When Elise said she would do something, she usually meant it. When she said she would dye strands of her hair purple like her big sister, she meant it. When she said she would adopt a litter of dying kittens, she did it and nursed them back to health, after which she decided to give them to those who could provide a good home for them. They kept the oldest of the lot, however, because she refused to leave Leon's side. Camilla named her Rose, though nobody knew exactly why, as Rose was a grey tabby Maine Coon and didn't have any sort of rose-like qualities. Regardless, the fact of the matter is, Elise stays by her word.

Leon somehow managed to forget this fact when she told him she would be sleeping in his room every night after he came home from the hospital. The girl simply plopped herself onto his bed at 8:30 one night and refused to leave until he did the same. It was a bit embarrassing, sleeping in the same bed as his little sister, but he had to admit that her presence reminded him that she cared. In the end, it was because of her that he hadn't succeeded in killing himself on that eventful day. While he did appreciate her dedication, he did begin to feel guilty after only a week of her near-constant presence. She was forced to turn down invitations to spend the night at her friend's houses, and Leon, knowing how much Elise enjoyed sleeping over, felt worse as time went on.

The younger felt obligated to spend time with him until he felt better, and he supposed she was helping by spurring him to spend time with his old friends. It wasn't much, but he was sure Niles and Odin appreciated his responding to their group chat every so often again. Admittedly, he'd been avoiding Niles on purpose due to the awkwardness of the fact that they'd broken up, but that only went so far. Niles had been his friend longer than he'd been his boyfriend, so Leon supposed he should just get over whatever lingering awkwardness he felt. Odin, on the other hand, didn't deserve his avoidance in the slightest. It was yet another thing for Leon to feel guilty about. One weekend, he walked past the kitchen when he overheard a bit of one sided conversation.

"I'm sorry, Sakura…" Elise was on the phone, eating some dessert. "No, it's not your fault. Sakura, oh my gosh that's not true, I love you! I'm sorry I haven't been hanging out so much lately but I told you, it's because…" She fell silent, likely listening to Sakura.

Leon felt guilt clawing at him, knowing that she hadn't spent as much time with her friends as she normally did because she was busy taking care of him. It was ridiculous, and he hated it. He was her older brother, wasn't he? He should be the one making sacrifices for her, not the other way around! A sigh escaped him, and he stepped into the kitchen. Elise looked up at him and smiled. In the span of less than a second, Leon made a decision.

"Oh, Elise, I forgot to mention I was planning on spending the night at Niles's house." She blinked at him before telling Sakura to hold on for a moment.

"I thought you two broke up?" Elise tilted her head, pulling her phone away from her face. Leon blushed slightly.

"We were barely dating in the first place. Besides, he was my friend before he was my boyfriend." A frown made its way onto his face. "Why should that even matter to you? You weren't supposed to know we were together in the first place." Elise giggled.

"No reason, I just want to make sure my brother has pure intentions!" Her cheerful demeanor threw him off, and he raised a brow.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know there's no point sleeping in my room tonight." Leon turned to leave the kitchen. "Have a good time with Sakura." He smiled at her before making his way upstairs.

Upon reaching his room, he realized that it wouldn't be such a bad plan to hang out with Niles. He hadn't had a proper conversation with him since they broke up, and he was beginning to miss the odd fellow. Leon dropped himself onto the bed somewhat lazily, glad that Rose had the sense to move out of the way before he landed. She crawled to burrow into his side as he texted Niles. With the cat so close to him, it was only right to pet her. As such, by the time Niles responded, Leon was feeling quite content with his position.

Leon: This is short notice, but I told Elise I would spend the night at your house.

Niles: cool

Niles: always nice to have my ex bestie over

Leon: I'm going to pretend you didn't use the word bestie.

Leon: Anyways, I suppose I'll see you in an hour or so. Until then.

Niles obviously didn't see the need to respond to Leon's last message, as Leon's phone informed him that the other male read it without replying. After checking the time, he realized it would probably be best to leave in around an hour or so. He got his belongings together as he put a short documentary on (something about fish that he wasn't paying attention to), and after a while he decided it was time to leave. Leon took the time to put his binder on before leaving, and he remembered that Elise had already been picked up by Sumeragi. It was with a yawn that he walked to the nearest bus stop that would take him in the direction of Niles's house. As he was still only fourteen, he didn't exactly have any sort of driver's permit, but he knew how to get to his friend's house without having to catch a ride from someone. He was knocking on the door to Niles's somewhat shabby looking apartment after about half an hour of a mixture of walking and riding the bus. The darker skinned male answered after letting Leon wait for a moment, and the younger didn't look amused when he opened the door.

"I'm guessing when you said 'an hour or so' you meant the so part more than you did the hour?"

