[EVENT] Hey! Be My Valentine? (Percy/Leon)

"Good! I'll teach you to play pool beforehand, then. Then you can hustle my cousin. He's awful!" Percy laughed, getting some twisted amusement out of the thought alone. "Make sure you make him put his money upfront, though. He's a lousy cheater." Gabriel was the cousin he was referring to, someone Leon wouldn't know but he'd make sure to point out when the time came. Neither he nor his brother got along with him or his sister, so there was more than a little bad blood between them. Why was he invited? Mostly because he'd just show up anyway. He was a socialite in that way...basically the opposite of how Percy normally was.

Sobering a little from his thoughts of the mean-spirited prank, Percy leaned forward and rested his chin in his braced palm. He'd jabbed a meatball or two into his mouth, seeming distant for a moment while he chewed. "You know, I'm not doing it for them. Maybe I owe it to myself," he said after a long pause, mulling over Leon's words. As far as he knew, what he was feeling right now was true, so he had no choice but to roll with his new mindset no matter how leary of it Leon was. "I've said all this stuff about wanting to stand as a Dagger on equal footing with my father and brother, but I've never made the effort other than searching relentlessly for magic and being good at my job. There's more to it than that, and I'm not just saying that because I have magic now. If anything, getting this magic has made it more clear that it's only the tip of the iceberg. How can I look them in the eye and expect the same respect when I just hide in my lab all day or chase monsters with Meliora Vitae?" he asked, and though he seemed calm and pragmatic, the meatballs he'd wanted so badly just moments before seemed to be bouncing around in his stomach. "I may never be the heir or as important as the rest of my family, but I can at least be something they can be proud of instead of just tolerated. I've never heard my father say he was proud of me, and we both know how my grandfather feels about what I do," he said, motioning vaguely to the obvious scar on his face. "I need to make myself valuable, stand on my own two feet, and connect with people. Connections are almost as much a part of strength as being able to protect what's important to you. You need absolute strength to take what you want in life. Throwing parties for people pretending to be your friends every now and then is a small price to pay. I'm not sure why I felt like I couldn't do it before."

This new Percy seemed to have it all together, to the point that he was completely convinced of his own words. Why hadn't he just channeled his professional behavior into his personal life before? It was just new home decor. It was just a party. It was just being 'normal'. Shouldn't he have more than two friends and know the names of his coworkers? What was easy for most people had always been a challenge for him and vice versa. He could still feel the discomfort when he thought about trying to be social, but it was so quiet that he could easily ignore it. For now. It would be easier said than done. One of these days he'd have to really ask himself what he wanted out of life, but today wasn't that day.

Giving up about halfway through the tray of meatballs he'd wanted so badly, Percy resigned to sitting and watching the man across from him. This was a whole other layer to the complexities of Percy's life, yet all he could do was tap the other man's shoe with his own under the table, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. Okay, so this was a weird date. Percy'd never been on a date, so it wasn't as if he would know what did and didn't make a date. "It's cute how concerned you are for me," he added quietly as if sharing a secret. It was ridiculous how attractive Leon was, enough that he ignored the obvious conflicts of interest to keep him close by. It was risky, but the alternative was too painful to really consider.

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Pets Without Parents. Depressing name, but the building was bright and cheery enough. So was the lady and the batch of excited puppies near the door, the latter which had Leon's intense attention. The two-toned man smiled to himself as he watched the taller man fawn over the very animal that he reminded Percy of. He might not like being called cute, but it was true all the same.

Leaving him to the puppies, Percy turned to the woman with a polite smile. "Yes, I'd like to adopt a cat," Percy told the woman earnestly, seeming very set on the idea.

"What kind of cat?" she asked, turning and leading the way to the cat area of the shelter.

Percy followed, eager to see the options though he had no idea what he wanted. "Just a cat...?"

The woman listed off a staggering amount of oddly termed breeds that they had, which effectively stumped the Dagger into some sort of vaguely stressed silence. Pointy ears, long tails, gray, orange, white, black? Solid and striped? "Mmmm, maybe I'll just see which one I bond with?" he asked, to which the woman nodded and smiled. That seemed to be a common angle.

