choking on your alibi

chapter 11: basketball

"You know what place this reminds me of?"

Dorian set down his bags, sunglasses pulled back to keep his hair out of his face. God, it was scorching out. "Huh?"

"Star Wars. Attack of the Clones. Padme and Anakin arrive at this like, lake house that's apparently in fucking Italy, and– God, I can't believe you've never actually watched Star Wars, considering you're, you know..."

"I'm what?"

Leo looked at him up and down. "You know. Well, what I'm trying to say is that you're watching the Prequels with me and that this place is really nice, just like the one in Como or whatever. Thank you for taking me with you." He smiled sheepishly, his boyish dimples dipping into his cheeks and creating shadows out of his grin under the sun.

The place was a beauty; Leo thought about the penthouse and how it might have been the most expensive place he had ever stepped into, but, no, this took the damn plate. Faded brick patchwork made up the exterior, laced with ivy and stark white reliefs in the shape of columns cutting vertically against the masonwork. The garden leading up to the main entrance (a grand thing made of dark, engraved mahogany) might as well have cost more than Leo 's whole salary. He would remember to take some pictures for the family group chat (if his phone was not already blowing up with WhatsApp notifications from his mom asking him how the trip there had been.)

Leo would have felt starkly out of place had it not been for the way Dorian had been looking at him the entire way there: excited, adoring eyes that made him feel like he was tipping over the edge of something dangerous and warm and too welcoming for his own self-control. When nobody was looking, he'd manage to sneak him a squeeze of the hand, a silent acknowledgment that he was ok; Leo hoped it did not read of the sparks and billows of smoke like a warm hearth that were filling his lungs just by looking at Dorian.

"Leo ! Goodness, I finally get to meet you!" A voice kind and gentle caused the two of them to turn around. The woman was on the taller side (not quite as tall as Dorian) with long curls threaded with brown and gold hairs, similar to those of the man that stood beside him. Pleasant, honey-brown eyes marked with age and years of smiling met his. "I'm Rosalind , Dorian's mom. The trip treat you well, hon?" Her voice was soft and unlike that of anyone's in the Creswick circle that Leo had spoken with: it was unpresuming and authentic. Hell, Leo would be surprised if the woman was capable of disingenuity.

Leo smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. Dorian speaks highly of you." Like the well-mannered boy he was raised to be, he greeted Rosalind with a kiss on the cheek and a hug; she hugged with just the right pressure to the back, like she'd only let go if you did.

"You won't believe how much you're mentioned around the house- the girls think you're a star, and my son? Well, he definitely doesn't speak about baseball, but—"

"Mama!"

She laughed, a crackling refrain like a fire to keep warm by. "It's only the truth, love!" She held Leo 's hands in hers. "Leo , this boy almost fussed his head off trying to get everything perfect for you- I would tell him, hon, you could always share a room, and he'd go red—"

"Mama!"

Now Leo was laughing too. He looked back at Dorian, his face akin to that of a tomato. "Did he really?"

"Oh yes he did! I took mercy on him and gave you your own room, a hidden blessing, believe it or not— Dorian has a thing for leaving his things strewn all over the floor."

The aforementioned frowned. "You're terrible."

Rosalind let go of Leo to go and press a kiss to Dorian's forehead, squishing his cheeks in between her palms. "I love you, Sprout. Go show your guest around the house— Leo , honey don't worry about your things! They'll be taken for you, don't worry!"

Leo shuffled awkwardly before dropping his bags back to the floor. Rosalind said her goodbyes, something about having to arrange some final things with the housekeepers, squeezing Leo 's arm as she left.

"I love your mom, Mal."

"She's amazing, isn't she?" His smile was childlike as his eyes followed his mom while she left. "Come on, it's getting way too hot out here. Let me show you the house!"

#ilovestarwars -m