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twstaction · 11 months ago

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My first gotcha post! I hope y’all like it! Thank you to the beta readers for helping me with this one! Honestly, this was so fun I may come back to the idea a bit on my own time!

Gotcha for Gaza: link

Prompt: malleus x leona, modern college au where they're co-captains of their biggest sports team and so they're rivals. but malleus's roommate (u can choose who, or just make up a npc) has his boyfriend over so he shows up at leona's (who doesn't have a roommate) door and asks to sleep on his floor for the night. commence bonding.

Submitted by @makkisucks to @twstaction

(Fic under the read more)

The stands were on their feet, some were getting worried the bleachers would collapse under the weight, though more were worried about a full out brawl between fans. The score had been neck and neck for some time. When one team got a point, the other team got one right after. Everyone was putting their all and then some into this game. It was the final of the season after all.

Leona had the ball and was racing past the opposing team, dodging left and right, eyes on the prize. A screaming goalie with a mop of green hair. Just as he was about to send the ball into the net, a blur of black.

Malleus snatched the ball, racing back across the field, though Leona was hot on his tail. The two top players of the game, neck and neck. While Malleus was taller, Leona was still just a just bit faster when he needed to be, racing right past Malleus to at least help guard the goal. He didn’t have time to win, but just a draw would be okay. Just don't get this goal. Don’t let him be second place yet again!

Malleus reared back, aiming, and sending the ball flying into the net, right past Leona and straight into Epel’s chest, the purple haired goalie on Leona’s side. Cheers drowned out Epel’s slight scream of pain as his back hit the ground and he also was sent into the goal. Banged up, some cuts and bruises already starting to form, and the wind knocked right out of him.

Leona runs to his junior teammate, helping him sit up as Epel got his wind back and took some shuddering breaths. Leona stayed right there, holding Epel’s hand as medics came up to check the younger before taking him away. The glare Leona sent Malleus, who was cheering on the other side of the field, could have killed.

Leona stood protectively next to Epel, helping the younger to stand as straight as he could with a bruised back. Leona hated this part of every game, regardless if he won or not. Why did he have to shake hands with his opponent? They were enemies, not friends, and to treat them as such made Leona want to barf.

Going down the line, Leona made sure to keep an eye on Epel. Each handshake felt more disgusting than the last, until the actual last. Malleus and Leona stood face to face. Both grabbing the other’s outstretched hand only to squeeze and dig their nails into the other. The line stopped moving. Leona felt Ruggie, his vice captain bump into his back, but he only had eyes on Malleus. If looks could kill is all he thought as he stared down the other captain.

“Good luck next time, Kingscholar,” Malleus smirked, looking down his nose at the other. Green met green, and the world stopped for half a second. Everyone was holding their breath. It wasn’t unknown that the two captains despised each other. It had been that way since they met. Both just rubbing the other wrong at every meeting. “I hope you do return to the field after this loss,” Malleus finished, a sadistic glint in his eye.

Leona nearly spit, if not for two pairs of hands, Ruggie’s and the other vice captain separating the two of them before gently pushing them forward. If they hadn’t, Leona may have punched Malleus. That would get on the front paper.

Epel sniffles as quietly as he can in the almost empty changing room, his raw back and scratched face being gently cleaned by his captain and vice captain. Dirt and sand were clinging to his skin, and needing to be coaxed out of his injuries, each time Leona or Ruggie rubbed at a sensitive spot, he blinked back tears.

“I’m sorry,” he whimpered, almost too quiet to hear, but his seniors caught the sound.

“It's not your fault,” Ruggie coos, holding the younger’s face to clean the cut right under the junior’s eye, smiling as he recalls his own grandmother comforting him earlier over the phone. He had also cried at the loss, but never in front of the younger ones. “‘It was anyone's game, and they just got the ball first,’” Ruggie repeated his grandmother’s words.

“It’s definitely not your fault, fresh,” Leona gruffs behind them, having to hold back his frustration just in case he accidently pressed too hard on the injuries. “Lizard head cheated,” he growled out, before having to take a step back, pretending he didn’t notice the flinch when he had gotten a rock out of a deeper cut.

“How did he cheat?” Epel and Ruggie both asked, though Epel was more wide eyed and trusting while Ruggie raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Leona stayed silent, his glare hardening at each buzz of his phone in his pocket. His brother’s ID was staring at him when he glanced down. He needed a nap.

