'Till We're 80 -Kleo Oneshots-

-|32|-

So I'm trash for not posting in months but I'm really trying to graduate so I can leave the country :) This is called Fear of the Dark.

-|Los Angeles, California, 1996|-

It's really nice of him, it really is. She just can't accept the fact that she's sweet on him, and anything he says or does makes her want to grin until her cheeks hurt.

But hating the way you love someone can only last so long.

"Can I come in?" Leo says, knocking on the door of Titanic's costume designer, Deborah Scott. I'm bored out here by myself, is the underlying tone of his voice.

"Sure, Leo!" Deborah calls from inside. She sounds like she's holding a needle in her mouth, but then again she always is.

Leo carefully opens the door, peeking first to make sure nobody is naked. He learned that lesson the hard way- He will never see Danny Nucci with the same eyes again.

He comes inside and closes the door behind him, glancing around, looking for Kate, his new buddy.

Leo has got to admit, ever since they met four months ago, he's been really comfortable with her. It's like she's meant to be around him.

Behind some impromptu screen, he can make out Kate's silhouette, her hair all made up and a skirt flowing away from her legs.

She comes out when Deborah calls her, self-consciously touching her hair. She's not used to having it up in that Edwardian style yet.

When she notices Leo in the room, her shoulders visibly relax.

They lock eyes and he smiles lopsidedly at her, unaware that she would be trying on her actual costumes for the very first time.

"Stop staring at me," she playfully scolds.

Leo comes closer, wrapping a freshly-made red curl around his finger. It's softer than he imagined it would be. And more fiery, too.

"I love it," he says, his voice light.

"You don't think it's a bit... much?" He can make out the insecurities in her eyes.

He places a hand on her shoulder as if Deborah wasn't in the room and thinks twice before deciding against moving it to her waist.

"You're playing a rich Edwardian teenager. I think you look deevie, as a proper Edwardian would say."

She laughs, slapping him playfully on the shoulder. "Deevie?"

"Deevie! Means divine in Edwardian slang. You look simply deevie."

"Alright, alright." Her smile is glowing on her face. "You can stop now. Deb? Something's poking me right here..." Kate turns to Deborah, signalling to a place near her lower back.

"Is it? Let me see..."

As Kate settles between Deborah's skilled hands, Leo comes close again, leaning down close to her ear.

"Deevie..." He whispers, making her groan.

"Call me that one more time, see what happens." She points at him with a half-serious index finger and he feigns fear.

Leo is about to nudge her temper again when the power suddenly goes out, drowning them all in darkness.

"Oh, for real? This is just perfect. 'Cause I'm superhuman and I have night vision, is that it?" Deborah calls, exasperated. "Unbelievable. I can't believe I'm not getting paid more to work like this." She gets up from her stool and uses a lighter to lead the way out of the room, leaving the pair behind.

Kate thinks about sitting on Deborah's stool, but decides not to because she's more scared of a mad Deborah than she is of tired legs.

Instead, she steps forward, seeking comfort by staying close to Leo. She never did like the dark that much.

Protectively, Leo places his hands on her waist, almost hugging her, his fingers fiddling with the beading of her red and black dress.

A breath escapes her, spiking something in Leo's mind.

"Is everything okay?" He asks her, concerned.

"Y- Yeah, I just can't really see anything and..." She looks for words to express herself, but finds her mind has gone as dry as her mouth.

"It's alright, I'm sure the power will come back soon enough." His warm breath fans over her face, somehow comforting. "Wait-" He suddenly says, a cheeky smile that she can't see inching across his face. "Are you okay with this...?"

His hands tighten around her waist and she gasps, her hands flying to his shoulders. He chuckles lightly.

"You have a crush on me!" He sing songs, swaying them around the darkness of the room.

"Don't be ridiculous, Leo. I'm just freaked out."

"It's pitch black in here and I can see you're blushing."

"Oh, fuck you!" Her faked annoyance makes him laugh, the whole interaction feeling more entertaining than anything else at the moment.

"You scared of the dark, princess?"

Her arms sneak around his neck and she pulls on his hair.

"Ouch!"

"That's for being an arse. But yeah, of the dark. And of heights. Fucking creep me out. Can't you imagine some sort of creepy thing with a thousand legs just coming towards us right now and we can't even see it?"

She takes half a step and suddenly their torsos are pressed together and she's snuggling her head under his chin.

"Oh, well... When you put it like that, it does sound a little..." He gulps, uselessly looking around.

"Fuck. We're gonna die in here, Leo..."

"No, no, calm down. I've got you. See? It's fine, there's nothing here. I promise."

"Can you just give me a hug? Just this once?" Her voice is small now, and he gets the feeling that he wants to keep her from harm.

Not because he has to, but because he wants to.

As he wraps his arms around her small body, he realises that she feels better with him, safer. That she trusts him.

Suddenly, any fear he had a second ago vanishes. It's as if the urge to make her feel like she made the right choice by trusting him overpowers any selfishness to save himself first.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, It'll really be okay. It'll be summer before you know it, and the sun won't go down until 9pm. We'll have late dinners and warm afternoons..." Leo trails off with his story, softly rubbing Kate's back until he feels her shoulders fall down in ease.

Before they know it, the power comes back on, followed by Deborah storming in the door.

"Come on, Edwardian girl, let's get this over with. It's 11pm and I'd rather be in bed right now. Do you mind, Romeo?"

Kate is snatched from Leo's arms and settled in front of the stool, being tugged and turned about as Deborah perfects the dress.

"W- Well," Leo stutters, running a lazy hand through his hair and trying to avert Kate's heavy gaze. "I guess I'll see you both tomorrow. Good night..."

"Thank you, Leo," Kate calls after him. She smiles slightly and it's a little harder than before to take his eyes off her.

"Anytime, princess."

-|The End|-

I know it's a little simple and sweet, but it did me some good to focus on something light and fun that I wanted to do and wasn't being tested on and didn't have a grade :)
-KateWinsletor265