𝑳𝒆𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅𝒚| ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ 2

Age Insecurities

AN: This imagine features a reader who is younger than Leon, and I've tried to write this as unspecific as possible so you can choose whatever version of Leon you prefer that's older than you! ♡
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I smile and lean my head against Leon's shoulder, my hand wrapped around his muscular arm as I listen to my friends and their partners talk and joke, occasionally Leon and I will chip in and add to the conversation, but both of us are much quieter and prefer to just listen and enjoy.

"Our birthdays are literally two days apart, why wouldn't you want a joint party?" Lissa, my friend, asks her girlfriend. Her girlfriend looks at her as if she's crazy and begins a massive lecture about having separate spotlights and plus double cake. I shake my head laughing at their bickering as I reach for a chip, crunching on it. I feel Leon tense beside me, he suddenly looks uncomfortable and stands, kissing the top of my head.

"Just going out for a sec." He mumbles, one of the boyfriends offers to join Leon for a smoke, but Leon waves him off politely, mumbling "I don't smoke" before heading outside. I watch with a frown, wondering why Leon's suddenly got all jittery.

"I think he gets embarrassed," one of my best friends nudges me, she speaks low enough for us to have a mini private conversation, I look and see everyone else is too busy to listen anyway, now arguing about the best kind of dessert. I give her a confused look, wondering what she means. "Leon's older than the rest of us, and it's not just a couple of years, I think he gets worried about the age gap." She shrugs, leaning down and taking a straw into her mouth as she sips her drink.

"I guess I never really thought about it before, sure I know he's older than me, but I'm old enough to make my own decisions, surely he knows that?" I suggest to my friend, she nods and places a reassuring hand on mine.

"You should go talk to him, maybe let him know it's okay. I mean, none of us have any problems, it's the happiest you've been in a while thanks to him, and we can all see how disgustingly in love you both are. Ugh." She laughs. I nod and thank her, glad she's my best friend and understands me so well.

I get up and follow where Leon went, noticing he's sat outside at one of the benches, his head hangs low as he stares ahead, as if deep in thought. "Hey handsome," I softly murmur when I reach him, I wrap a hand around his head and pull him in for a hug as I stand between his legs, his arm snakes around my middle as he hugs my stomach, hiding his face. "Tell me what's on your mind?"

Leon huffs, "You're friend is too smart for her own good." I smile, gently tipping his head back to get him to look at me, my hand scratches the back of his hair as he opens up, "I just feel...I don't know, old around them? I guess sometimes I forget that you're younger than me, it doesn't change the way I feel about you, but...it's just grounding."

I nod in understanding, "It's okay, I know what you mean, it's sometimes a shock when I remember how much of an old man you are," I tease, Leon gives me a half pointed look, but ends up smiling and gently headbutting my stomach, "No but seriously, I love you and everything about you, age is just a number, and we're both adults who can make responsible choices."

He lets out a sigh, nodding as he pulls me onto his lap, my legs dangle as he hugs me and holds me close, "You know, you could always find a guy your age, he probably couldn't fuc-"

I put a hand over Leon's mouth, giving him a sharp look. "First of all, shut up, I don't want anyone else, I want you, and secondly," I remove my hand and lean down to peck his lips, "You're right." I laugh, brushing my nose against Leon's.

We both sit there for a while, embracing and enjoying some alone time before I pull him back inside, and we sit down and continue a nice dinner with my friends. Leon holds my hand on the table, clearly he's gotten his confidence back after our talk and I'm glad, because I'm not ashamed to love an older man, he treats me better than I could ever imagine, and he loves me more than life itself.

"You should both just get married already, you're more couple-y than any of us." One friend jokes, I laugh but can't help noticing the way Leon's eyes light up, as if he's already got plans on the horizon.