Vil glances up from his vanity as he carefully applies his deep red lipstick, only to wrinkle his nose at the scent that hit him. “Can’t you take a shower BEFORE you return to the dorm? I would prefer to not have to smell you as I clean up your finance homework.”

Malleus quietly thanks his roommate as he enters, quickly shoving his dirty uniform into the hamper before entering the on suite bathroom for a shower, carefully avoiding Vil’s side. Last time he accidentally knocked over a bottle of whatever, Malleus was late to class having to listen to Vil’s lecture.

Boiling hot water starts to steam up the bathroom, Malleus gathering his shampoo and body wash before dropping his towel. He checks himself in the now foggy mirror for any injuries, a small whisper of a memory of the shorter purple haired boy falling hard on the field after Malleus scored. His brows furrowed as he steps into the shower and washes the guilt off, along with the dirt and grime from the final game. Lathering his hair he almost misses Vil speak.

“Don’t stay up too late just because I’m going out on a date,” Vil says over the rush of the water as he looks through his overcrowded closet, that is somehow still neat. Malleus rolls his eyes as he shuts off the stream. He only fainted once from exhaustion while roommates with Vil, back in the beginning of the year and Vil still worries.

“I won’t, but where are you going dressed like that?”

Vil stood in a beautiful purple sparkly suit, a silk scarf loosely wrapped around him, ruffles and embroidery covered the ensemble. It definitely was fancy.

“Rook is taking me to a new restaurant tonight! He said to wear my fanciest outfit, so I scrounged up this old thing.” Vil smiled slightly as he spoke of his date tonight.

“Remind me how you two met? When he insulted your theater performance your first year? Or when he flirted with your arch nemesis, Neige something?” Vil flicks his hair as he saunters out, nose in the air at the teasing remark.

Malleus chuckles as he finishes drying his hair, sitting at his own desk to grab the lotion Vil has forced him to start wearing. Even if he doesn’t think he needs it, Malleus’s skin hasn't been this soft before, nor this healthy. He sighs softly as he rubs the light scented cream into his skin and glances at the picture of his parents. His mother and father beaming at the camera, his father with a protective hand over his mother’s heavily pregnant belly as she wears his father’s uniform hat. He smiles as he starts to speak to the picture, telling his parents of his day, the score, how he won the game, ect. He never would do this infront of Vil, but it’s comforting to feel he could speak to them somehow.

Malleus finished recounting his day, and started to get ready for bed, making sure to unfold and place his fuzzy gargoyle blanket out neatly over his duvet. It’s the warmest thing he owns, and as someone who runs cold, he never slept without it. Though as he spread it out to get rid of the wrinkles, his lanky arms knocked over the picture of his parents on his desk, causing a domino effect of the vicarious stacks of papers and books to scatter.

He sighs as he picks up his desk, making sure his parents were safely settled before he started on anything else. Homework, study materials, his schedule, the team's schedule, and probably some of Vil’s paperwork were all there. Lilia has told him time and time again to start using technology to at least save some trees but he found comfort in the paperwork. Having a solid memory that could never leave him. He’s been left so often, physical reminders were nice.

The smell of coffee and pastries permeated the air, and light chatter would make this cafe comforting and calming if not for the paper that had come out that day. The newspaper crinkles lightly as Leona clenches his fist around it. The score stared at him, stabbing him in the gut each time he saw the picture underneath. It was honestly a good picture, Leona mid-leap to stop the ball, and Malleus sending it in a graceful manner to the goal. A slight bit of Epel trying to cover the goal is seen as well, the ball heading towards Epel at frightening speed.

Falena tried to comfort his brother, though Leona just got more mad at the pats on the back than anything. “I honestly am so impressed! Malleus is a formidable foe! The fact the score was so close is so impressive!”

Leona groans as he takes the fussy babe from Falena’s wife, Nadia. It was comforting to have the heated weight in his lap, even if Cheka was pulling on his braids a bit roughly. The little one’s “Unca! Unca!” Made him feel a bit better. If he could just spend time alone with the kid, he would feel better, but he wasn’t alone.

Nadia and Falena both placed a hand on the younger shoulders, “You’ll get him next time” and “Next time you will win, I’m sure of it” echoing in his ears, except next time never comes.

Across the cafe, sat Malleus, staring at his grandmother’s fancy cursive writing. Busy schedule, so sorry, sending love. His shoulders slumped as if the wait for this letter took all of his energy, depression came off the man in waves.

