The Phoenix

Just Breathe

"What?" Leo demanded.

Lucy had spent her day off with him, as usual, and he had been trying to figure out what had given her the cut on her forehead all day. Eventually, she had given in and told him.

"My ex-girlfriend drugged me. I-I could have," she tried to choke out, before breaking down on the floor in tears. "I could have died."

Part of her mental breakdown could have been attributed to a severe lack of sleep. It was hard to get any shut eye when you were home alone and your mental ex-girlfriend was on the loose.

"Hey, hey, hey,"

Leo tried to console her but she shoved his hand away.

"No! This is what happens! This is what always happens!" she yelled.

"What do you mean?"

"This! Endless chaos. It follows me wherever I go. That's why I'm always losing people."

"You aren't losing me,"

"No, but I will. People come and go all the time, you know? I mean, that's just it. That's the cycle." she cried, going into a body-wracking fit of sobs.

Anya could have killed her had Aaron not been there.

"Look at me- just breathe, okay?" he said, grabbing her face.

She gasped for air as she nodded her head and tried to stop crying. Leo held her until all that was left of the episode were puffy eyes, tear stained cheeks, and dissipating sniffles.

"Listen, we're going to get through this. Together. I won't let anything bad happen to you," he assured her. "Let's not worry about that right now, okay? There's something I wanted to show you."

"What is it?" Lucy asked, her voice hoarse from crying.

"It's a surprise, but we're going to have to sneak out. You think you could do that?"

"As long as it's not a club." she laughed as Leo pulled her up off the floor.

Sneaking out was surprisingly easy. It also helped that it was 10 p.m. and the guards were changing shifts. Once they were about three blocks away, Leo covered her eyes and led her wherever they were going. The sounds of the busy DC streets began to fade, but she could still feel the breeze. Eventually, Leo pulled his hands away, revealing the moon reflecting off the calm water of the Tidal Basin, right in front of the Jefferson Memorial.

"Take off your shoes."

"Huh?" Lucy asked, still mesmerized by the bright moon.

"Your shoes. Take them off," he commanded, doing the same.

She did so, then began to wonder what was going on as Leo removed his shirt.

"Okay, what are we-" she demanded, being interrupted by him throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Leo, put me down what the-" she demanded again, this time, she was interrupted by being completely submerged in water.

Leo lost his grip on her almost immediately, leaving her to her own devices when she surfaced. Her hair was completely plastered to her face, diminishing any visibility she had once had, and her dress clung to her legs, making swimming even harder. She was going to kill him. Lucy began flailing and splashing about while calling his name, despite knowing how to swim, until he finally grabbed her. He put his hand over her mouth to shush her since there were still a few tourists milling about.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't you know how to swim?"

"Yep." she giggled, splashing him and swimming away.

"Oh. Oh, I am going to kill you." he laughed before chasing her.

This wasn't so bad, after all.

A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry I didn't upload sooner. I was about to yesterday, but I had my concert. Speaking of that concert, if you ever have the chance to see The Emotional Roadshow, I would 10000/10 recommend. It was the most amazing night of my life. I cried, screamed, made tons of terrible puns, and sang my heart out. I know this chapter is really short, but my next one will be longer.