"Shut up and let me inside, I'm cold." It was only a few weeks before winter break, after all.

Niles laughed, stepping aside so Leon could step into his dingy living space. Looking around felt a bit odd, as the last time he'd been in the building he had been dating the owner. It was rather small, and there wasn't a television. The wallpaper looked old and yellow, and the wood floor had long lost its sheen. It was a rather dramatic change from what he was used to, though he supposed it was rather impressive that Niles even had working water. Though he was a sophomore, like Leon, Niles's schooling had gone the opposite way from Leon's. Whereas Leon skipped a grade (7th, to be exact), Niles had failed one, making him sixteen years old. Niles was also emancipated, as his parents had abandoned him, and after life on the streets for a while, he managed to make himself a legal adult and secured a job. He juggled that while trying to keep up in school. All-in-all, he had anything but an easy life, but Leon was impressed that he managed to deal with it at all. The older boy's apartment was only one room, with an attached bathroom.

After a short moment of debate, Leon sat on the floor by the bed, taking his phone out of his bag. He'd forgotten to tell his father that he would be spending the night at Niles's place, after all. After doing that and confirming that he'd gotten there safely, he was asked for at least two pictures as proof. Leon blinked in surprise, suddenly feeling uneasy at how obvious it was his father didn't trust him to be safe anymore. After taking an awkward couple of selfies, he made himself comfortable, leaning against the bed. Niles sat on the soft surface, and Leon tried his best ignoring his friend's toned arms. They may have broken up, and Leon may not have had any sort of actual romantic feelings for him, but he still found him rather attractive. He usually didn't think about that, though. There was a moment of silence between the two.

"So, what's up, coming over out of the blue?" Niles questioned after texting someone on his phone. Leon wasn't actually sure how he paid for that thing, but it wasn't a smartphone, so the bill must be cheap in comparison.

"Mmm, nothing, really. I just didn't want to be home." He realized he hadn't really been alone for quite some time.

"Any reason for that…?" Niles questioned further.

"..." Leon debated whether or not he should just tell Niles what was going on with him. He didn't really want to open up, but it would take a weight off his shoulders.

"You don't have to say anything." He looked over at Niles, who was scribbling something on some sheet of paper. It was probably that English essay that would be due two classes from then. Leon had finished it ages ago, but Niles had a rather tight schedule. He used to get Leon to help him when they were dating, but not when they were just friends.

"No, I probably should. It's… probably better to talk about my issues than it is to keep it bottled up."

"For some people." Niles erased about a paragraph's worth of writing, and Leon felt bad about the fact that Niles didn't have a computer. "This have anything to do with you disappearing for a week?" Leon frowned, taking a long while to answer.

"Yes…" He had a moment of doubt, not wanting to admit what he did. "... I was in a really bad place. Completely my fault, of course." Leon tapped at his phone, opening an app where the main goal was to make the small planet he'd landed on green. There was a lot of tapping involved, making it a good thing to occupy part of his mind with. "My family has grown overly doting since then."

"... Am I reading your implications right?" Leon bit his lip, nodding slowly. "... I'm sorry." Niles stopped writing, his focus on the essay lost.

"It's not your fault." Leon looked over at him, looking down at his phone after making eye contact.

"Yeah it is. I've been your friend a few years, I should've known what was going on. It's not the first time you've been depressed." Leon was quiet, barely even paying attention to the comets he was blowing up. "Odin and I could have helped." Leon shook his head.

"No, I was… It's my fault. I was ignoring both of you." He paused. "I could have gone back to school sooner if I wanted to. Father let me stay home the week after I got out of the hospital just because I asked him. Camilla and Marx were there the whole time, too." Leon decided to switch apps. Now he was a fish trying to ascend to being a dragon. "My whole family was there when I woke up… Apparently Elise was the one who found me. I don't know if I'd still be… alive if she hadn't." He sighed. "They're all sort of paranoid about me now. I'm not even allowed to walk home on my own anymore. I have to wait for Garon to get off work."

"That must suck." Leon nodded.

"Main point is, Elise is insisting on sleeping in my room every night." Niles winced. "It's not too bad, honestly. I know she's just doing it because she cares, but…"

"You're just feeling hella guilty, huh?" Leon nodded.

"She's been turning down offers to spend the night with her friends because of me. It just doesn't feel right, y'know? I'm her big brother. I should be sacrificing stuff for her, not the other way around. The main reason I came over was because I overheard a conversation she was having with Sakura." Niles was silent, waiting for Leon to continue. "I think Sakura invited her to spend the night? The way Elise responded to whatever she was saying made it seem like Sakura was upset that Elise was more distant all of a sudden. Elise wasn't very happy either."

"Aren't they dating?" Leon stopped, blinking as he took his eyes off of his phone screen. He looked over at Niles, his face blank.