“You know being the CEO of Draconia Banks is rough, and they’re opening a new branch. She was nice enough to send a handwritten letter at least!” Lilia chirped over his hot chocolate that he was dipping his tuna melt into. If Malleus wasn’t so upset, he would be gagging watching his friend eat it.

“I know, Lilia,” he sighs, catching himself starting to slump, he sits up straighter, squaring his shoulders, and raising his chin. Sitting as a “Draconia should” his grandmother whispered from his memories. Behave, sit up straight, keep your feelings hidden, as a Draconia should.

“Besides, you’ve got next time for her to come!” Lilia’s words echoed in his ears, as well as the slurp of his hot chocolate, except next time never comes.

After leaving the cafe, Malleus ended up finishing a project for class, having to answer questions about the game from readers and fans, and being forced to watch Lilia eat marshmallows and pickles for supper, Malleus was ready to just crawl into bed. Forget the homework due tomorrow, he could finish it in the morning, maybe.

Turning the corner to his dorm, he saw a strange sight. There was a sock on the doorknob. Vil was never careless like this. Malleus carefully extracts the sock and tries the door, locked.

He lightly bangs his head against the door as he extracts his cellphone. Lilia may still be awake, as he did enjoy gaming the night away. He presses the call button, no answer. He tries a second and third time before accepting that Lilia would be of no help tonight. Sebek and Silver, the only other teammates that actually were nice to him, were both a year or two younger and in different dorm houses. Most of Malleus’s peers found him to be a bit much, or were intimidated by his family name. He knew of one person who wasn’t intimidated at least.

“Well, well, well, look what the lizard dragged in.” Leona snarks as he leans against his dorm’s doorframe. “What do you want?”

Malleus bites his tongue at the lizard comment, he never did understand it. “May I please have a place to sleep? My roommate locked me out.” He leaves out the sock part.

“Did they finally wise up to your horrible personality? Or couldn’t handle the sight of you? OH! Let me guess…”

“None of the above Kingscholar! It was a miscommunication!”

“Poor Lizard brain got into a fight? Come crawling for help?”

“I swear, Kingscholar why I…”

The door next to the two slams open, causing them to both jump. A very short, very angry boy enters the hallway. His face was almost as red as his hair, “Some of us are trying to study and would APPRECIATE it if SOME OF US could KEEP IT DOWN!” The boy’s grey eyes pierced both of the men.

“Whatever, get in,” Leona grumbles, pulling Malleus inside, “just to keep the tea pot quiet.”

Malleus glances around the room as he is dragged inside, a few pieces of clothing here and there, a cork board that has more childlike scribbles on it than actual paperwork, and many pictures. The scribbles are mostly using yellow with some reds and oranges, and it seems to be of some family, maybe? It’s quite abstract if nothing else. The pictures are just as sweet, many family pictures of fun activities, mainly of two young boys. One with fiery red hair, the other a muted brown. Piggy back rides, sports games, but the pictures dwindle as they both age, until a tiny baby with a shock of red hair starts to show up. The picture that stands out the most seems to be a professional family photo. The two boys on either side of their father, the smaller brunette holding a stuffed lion toy tightly in one hand, the other clinging to his elder brother. Said toy, though worse for wear, is sitting sweetly at the head of the bed, which Leona quickly shoves under the rumpled covers as if to hide it.

“I didn’t take you for an abstract artist, though I would expect this level from someone much younger than yourself.” Malleus tries to start the conversation, awkwardly changing into the too short red and yellow pajamas that were thrown at him.

Leona turns with a snarl, “Cheka is a better artist at two than you are now, Lizard breath!” he carefully pulls a tack out and takes one of the pictures, “This is almost a perfect rendition of the last family holiday we had together.” He points at the darker, larger blob of a figure. “This is clearly me and this,” he points to the smaller red and yellow blob seemingly on top of the darker blob, “is him enjoying the game of piggy back!” Malleus zones out a bit as Leona carefully places the picture back before grabbing another and starts to explain it again. Each picture he becomes more subdued, and softer. Petting the smaller red and yellow blob sometime.

“Well,” Malleus finally interjects, “they are quite good for a two year old.” Leona huffs at that and just throws a spare blanket and pillow at the man.

“You get the floor, be grateful.” he snaps before he turns the lights out, the soft glow from the outside street light allowing them both to see just enough to get to their respective places. Leona curled up in bed, and Malleus laid out across the floor.

The silence between the two is stifling, until Malleus cant take it and speaks “How is your goal keeper? The small purple haired one?”

