.
Sakura forgives him, and says that it's nothing he should worry himself over at all. After a moment of silence, Sakura surprises Leo by briefly looking him in the eye. "Um, what… what were you going to ask me the other day?" She asks as she plays with the hem of her jacket.
He's surprised that she's curious enough to ask. Leo clears his throat, and looks directly at her, even though she isn't looking at him. "Right. I wanted to know if I've done anything to offend you," he says. She finally looks at him, and she is stunned by his question. The look on her face says it all. "If I have, I do apologize for it, but I only ask because you seem… put off by me."
She shakes her head no. "N-no, it's not you. I just… um…" She stumbles over her words, but Leo patiently listens to what she has to say. "Y-you haven't done anything w-wrong… I didn't really know what to make of you…"
Leo's brow furrows in confusion. She doesn't know what to make of him? If anything, he's not sure what to make of her. It's as if she's a walking enigma. "What do you mean by that?" He asks.
"I… Y-you just kept staring… a-and I got really nervous s-so…" She says. "I didn't know wh-what else to do."
He winces. He hadn't realize how often he was looking at her. "So, you're saying that I actually did offend you."
This sends her into a slight panic. "No! I w-wasn't upset by it o-or anything! I only–"
"It's okay, really," Leo says. He gives her a reassuring smile. "It bothered you, and that's what matters. I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to make you feel that way. And I hope that we can move past this."
She nods. "Um, i-it's okay. I forgive you. But… I should go now. I r-really need to study…"
Leo understands, and the two of them part ways. From what he can tell, she looks like she's going in the direction of the library. And Leo has just come from there, as his shift ended not too long ago. Briefly, he wonders if she's learned his schedule to try and avoid him.
He shrugs it off, and heads back to his apartment. He has much more pressing matters to tend to than to stand here and think about Sakura's actions. Midterms week is upon them, and like Sakura, he has a lot of studying to do himself. Now that he thinks about it, Leo does consider it a good thing that the two of them happened to run into each other just now.
The original plan was to grab his notes and head back to the library. From the way that Sakura seems to frequent his thoughts these days, attempting to study in the library with the knowledge that she's there will undoubtedly distract him. With the constant noise his roommates produce, however, Leo wonders if he should have taken his chance at the library.
She's a much more tolerable distraction.
After lots of begging and promises to clean the common area for an entire month, Leo decides to help Odin and Niles by holding an emergency cram session. Odin questions why the word emergency is there, since cramming is already a terrible thing to do. Leo tells him that they haven't even started this session, and it's already midnight. The exam will begin at 2:30. So yes, this is an emergency.
Details aside, the three of them dive right into it. They go through dates and key events, decipher Odin's messy notes (which irritates Leo to no end), and write up flashcards to quiz each other on. Now, Leo is no history buff like his brother Xander, but he believes that it is important to learn about it, or else one is doomed to repeat it.
If he's being honest with himself, he knows that Niles and Odin aren't going to learn from this mistake, and they'll be back to bother him during finals week. Leo doesn't mind too much. It's a great way for him to get them to do work around the apartment. He's honestly impressed with their focus.
Well, until the clock strikes four anyway. From there, they steadily lose it. Niles begins to make innuendos out of anything he can. Some of them are way too complex, and after a while, he'd just utter lewd words at random. Odin cuts into Leo's lecture and asks questions that don't pertain to what they are talking about.
At six o'clock, Leo says that the emergency cram session is over, because it's way too late and he needs to go to bed. They've probably retained enough information to earn a somewhat satisfactory grade. As he walks away, Odin says that it isn't too late, but rather too early, since it's six in the morning.
Leo doesn't care. He leaves the two of them slumped over the table.
From behind his bedroom door, Leo can hear Niles say, "Good night sweet prince." About four hours later is when someone's phone alarm goes off, and Leo groans. It's turned off relatively quickly. 10 minutes later, he can hear Niles and Odin going over everything he taught them several hours ago. Leo can safely say that this is the most intense study session he's ever seen.
"Alright Niles! We can do this! We've just got a few more terms to memorize and we'll be good to go!" Odin cries.
"So… what are we gonna do for those essay questions?" He asks. "The professor said we can pick one of three but I don't even understand the first two."
The room goes quiet. "What the heck does that mean!? Why doesn't he just tell us what he wants? Ugh, forget it! We'll go with the last one. I sorta understand it."
As the two of them go over their plans, Leo's face turns sour. Maybe, he thinks bitterly, if you two didn't wait until the last minute to study, you could have asked the professor about it.
Leo really just wants to go to sleep already.
This is what Leo gets for being too nice. Odin and Niles may have gotten satisfactory marks on their midterm exams, but that emergency cram session really messed up his sleeping schedule. Now he's the one paying the price, re-shelving books in the library on just a few hours of sleep.
The coffee from Stahlbucks doesn't help in the slightest, and Leo can't even tell if he's placing the books in the correct place. There is a faint tap on his shoulder, and for a moment, he wonders if he's just imagining it. He isn't, because a familiar voice calls his name a few seconds later.
"Sakura?" He says, a little surprised to see her today. They hadn't seen each other since they ran into each other right before midterms week. Leo does his best to look friendly, but he ends up giving her a tired smile. "How've you been?"
She frowns. "Never mind how I've been. A-are you… okay? You look like you haven't been s-sleeping…"
"I'm fine, honestly," He tells her. She's not buying, and he decides to retract his statement. "Well yes, I've been a little tired lately, but it's nothing I can't handle. So please, don't worry about it."
"D-did you stay up late studying?" She asks.
"…You could say that." He mutters. Leo starts to wonder if the exchange between he, Niles, and Odin is worth it.
