"What was your wedding like?" Leon asked softly. Chaewon paused, her fingers still mindlessly continuing the braid in his hair.
"...It was really small. It happened during the collapse of Sector 1, and the morale of the team was really low in general. A lot had happened We were trying to recover from some major losses and things just…It wasn't going well. Elliot and I kind of thought this would raise everyone's spirits a bit and we had been engaged for ages, so we got married," She responded.
Leon hummed, "Did you like it?"
He could hear the smile in Chaewon's voice, "Of course, I was getting married to my best friend, and I'd loved them for years. It was like a dream come true," There was a slight hesitation in her voice after that, but she sighed and continued, "Although, Elliot and I both agreed that we couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. Of course, you, since I wished you could have been there but…It felt like something important wasn't there."
Leon opened his mouth but closed it. He knew what was missing. But Apocalypse had been so desperate for Chaewon and Elliot to not know about her. He didn't want to disrespect her wishes.
Oh, well. He'd just have to continue trying to convince her that Chaewon and Elliot deserved to know.
"I'm glad you had a good wedding," Leon said softly, "Even if I couldn't be there for it."
"This is your first time at a wedding, isn't it?" Chaewon said amusedly, "I was hoping that the first wedding you'd see was mine but you know what, Xander and Kaedan's wedding isn't too bad a trade-off."
Leon giggled, "What were they like back then?" He asked.
Chaewon sighed, both annoyed and fond at the same time, "Idiots. Literal idiots. We almost considered locking them in a room together to force Xander to explain what actually happened to Kaedan's brother. We might have done it if we weren't worried about Xander's safety back then. Listen, they're amazing at communicating now for the most part but back then? No, they were literal messes."
"So, you knew about what happened to Xander's brother the whole time?" Leon asked softly.
"...When they found Xander at the White Lotus headquarters weeks after the battle where Wyran died, half-dead, and then found out he went there on purpose because he knew he knew they'd kill him…They needed someone to keep an eye on him for a while after to make sure he didn't do anything. Elliot and I stayed with him for a couple of weeks after. So, yeah, we knew," She responded quietly.
Leon was quiet for a moment, "Kaedan knows. Everything, from start to finish. What his mom did," He said.
Chaewon paused for a moment, "Good. He deserved to know from the start. I know Xander was trying to protect him but Kaedan was going to find out eventually. Better he know the painful truth than be ignorant."
Those words…Made him think of something else. To live with a painful truth rather than ignorant…
He really needed to talk to Apocalypse.
"Alright, you're done," Chaewon patted his head gently, "Sit still, I'm gonna put some hairspray just for extra measure. Shield your face," Leon did as she told and squeezed his eyes shut as he felt his sister spray the mist into his hair, "Alright, you're all set."
As soon as she finished speaking, they both heard someone's voice from the doorway, "You look gorgeous."
"Bella!" Leon exclaimed, flushing slightly, "Um, thank you. You—Uh, you look amazing too. Really pretty."
The smile on her face was lazily amused as she leaned on the doorway, crossing her arms, "Thanks, pretty boy. You should hurry up though, I think some people are waiting for you," She raised an eyebrow.
A gentle laugh followed as someone hooked their chin over her shoulder, leaning in to kiss her neck, "You can just say his boyfriend is waiting," Hyunwoo said, and as he looked at Leon, he spoke again, "Mira's right, baby, you do look gorgeous."
"Thought it would take you longer, weren't you with Risále?" Bella asked.
Hyunwoo hummed, "Yeah, but I thought I'd give you some time with her. You want to go check up on her?" He asked, a slight teasing lilt in his voice.
Bella rolled her eyes, but she was unable to hide the small smile on her face, "I'll see you both later," She called out before leaving.
"Is it a good idea to send her to Risále now?" Leon asked, "I mean, she's supposed to be putting on clothes, not getting them taken off of her."
"She'll be fine, Bella has more self-restraint than that."
"Oh, I'm not worried about Bella, I'm worried Risá is going to do something to provoke her on purpose."
Hyunwoo tilted his head, thinking about it, "You know what, that's fair, that definitely sounds like our Risá," He walked into the room and leaned over his shoulder to press a kiss to his cheek, "Guess we'll just have to make sure they're keeping it together, hm?"
Chaewon cleared her throat, "Listen, you all are cute but I really don't need to see my little brother and his boyfriend being all lovey-dovey, especially not in my room when I still need to get ready."
"Sorry, Chaewon-Nuna," Hyunwoo laughed, "Although, I'm pretty sure Elliot is heading over here. We'll leave you two be," He pulled Leon out of the room.
Chaewon yelled after them, "You're a good kid, Hyunwoo! Leon, I approve, now hurry up and get a move on with the other two! I swear, it's sad when your older sister gets more girls than you do!"