“Epel, he's fine. He's a tough kid, and bounces back quickly.” Leona answers, before grinning to himself, “How's your goal keeper? The green haired crybaby?”

“Sebek! He is just a first year student but has so much promise! I am excited to see how far he will go” Malleus starts, and before Leona can interject to stop him, “He is a bit emotional but if he can learn to harness it he will be an amazing player. His family all came to see the game, and it was so impressive to see how much he is loved.”

Leona lets Malleus go on for awhile, until a lull allows him to finally get a word in, “Sebek’s family sounds nice.”

“What do you mean?”

Silence.

After a few beats, Malleus allows the dark night and soft glow of the light to allow him to open up a bit. “I wish I had a family like Sebek. My father passed away before I was born.” If Leona was paying attention, he wasn’t showing it, “He was a part of the military, I don’t know the details, but his remains came back a hero at least. My mother nearly died of heartbreak with me alongside her, but my grandmother says she pulled herself together long enough to have me. She passed away shortly after though.”

Leona finally shows interest, turning to face Malleus as he continues, “I know my grandmother loves me, but it must be difficult to see the person who took her daughter away from here everyday.”

The silence stretches again until it became too unbearable for Leona, “My mum passed when I was a baby too. She had apparently had a complicated pregnancy, and I nearly died alongside her.”

It was Malleus’s turn to face the other, though Leona was staring pointedly at the ceiling, “My dad would say how sometimes he wishes I did, so he wouldn’t have to see me. Falena was as helpful as any brother could be, but we were both kids. We didn’t know what we were doing, or how to deal with life, or loss.” A soft sigh, and the quietest, “Maybe I should have died with her, would have been easier on Falena at least,” was heard. Malleus didn’t comment on it.

Eventually the silence returned, but Malleus wasn’t going to let the conversation go quite yet. “Do you want kids?” he asked, staring at the ceiling alongside Leona.

“Where’s this question coming from? You ask whoever your dating that, not your rival.”

“I do, I want several.” Malleus closes his eyes, and if he focused real hard he could almost hear children giggling, “I was always lonely as a kid, I don’t want my own children to ever feel that.”

“Didn’t ask for the trauma dump,” Leona scoffs, ignoring his own past speech of his family.

“I think we are both still as lonely as we were as children, Leona.”

Leona’s eyes widened, it was the first time Malleus had used his actual name and not Kingscholar. Having enough of the emotional vulnerability he threw another pillow at Malleus, “Go to sleep.” Malleus let out a small “wha-” as the pillow landed on his face. At Least that let Leona go to sleep with a small smile and his lion plushie protectively in his arms.

The next morning was silent between the two, Malleus changing from the borrowed pajamas into his own clothes again before leaving, nodding apologetically to the “Tea Pot” as Leona called the short red head as he passed. The walk back to his own room felt warm, strangely. Malleus was usually lonely and cold in the morning. Maybe he should start sleeping on the floor of his dorm room, it seemed to help him sleep a bit last night.

He made sure to knock on the door before entering, hoping to not see Rook or Vil indecent. Thankfully they were both fully clothed, and speaking around Vil’s vanity as he got ready for the day. Rook looked up from watching Vil do his hundred step skin care routine to smile at Malleus.

“Desole about last night Monsieur Dragon! I hope you slept well either way.” Rook grinned up at his peer, before glancing down. Bright yellow peeking out from under his slightly wrinkled dress pants. Rook’s eyes met Vil’s, both smirking in knowing.

(Authors notes: I tried to pull in some parallels between the two at the cafe, and with the talk of their families. As well as do some environmental story telling with their rooms. Malleus’s desk is a mess to link to how he can’t let things go, such as the papers, and Leona’s is to show how he really does love his brother and nephew, just has bad feelings from his father (who I expect fell into a depression after the passing of his wife) some extra info that didn’t get into the fic! Vil is a part time model, and is studying chemistry, hoping to start his own cosmetic brand. Rook is an archeology student with an interest in ancient writings. Riddle is a pre med student but thinking of changing to law. Malleus is a financial student to take over the bank his family owns, but he really loves architecture. Leona is studying politics, as he is expected to help his brother since the kingscholars are all politicians. Falena is Govener, and Nadia is a lawyer, so Leona watches Cheka a lot. Cheka accidentally called Leona daddy before Falena, but Leona has kept that secret. Lilia is going for teaching, and is older than he looks by alot.)

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