Sakura's eyes are practically shining with sympathy. "Um… it's good that you're serious about your work, b-but you shouldn't push yourself too hard." She looks past him, eyes focused on the bookshelf behind him. "Oh… l-let me help you with that." Leo is more alert when she starts to take some of the books of the shelf.
He stops her by placing his hand on a book she is just about to remove. "I appreciate the help, but I should do it. It is my job, after all."
Leo watches her flinch, and he's soon filled regret. "I-I'm sorry. I just… uh… the books are…"
The books are what…?
Leo looks back at the shelf, only to find that everything is a jumbled mess. Actually, it looks worse than it did when he first started. It isn't alphabetized correctly at all. He starts to feel a warmth rush to his cheeks. "I think… I'd like your assistance. Thank you."
The two of them spend some time re-shelving together. The silence between them is rather comfortable, and with his sleepiness temporarily gone, it finally registers that for once, Sakura finally came to talk to him and not the other way around. Their… "relationship" (if he could even call it that) feels a lot better than what it once was.
Sakura looks a little more relaxed around him now. He wonders what changed, but decides against asking. Leo doesn't want to make things weird for her again after they've just gotten to a stable point. "So, I've never seen you around here before," Leo begins. "Are you a transfer student?"
She shakes he head. "No, t-this is my first year. It's… so e-easy to lose yourself here, I've realized."
What she says is true. During his first year, Leo also had been feeling out of place. With all the different personalities swimming around, rules to abide by, and general atmosphere of this place, college really is such a culture shock. "It is, but finding yourself can be just as easy too. With the help of the right people of course."
Sakura takes a moment to think about his words for a moment before smiling. The corners of Leo's lips twitch upwards as well. He gets to be the reason that she's smiling instead of being a source of anxiety for once. It's a very good feeling, Leo has to admit. Sakura thanks him for the lovely piece of advice, and he tells her that it is no problem at all.
While they continue to work on reorganizing the bookshelf, Leo happens upon a book he hasn't seen read in years. A wave of nostalgia washes over him, and he opens the book to flips through its contents. Sakura looks over to him and smiles when she sees the book in his hands. "Oh, it's The Do-gooders."
Leo looks up from the book. "You know it?"
She nods. "Yes, I remember I when I started reading it. The first book came out when I was in elementary school. The s-story was so well done." The story focuses on two main characters who are transported to another world for a reason unknown to them. It is through their good deeds and immaculate problem solving that they get to leave that world, only to be transported to another.
There are eight books in the series, and both Leo and Sakura talk about reading them all. Her favorite is the third book in the series, when the two main characters are teleported to the world of Ebira, and help a little girl find the confidence and motivation to build robots that help advance society.
A good choice, but Leo says it hardly compares to book six. That's where they teleport into the kingdom of Venan, right into the prince's castle. From there, the young prince spare their lives, and the main characters help him mature into a fine ruler who knows the joys of true friendship.
She admits that book six is a wonderful one. It just isn't as wonderful as book three. Leo lets out a low laugh. "Actually, I'd like to share one of my favorite books with you, if you don't mind, that is."
"For m-me?" She's a bit surprised, but the smile on her face still lingers. "W-wow, I'd love to read it sometime. Um, what is it about?"
As Leo gives her a general synopsis, Sakura feels just a little more excited to read this story. Life really does work in mysterious ways, doesn't it? Over 20 minutes ago, Leo had been ready to pass out. Now that Sakura is here to keep him company, he's forgotten all about his sleepiness.
They decide to meet over coffee (or hot chocolate, in Sakura's case) for Leo to hand over his book. She accepts it graciously, but pauses for a moment after opening it. Leo's eyes narrow as she flips through the pages of his book; the corners of her mouth twitch upwards.
"Uh, is there something wrong?" He asks. Leo is curious as to why she is giggling.
"B-because," she laughs, "you left some sticky-notes in here."
Leo can feel the heat rise to his cheeks as he demands his book back from her. He just needs to take out the sticky-notes and she'll be able to read the book properly. Sakura holds the book away from him and says that she wants the notes to stay in there. She wants to know what they say.
They don't say much. If anything, they are markers of his favorite parts of the book. That and his predictions as to what will happen in the next chapter. Still, Leo feels humiliated. He should have checked that book first before handing it over to Sakura. It could be worse, Leo thinks. I could have forgotten to take out the overly-doting birthday card from Camilla.
"Y-you don't have to be embarrassed about it," Sakura smiles. "It shows that you're an active reader. A-and, the notes will probably make me read more actively too."
She's just trying to make him feel better because she's too kind, but Leo appreciates the thought anyway. He bitterly sips on his cup of coffee. "Thanks," he mumbles into the lidded cup.
Sakura eyes the book in her hands once more. "I think I'll start reading t-tonight. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow or something."
"Hey, don't just speed read through most of it in one night," Leo lightly scolds. "You need to take your time and enjoy it, alright?"
She beams. "Oh, I will! Definitely."
Sakura is so lively. He would have never guessed she was in their earlier encounters. His curiosity takes over, and he asks the question he's been avoiding for a few weeks now. "You've been a little more open with me lately. If you don't mind my asking, why is that?"
The smile on her face falters, and she is beginning to nervously fidget. "Um… I-if anything… I felt really bad about everything…" When his eyebrows knit together in confusion, she continues on. "You were trying t-to be friendly with me from the beginning, a-and I wasn't doing the same for you. S-so, I thought I should try and talk to you…"
Leo smiles. "Well, I'm glad you did. I enjoy talking to you, and I'd hope the same goes for you as well." Sakura nods, and gives him a coy smile. The feelings are mutual. After their meeting over coffee is over, a feeling of content washes over Leo. Things with Sakura are really beginning to look up.
It almost makes him forget about the bizarre dream he had about her two months ago.