(A/N: This was written for Sophita. Leon and Precis, as she requested in this LJ drabble meme.)

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/Constant/

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I caught him crying once. He'd glared at me and snarled, "Go away."

When I only stood by the doorway, trying to decide what to do, he added, "Acute nasopharyngitis. Common cold. So get out."

"Then go see Bowman," I retorted.

"I'm fine."

He was sitting on the floor, back against the wall. I walked over, plopped myself next to him, and made Horohoro shut up. He looked away so that I couldn't see his face. So that I couldn't watch him cry.

The silence seemed to stretch on forever. To tell the truth, I was bored and restless, and had half a mind to leave. My hands itched to create something, to hold a wrench or a screwdriver, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

And then he said, in a voice that didn't bear the condescending tone it usually had, "I miss my parents."

-

Leon doesn't cry about his parents anymore. He seems to have grown in that time we spent with Claude and Rena and everyone else. He's taller now too, and his voice is deeper.

Presently, his ears twitch, and he raises an eyebrow at me. "What are you staring at? It's not like it's your first time seeing a genius at work."

Brat.