Without further ado, Percy was allowed entrance to the Cat House, and his brain smoothed over. There were so many cats of all kinds. Long hair, short hair, striped, solid, all the colors... Now he was a little nervous. "Leon, come here," he called to the man just before he walked inside. Within seconds of sitting on the floor and apprehensively gazing around at all the inquisitive faces. A lot ran and hid, but there were a surprising amount of felines approaching him to sniff. There were even some kittens! How did one know which animal they were bonding with? As it was, a few were rubbing on him, but they all seemed like variations of the same thing. Did he go on aesthetics alone? Did he go for the friendly ones or did he need to go out of his way for a shy one? What was even considered a good cat? What made a good pet?

"Leon...help. How do you know how to pick?" he asked, looking a little helpless.

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Percy looked at Leon intently as if he held all the secrets, and as far as he was concerned, the man did. Watching him effortlessly interact with the animals made him a little envious, but also impressed him. Percy had never been very good with animals. Honestly, he was about as good with animals as he was with people. Down on their level apparently meant laying on his back, since that was the only way he could see that he could really get eye-to-eye with the smaller animals. It was then that he was mobbed by the friendlier cats, one of which seemed to think his face was great for laying on. He was a fluffy boy with long white fur and blue eyes. After flailing a little while being suffocated and feeling warm noses, rough tongues, and tiny paws all over his body, Percy sat back up with the big white one in his arms. Snorting out the rogue hairs from his nose and looking a little disheveled, he peered over at Leon with a slightly goofy smile.

He wasn't entirely decided, but he was already leaning toward the creature purring in his arms. However, something seemed to occur to him. "What happened to Robin? You haven't been home in a long time," he asked, wondering about the fate of the dog Leon had left behind. Actually, did he even still have his home in River Village? The man had intended to just leave the house and the dog to go back to Bellum forever, but he wasn't sure if he'd actually made the arrangements to move away permanently. It was hard to imagine Leon not being in his home with him now, after so long, but he also knew the time would come eventually on the assumption that he still had the home he'd made for himself.

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"Oh."

The small bomb Leon had dropped hung in the air for a moment. Percy's mismatched hues examined the handsome face across from him, then dropped to the cat curled into his good arm. Maybe this had been perfect timing. Being in an empty home seemed so daunting, but he couldn't really tell Leon not to go. Not only was basically asking to live together some sort of huge, official step that Percy wasn't remotely ready for, but he couldn't get in the way of Leon's therapy. He'd been making strides, but was he really ready for that? It was worrisome, but it'd probably be fine, right?

The discomfort in his chest was something he wasn't sure what to do with. The prospect of the two of them being separated again made him both more desperate for Leon's affections and wary of getting too used to them. It was as if part of him longed to cling while the other wanted to detach and save itself the pain. The last thing he wanted to do was push Leon away, yet there was this wandering thought that nagged at him. He'd already started losing weight despite his efforts to correct it, and the more Leon was around, the more likely he'd notice. It wasn't enough to notice yet, but soon enough sharing a bed every night would only aggravate Leon's recovery with worries beyond his own demons. Percy didn't know that Leon was already starting to worry, or that those who loved each other as they did often fought each other's demons together as a united front.

"Well, you haven't been mooching, and I like having you around all the time, but if that's what the therapist said is best..." he trailed, slowly bringing his gaze back to Leon with a soft smile. It would be lonely. Even with a cat. "I'm always just a phone call away. You can call me in the middle of the night if you have a night terror. I don't like it, but I guess she wants you to learn to cope without me. Maybe I'm a hindrance to your recovery," Percy mused, trying not to sound as sad as he was feeling. "But maybe, in the beginning, I can stay with you at your place? Like a week, and then every other day or something? I've never actually been to your house. I can help you adjust a little before we both adjust to being alone," he suggested, awkwardly picking up the feline that had apparently chosen him with both his good arm and bad. With a small wince, he held him out to Leon to see how the fluffy white creature felt about his lover and vice versa. "Maybe this guy can come, too? What do you think?"

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As the two seemed to approve of each other, Percy sat there smiling. The whole process ended up being easy. So easy, he really wondered why he had been nervous about it to begin with. Leon's advice had been invaluable and the two had apparently chosen each other. There was just one more thing, and perhaps this was the biggest thing of all. What was he supposed to name the cat?

