Bring It On, Valdez (Leo Valdez x Reader)

Chapter 48

(A/N: Apollogy chapter
^^^^^PUNS)

Glitchy's Point of View (3rd):

It was needless to say that you felt extremely loved, if not a little smothered. But it was welcome.

After the little "incident," Leo had made a point of escorting you everywhere, exceptions being the restroom and your well-needed alone time.

He stayed so close to you because the one time he didn't, he almost lost you. It was enough to rattle his nerves to the maximum. 

Something would always gnaw at him, however, making the feeling of guilt completely burrowing itself by his heart, settling in his ribcage.
Sometimes, it seemed to interfere with his breathing.

But what really set him off was the nightmares.

Yeah, Leo was prone to having nightmares. Well, going through what he has, who wouldn't?

But lately, he's noticed a slight change to the usual routine.

Along with his mother, you, (Y/N), were engulfed in flames. And it was all his fault.

He'd scream and cry and attempt to drag you out, but it was like you were glued to the floor, and he could only hear you scream in pain; a sound that he never, ever, in his entire (possibly short) life wants to hear.

He would wake up in a cold sweat, long, thin fingers tangled into his rats' nest of hair. Leo's heart would pound out of his chest, and a manifestation of fear would watch him for the rest of the night, depriving him of precious sleep.

Leo had gotten sleepier and more irritable and clingy during the day. You weren't angry. In fact, you were quite concerned. He usually held a quite happy disposition.

You confronted him.

You were in your cabin, which was currently empty of siblings.
A dread sat in the pit of your stomach, not sure if you'll like his answer.

Leo concealed a yawn. "Wanna watch a movie?" He pressed a soft kiss to your cheek, sitting on your bed and pulling you to straddle his lap.

You spared a little smile as his lips left soft kisses to your jawline.

"I wanna talk."

Leo's lips froze by your ear. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

You let out a melodious laugh, making Leo's smile widen and lips continue to travel down your neck, leaving butterfly kisses in his wake.

"No, you're not in trouble," you leaned, exposing your neck to him. His lips trailed to your sweet spot, peppering the area around it with little pecks and nips.

"But I'm worried about you."

Leo mumbled against your neck. "There's nothing to be worried about."
The vibration of his voice against your neck convinced you to close your eyes in bliss.

Leo didn't want to bring up his nightmares. It's not that he didn't trust you, it's that he wasn't sure he wanted to relive them. He gently bit down on your sweet spot.

You made a pleased sound. "You've been missing sleep. I can tell by the bags under your eyes. And you've been irritable now and then. Care to tell me why?"

His arms looped loosely around your waist, soothing the ache with a small prod of his tongue against your neck. "(Y/N)~" he whined.

You gently pulled his face up to meet your eyes.
"Leo, please, I'm serious."

Leo looked into your eyes, the ones he could look into for hours and melted. "Nightmares. I can usually handle them, but they've been getting worse."

You frowned. You already knew Leo had this problem, but maybe part of the most recent quest was included in his little dilemma.

You weren't going to pry further. Instead, you pressed a soft kiss to the tip of his nose.

"You're sleeping with me for a little while. No excuses."

Leo's face lit up as a grin spread across his tired face. "Really?"

"Really," you pressed a soft kiss to his bottom lip, feeling his smile as his arms tightened around you.

He didn't need to tell you what he dreamt about. He would when he was ready.

"Thank you," he muttered into your collarbone, holding the small of your back.

You giggled brightly.

"Now," he lifted you as he stood, laying you back on the bed and hovering over top of you. He trailed kisses down your neck, nipping down harshly on your collarbone and soothing the ache with his tongue. You yelped and turned red.

"Where were we?~"