notes: just trying to get everything in here lmao

plot: a (maybe?) mortal au where leo and piper are visiting cali (which piper always talks about) and leo's been doing some thinking lately.

92 - I want you to be happy."

Bits and Pieces #8

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untitled 2

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liper

- rated T -

"Listen, Piper." he exhales into the crisp air, his breath coiling and billowing into a wispy ghost before dissipating into a sky full of stars. Leo almost never says her name, and the sound of it sets off a pang in her chest. The wind blows, and the ships bob in the waves off the pier to better illustrate her worry. "I'm not trying to make you the bad guy here. It's just…I just feel like shit every time you mention your dad or home or LA, and whenever I see how homesick you are, I feel like I'm just holding you back. I mean, you don't even need me. I'm just a mechanic. Dead weight, nothing special. But you - you're amazing, and talented, and you should stay here in Cali surrounded by a-listers and real trees and taxis that actually stop for people - "

"I'm not leaving New York!" she practically shouts, winning the attention of a fisherman seated on a bucket further down the dock, sitting on the edge with a curious look and enough tanned wrinkles to make her wonder if he's made of leather. "We've been through this, like, five times, Leo. Okay, yeah, I do get homesick sometimes - " the crestfallen look on his face makes her words come out in a rush. "but I don't care, because to me wherever you are is home and if I moved all the way out here, I'd be even more hopeless than before. I love you, you big idiot. So stop letting all these 'dead weight' ideas into your head and just fucking kiss me already."

She can tell he's relieved now, because his shoulders have lowered and he let out a little sigh. A breeze blows again, and the wharf is silent under the cover of night, save for a few ringing bells and a couple of shop keepers wading through pools of light cast by flickering lamps.

When he looks at her with a soft expression, her first thought is Why isn't he kissing me yet, but then he speaks and her thoughts are halted. "I'm sorry, Pipes. I love you too." His hands are on her arms now, pulling her close and rubbing them up and down like they always do when she needs comforting. "It's just…I want you to be happy. I just didn't think I'd fit in the picture if you were."

She steps into his embrace, pressing a hand against his chest as he envelopes her in a warm hug. "Well I am." she declares, "And I will be as long as you're here with me. So can you stop doubting yourself now?"

He gives a hum, and then, "Okay."

"And can I get my kiss?"

This time, he makes a different sound - a low rumble of laughter, which starts off low in his chest before mixing with her own. A hand smooths down her hair and the voice above her says, "Sure thing, Pipes. Anything to make you happy."