"I honestly have no idea." Niles looked back at him, an amused smile on his face.

"Oh? Do tell."

"I don't know, they seem like more than friends, but I can't really tell if they're actually romantically involved? Sometimes I see them holding hands, but it looks really natural to them."

"I think they should date."

"Don't you have an essay to write?" Leon questioned flatly, not wanting to entertain the thought of his bubbly baby sister actually dating someone until she started acting more mature.

They continued on in silence, Leon not wanting to talk about much, and Niles really needing to finish his schoolwork. A few hours later, the older boy seemed to be finished, and Leon silently put his phone down as he took the paper from him, as well as a pen he'd brought along. One never knows when they'll need a pen. As he looked over his friend's work, Niles reached over to his bag looking inside. Leon told him he could use his laptop if he so desired, and Niles nodded. He'd been about to ask if he could. After looking over the essay, Leon gave his feedback, and Niles got to typing, keeping that in mind. Leon had been at Niles's place for approximately three and a half hours by the time the older teen finished his essay. Niles was the one to break the silence and draw Leon's attention away from his phone.

"You've never spent the night before." Leon glanced over at him.

"That's…" He couldn't exactly say it was because he was terrified Niles would find out he was trans and think any differently of him. "That's true."

"Why not? Is it 'cuz I'm so poor?" Niles glanced around. He should probably try and do laundry soon. "I know it's nowhere near as nice as your place." Leon shook his head.

"No, it's personal. Don't worry about it." Niles frowned.

"Is it 'cuz…" He looked at Leon, who was slouching. "You don't want me to see you without your binder?" Leon whipped his head around to face Niles.

"Excuse me?"

"Ha! Bingo." Niles had a lazy smile.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Come on, I'm not stupid. You can only go, what, eight hours before you gotta take that thing off? No way you can sleep in it either."

"..." Leon frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. How the hell did Niles know?

"What?" It seemed Leon's silence got to him after a moment.

"I never told you."

"Well, I figured it out. I know what a binder feels like. Those few times we were making out were a pretty good indicator."

"So…" Leon frowned. "Is that… why you broke up with me?" All Niles had said at the time was that he wasn't a good match for him.

"Yeah."

"That's-"

"Before you go on about how I'm a transphobic piece of shit, let me say something. I didn't break up with you because you're trans. I've slept with a trans guy before and I'd do it again if I liked him well enough, but you're not looking for that kind of thing right now. You're not comfortable with yourself, and me being who I am really wasn't helping that. Believe it or not, you're pretty important to me, so I just did what I thought was best for you." Leon blinked, turning away from Niles.

"... Thanks." He hadn't been expecting such a sincere answer from him. "I'm… going to go take it off. My binder, I mean." Niles nodded, pulling Leon's laptop closer to himself again.

"I'm gonna find a movie. Then we can talk about what the hell the pro and antagonist fucked up on."

Leon let out a short laugh before heading to the bathroom to remove the restrictive article of clothing, as well as replacing his contacts with his glasses. It felt odd, not wearing them in front of someone who wasn't his family, but then, he'd known Niles for so long he practically was family. After returning, he put his carefully folded binder into his bag before joining Niles on the bed. The two of them got Odin on video chat, and they all watched whatever movie it was Niles had picked out. Leon found himself having a rather pleasant night in the end. The fire of his friendships with Niles and Odin had been rekindled, and though there was still a bit of an uncomfortable gap between him and the other two, he was glad they were even talking again.

Word Count: 2,894

So, I dunno about you, but I love Leon and Niles together in literally any way like... they can be gay, cool. they can be bros, cool. just as long as they stay close... it's good...

I'm not really sure if Niles is ooc or not? I've never really written him before, and I haven't gotten most of his supports yet;;;

This is a fic in my AU series, so it might not make complete sense unless you've read a few parts that come before it (chronologically). I'm not posting them as a multichaptered fic because honestly, I do NOT write these things in order. I just finished writing this one yesterday, but the first one I wrote was set during the summer between sophomore and senior year (Soapy's Fucking Stupid, I haven't posted it yet bc as far as my publishing schedule goes, I'm posting them in chronological order). After that I jumped back to freshman year, so if I posted these as a multichaptered fic it would be all over the place!

fics you may need to have read to understand this better: Suddenly, Puberty / Mutual Agreements / Overdose

The next installment of this series sort of skips to after Soapy (haven't mentioned them in this fic but they're my MU) and Leon are already dating and it's kinda NSFW so umm

That's because I haven't finished the one where they get together yet. I'll post that one later uwu

Anyways, I'd just like to quickly remind/inform you of the poll I have on my profile! It's just to see which of my stories you'd like to see more of in the future uwu

I hope you enjoyed reading!