Percy's creative processes were odd at best. He wasn't good at things like this. Somehow this fell under the creative arts. He could dream up any number of technological inventions and brand new innovations, but asking Percy to paint a picture, sing a song, cook a dish, play an instrument, or write an interesting story would get you nothing but disappointment. The only thing considered an art he was remotely good at, ironically enough, was dancing, which curiously extended to ice skating. It was probably the physicality of it. He had good rhythm, and to him, dancing wasn't much different from martial arts. It might also have something to do with Artemis dragging him to all the dance clubs. He kept it a secret, but he actually really liked to dance. Dancing wouldn't help him name this poor cat, though.

An expression of intense concentration tightened his features as he peered at his potential pet. He stared long and hard, pouring all of his considerable brain power into conjuring the perfect name for his new housemate. This creature would keep him company when he got lonely. He would draw Percy's attention back to the real world, maybe remind him to take a break and get some food himself when he fed the cat, not that he could ever forget about food lately. Always being hungry because nothing stayed down was the worst. Having a pet would surely be rewarding, though he wasn't sure how yet since he'd never had one before. If he could take care of Leon, he could definitely take care of a cat. It was a nice thought. But when he came home from work, what would he call out into the darkened house?

"You can't name a cat 'Cat' can you?" Percy asked suddenly, though he had yet to look away from the animal or lose the rather Leon-like intensity in his "hnnnnng gotta think of a good cat name what do you name animals this is hard" face. "Kitty?" he asked next, though his voice faded in uncertainty. He was making a fool of himself, wasn't he? He thought the harder he concentrated on the white, furry mass, the more likely it'd be that a name would surface. Like he'd name himself. Like how they had just chosen each other, he expected the name to choose the cat. But no, it seemed Percy would be responsible for that, and Percy was just bad at a lot of normal things. Maybe he should name him after something he liked? He couldn't name him Leon, that'd be embarrassing and weird. 'Magic' didn't seem like a good name. Neither did 'Circuit Board'. His lips pressed as he became more stressed about it, and his cheeks turned a light pink as he became aware of just how hopeless he was. "...what would you name him, Leon?"

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"..."

Percy just stared blankly at Leon for a couple of seconds before it morphed into some sort of baffled disgust for a long moment. Purrcy? The joke was clear enough, but the prospective cat-owner really didn't want to give this snickering man the satisfaction of acknowledging such a thing. Still, after the moment had passed, Percy groaned a "Leeeoon!" and then cracked a crooked smile as well. It was good to see Leon smiling again, so he couldn't help but humor him. His face softened as he peered at the inky haired man, though it was unclear what he was thinking. Or maybe it was? Percy only really stared at him when he really wanted to show affection, but simply didn't know how. Ah, this wasn't the place for it anyway.

"Alright then, we'll name him later. Maybe he'll do something that will make his name clear since both of us are so bad at it. Otherwise, he'll be Cat," Percy said, getting to his feet and gingerly taking the noodle cat from Leon's hands. He walked off with the furball to find the lady, who was more than happy to put him in a travel kennel while Percy filled out the adoption papers. After paying the fee and the cost for all the 'start-up' pet accessories, the pair would be on their way with the cat in tow. Percy seemed happy enough, feeling like the day was quite productive. Was it what Valentine's Day was supposed to be? Probably not, but how could he know that? He'd never celebrated one with someone before. It was fine as long as they were together, right? And the Tunnel of Love had been romantic...

Despite living in Rose Garden for quite a while now, Percy still made a wrong turn on their way home and got lost for a few minutes before finally coming to a road he recognized. Now that they were close to home, he turned to peer up at his date. "So...what are we doing when we get home?" he asked Leon, a certain sparkle in his eye though he'd otherwise not let on. Now that he knew their living situation was on borrowed time, maybe they should take advantage of it?

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An awkward little smile appeared on Percy's lips as he peered up at Leon, seeming relieved and almost satisfied that his lover picked up his brainwaves. "Okay," he said quietly, opting for his actions to speak louder. No amount of trauma or growth could erase all of Percy's idiosyncrasies. As much as he could now talk so effortlessly with strangers, he hadn't spontaneously manifested the skills to communicate personal things that he thought or wanted in any meaningful or easily understood way, so it was a blessing that Leon seemed to be perceptive to his quirks. Cheeks flushing a deeper red, he let his fingers twist between Leon's metal ones and tugged, leading him a bit more quickly to and through the front door of his home.

