Leo

[0_0_7]

Sunday was a beautiful day. Far too nice to be indoors. But Bond had been itching for this opportunity all week and when Sunday arrived he found himself at Rooks Manor with take away lunch at noon. He rang the bell and the butler let him in. Bond barely spoke to him- he was only the help.

When Leo emerged, Bond smiled pleasantly.

"I brought food. I thought we could enjoy a bite and keep this relaxed," he said warmly.

Comments

[leo_rooks]

"Oh. Thanks," Leo said, genuinely surprised. "Come on through to the office," he added.

[0_0_7]

Bond followed along, taking in the decor. Clearly not Leo's taste. It was lovely. Bond thought he could be quite comfortable here.

"It is only you and your man here?" he asked curiously.

[leo_rooks]

"Yeah, just Gerald and me now," Leo nodded, leading them into the office. It was obvious Leo had been in here a lot, digging through files, trying to sort through his father's work.

[0_0_7]

It was a bit of a disaster, but that only assured he'd be here for quite some time.

"It appears we have our work cut out for us," he noted.

[leo_rooks]

"I don't even know where to start," Leo confessed, sitting down at the desk. "I'm not even fully certain what I'm looking for."

[0_0_7]

"What were you hoping to find?" Bond asked, peeking at a few papers.

[leo_rooks]

"I don't know. ...An explanation? A way to understand what he thought he was doing," Leo sighed.

[0_0_7]

"I doubt very much we'll find some sort of manifesto. But I can help you piece things together," he said. Bond looked around and then selected a nearby stack.

"I'll start here," he nodded.

[leo_rooks]

"You don't want to eat first?" Leo asked, reluctant to dive back into the unsettling spells and papers Victor had.

[0_0_7]

Bond pulled up his armand checked his watch.

"If you like," he nodded. "I didn't bring anything fancy. Just sandwiches I picked up in town."

[leo_rooks]

"Sounds great," Leo assured him, though he might have said that about mud if it meant not having to look through his dad's things just yet.

[0_0_7]

All the papers he'd peeked at had been business memos and Bond moved away to put his arm around Leo and lead him to the food.

"It's daunting, isn't it?" he said sympathetically.

[leo_rooks]

Leo followed along, a bit surprised when Bond put an arm around him.

"It is," he admitted.

[0_0_7]

"And I'm sure you have some reservations about possibly learning truths about your father you'd rather not know," he said, then paused a beat. "Something I understand quite well."

[leo_rooks]

"You do?" Leo asked softly, glancing over at Bond.

[0_0_7]

"My own father had secrets," he said. "And he died when I was younger. Younger than you. The house sat for years, and when I finally went through it, it was like I was meeting a completely different person."

[leo_rooks]

"Do you think it was worth it? ...Getting to know him, I mean, do you... Did you gain anything?" Leo asked.

[0_0_7]

"Perspective, I think. And an understanding of a man who should have never had a child. But an heir is important in families like ours."

He took his hand away and offered Leo a box.

"He was a complicated man."

[leo_rooks]

Leo took the box, holding it in both hands.

"Sometimes I wish they'd not had me."

[0_0_7]

Bond nodded slowly.

"You can't undo that, Leo. You can only live the best life you can," he said.

[leo_rooks]

"I suppose," Leo said, sitting down with his food. "It's a hard thing to carry though."

[0_0_7]

"Your father left you quite a legacy. I know...I know it might be unpopular, given what he did. How he died. But your father did some incredible things, Leo. Great things," Bond said. "Perhaps in our search, we'll find something you can feel good about."

Of course, what Bond would deem worthy of feeling good about was probably not the same as Leo.

[leo_rooks]

"That feels very unlikely right now, professor. I hope you're right," Leo replied.

[0_0_7]

"Please, Leo. We're not in class. You may call me James," he said. It was something he offered to only a few.

[leo_rooks]

"...Right, sorry. Thank you, James," Leo nodded.