"Excuse you, I get girls and guys just fine!" Leon yelled back.
"Yeah, you do," Hyunwoo leaned down to peck his lips with a small smile on his face.
"Oh, hush you!" Leon hissed weakly, his face turning red, "Let's go—We should go find Bella and Risále. Come on, come along," He dragged his boyfriend with him as the latter laughed, "You are a menace."
"Only for you, Bella, and Risále," Hyunwoo smiled, letting the shorter boy pull him along, "Although, I would love to hear from my boyfriend that I look pretty as well…"
Leon stopped for a moment, "Did I not…Oh. Well, you look absolutely stunning. Beautiful. Ravishing. Please wear your hair like this more. Actually don't, you're making me malfunction."
"Ravishing, hm? Does this mean you want to ravish me—"
"Oh, would you look at that, we're here!" Leon exclaimed. He knocked on the door, yelling, "We're coming in, hope you're decent!"
He pushed open the door just in time to see Risále fixing her blouse while sitting on the desk in the room while Bella quickly moved back, straightening her dress. Hyunwoo hid his little giggle behind his hand, "So, I think we can assume they were not decent."
"H—Hey guys," Risále laughed nervously, as Bella simply shrugged, "Uh, maybe—Just knock next time?"
Hyunwoo laughed and Leon rolled his eyes, "Sure, love. You, uh, got a little something," He pointed at his collarbone, gesturing for Risále to look down.
She looked down and saw the lipstick prints on her neck. Blushing, she rubbed it off, but certainly not enough for anyone to doubt what she had been doing.
"You too, Bells," Hyunwoo pointed out, shaking from the effort of stifling his laughter. Leon sighed and walked over, reaching over to wipe away the smudged lipstick from her mouth, "I did warn him it was a bad idea to send Risále to you."
Bella raised an eyebrow, "Like you'd be any better, Violets."
"Violets?" Leon asked as he mindlessly applied Bella's lipstick again.
"You really like color-based nicknames, huh?" Risále asked as Hyunwoo straightened her blouse, "Also, Hyunwoo, you're supposed to button the blouse, not unbutton it."
"And you thought I was bad," Bella muttered.
"Alright, alright," Hyunwoo grinned, "Yeah, it's a thing she does. I'm Violets, Val's nickname is Val but sometimes she's 'Mini Violets'. She's already taken to calling Owen 'Minty'. Risále's 'Blueberry', obviously. Elliot was 'Pinky' for a while until they begged her to stop so they're just Varsh now."
"Varsh?" Risále asked, looking at Bella weirdly.
She shrugged, "Their last name is Varshini, hence, Varsh."
"Hm, okay, then what about me? Do I get a nickname?" Leon asked.
Bella raised an eyebrow, "Well, when you're this close to me, all I can think of is 'pretty boy', do you want something new?"
Leon paused for a moment, and then turned red, smacking her shoulder, "Stop it, you flirt," and Bella gave him a small grin.
"I thought I was your pretty boy," Hyunwoo said playfully and she threw him a mocking annoyed look.
"You're both her pretty boys, is that good enough?" Risále asked, rolling her eyes.
"Am I your pretty boy too, Risá?" Leon asked, grinning.
"Yes, you're pretty. Pretty annoying. Now, let's go, don't want to keep them waiting too long," Risále responded.
Hyunwoo hummed, "Although, with all four of us being gone and the state Bella and Risále were in, I wonder exactly what they would think had happened…"
It took the other three a moment to process before they all simultaneously blushed, most noticeably Risále and Leon while Bella managed to school her expression in a moment. Hyunwoo wrapped his arms around Risále's waist, "Alright, come on, down you go," He lifted her off the desk and put her on the ground as she hid her face in his chest.
"Absolutely terrible. How are people supposed to believe us when we say you're a menace if you do such sweet things immediately after," She mumbled, muffled.
"They're not supposed to believe us," Bella muttered, "That's his entire thing. Even Chaewon thinks he can do no wrong. And he's dating her little brother. Ridiculous."
Leon nodded in agreement, "She even gave him her blessing, she just met him! Well, not technically, but like, this is the first time she's seen me and him together! Shouldn't she be a little bit more protective and you know, 'If you hurt him, I'll kill you' and all that?"
Hyunwoo laughed, "Oh, I got that years ago. When I first joined the rebellion and she realized my Leon and her Leon were the same, in fact. Needless to say, we got through that phase pretty quickly."
Leon huffed, "Certainly would have gone on longer if she knew the things you've done to me."
"Would you like to tell her?" Hyunwoo raised an eyebrow.
"...Can we please leave now?" Leon groaned.