Whether he mentioned it or even realized it or not, it seemed Percy avoided the living room when it came to romantic encounters since the incident. In fact, he'd been avoiding the whole sex topic and only seemed interested in innocent kissing and cuddling. While he had completely forgiven Leon, the whole experience of his second time was a bit complicated to fully digest. Both of them had been wary of intimacy since then, but the mood had now struck and it seemed he was open to give it another try, especially in honor of Valentine's day. That, and there was just something about seeing Leon smiling and laughing again that worked acted as a powerful magnet. He couldn't help but feel intensely attracted to the man. After sleeping with Leon a couple of times now, Percy was more aware of how his body felt and what it meant, and a little more powerless to control it. His quickened heartbeat and the feverishness of his skin made it clear enough he wanted what Leon wanted, though he was unable to be as bold about it as the taller man.

He only released Leon's hand long enough to open the travel kennel and release the cat, placing some food, water, and the litter box out for when Cat came out from hiding under the couch. Percy was keen to let him do some adjusting on his own. Reclaiming the hand, Percy led Leon upstairs and into his bedroom and closed the door. He was a little limited on movement given the cast on his arm, but he wouldn't let it get in the way of this. Just inside the room, he turned, lingering near Leon but not making any moves other than struggling to remove his shirt one-handed. Percy still wasn't sure what to do, but he knew what he wanted.

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Apparently, as it was becoming slowly apparent, it wasn't hard to get Percy going. As chill and indifferent as he could seem, now that his eyes had been opened to passion and desire, sometimes he just ignited even when he didn't intend to. Something as simple as watching Leon slip out of his shirt had him fighting the urge to jump him. While it probably would have been okay if he did act on the impulse, there was still some sort of uncertainty that kept him from taking much action. He wasn't secure in his ability to show affection in the least. At least he could count on Leon to give in to his more tactile nature to keep things rolling. As his lover had mercy on him and helped him out of his shirt, he was surprised with a gentle kiss before he could even be freed of his collar. Initially, he flinched, not seeing it coming, but he was clearly receptive. It was oddly thrilling to basically be blindfolded. He leaned into the kisses as they came, predictably deepening as Leon fell victim to the passionate exchange. The shirt came off and seconds later the two were stumbling toward the bed in a mess of limbs.

Not that he could feel it, but as he gently pushed Percy down on his mattress, the man turned his head and pressed his heated cheek into the metal appendage. Despite the fact that it broke his arm, Percy didn't seem to be scared of it at all. Maybe it was because he'd created it, so it wasn't really a shock what it was capable of. It was just an unfortunate expectation from lack of use and experience. The chill of the smooth metal felt nice on his skin, though it did nothing to cool him off. The flush extended to his ears, as it usually did when he was all hot and bothered.

It was funny how different the tones of their encounters were. The first time was desperate, emotional, and thought to be the first and last. The second time was weird, painful, and depressing, something Percy tried not to think about but clearly had struggled with. And now, the third time, it was cautious and tender...well, as tender as Leon was capable of being. Percy preferred it this way, honestly. "Mm, you can hurt me a little," he said in an already breathless voice, reaching up with his good hand to cover his face. It was a little embarrassing in this face-to-face position. He felt as vulnerable as he had at the singles event. Though he'd really say nothing else, his eyes were heavily lidded and begging as they stared defiantly up into the determined golden ones. The way he crooked his neck was a silent request for kisses there or along his collarbone, which were his favorite spots so far. His pulse drummed hard and fast enough to be visible.

One day he hoped to be more involved. He didn't know how he'd get there, or what would urge him out of his shell, but he wanted to make Leon feel like he made Percy feel. He wanted to know where to touch and where to kiss, and have the confidence to just do it instead of being afraid he'd ruin the moment. The two-toned man squirmed a little in anticipation, though he would speak at least once more from behind his hand. "Leon... I really like you," he said with quiet intensity. He wanted to make sure the man knew since he wasn't very good with his actions or words. It'd been a rocky road these last few weeks, and though Leon was making progress, the road would be bumpy still. Bumpier than he was prepared for. But none of that mattered right now. What mattered was this, the two of them being together and celebrating the holiday dedicated to love and relationships.

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