#woe. leo and casey relationship analysis be upon ye

[lunar-lair]

quiet gear turning sounds as i attempt to puzzle out leo and caseys relationship

its so. like this is the very Core of found family, in that their relationship is simply…undefinable

theyre brothers and theyre master and mentor and the ghost of a father and his son, still here and still alive, and theyre best friends and simply family in every way there really could be

caseys other relationships are decently cut and dry; friends, brothers, sisters. (except for cass, thats a whole different can of worms.)

leo loved casey the moment he learned he had been apart of their family, whether in this timeline or another, regardless of his placement there.

theres this innate way casey looks up to leo that he tries to live up to, little mannerisms and things that make leo proud and endeared in such special little ways. hes still one of the first people casey goes to when he has nightmares, because he always sings the same song and holds him the same and hes home in a way none of the others can manage

and hes not him and casey knows that. but thats ok. hes still here, just a little younger, more compact, a tad more complicated

there are things leo learns from him and casey learns from leo, and there are still ways leo worries about him more than some of the others and things casey trusts leo with wholeheartedly, whether due to this invisible master-student tether that matters less than weightless air or just the ways they care

yet they roughhouse and they tease and they fight over the last slice of pizza and call each other stupid names and goof off

its this intricate kind of thing. they mean so many different things to each other. a brother, home, someone to hold onto, to take care of, however leo can, someone to look up to, however casey wishes, as long as leo can provide. they stick close on the couch, casey lulled to sleep by quiet lullabies and careful braiding of hair leos refused to leave unchecked. leo frets as loudly as he always has about caseys injuries, always so comforting and careful, and a little more ‘hey, be careful’ in his every action than with his brothers. casey follows behind leo, like a little brother and a student and the one whos taken care of, and leo leads the way ahead, gentle and careful and loving and just-barely-wise.

and the very next morning, they wake up and fight over the last pancake and stick their tongues out at each other from across the lair and leo calls ‘try not to get caught up in another apocalypse!’ before casey leaves and casey only cackles back with, ‘and dont get caught in any prison dimensions while im gone!’ because their gallows humor is their finest trait, and leo teases him when he gets back about how he got injured after hauling him in gentle and firm and comforting when he showed up and treating wounds with gentle hands, and they wrestle and laugh before they fall into bed together, both finding it so much easier to sleep with someone else, casey always curled up in leos grasp

its so, so nebulous. found family always is, but casey doesnt go to the others for comfort the way he does leo, they dont treat him quite so gently, because to him, theyre more brothers than anything else. its not so clean cut, but its simpler.

leo woke up after the kraang and took two sentences to ask how casey was doing.

he learned casey had seen the elder version of him as a sensei and a father and he never looked back. by god, hed be home for this boy if it killed him. this boy that saved their world. kind, and sweet, and oh so innocent for everything hes been through.

leo could never resist holding him close, calling him darling and my star and little lilac, and casey could never resist letting him, could never resist reminding him of their age and making sure they could have fun with it, call him comet and supernova and little sensei.