Axel / Lea x Reader One Shots (Requests Open)

Bullied

A/N: This takes place slightly before BBS

"Lea, s-slow down! Your legs are longer than mine!"

Trailing behind the fiery red-head, you and Lea ran around the Town Square of Radiant Garden towards Uncle Scrooge's Ice Cream shop. Summer vacation had just started; thoughts of spending it with Lea and Isa adventuring around the town, sneaking into the castle and eating ice cream every day filled your hopes up for a memorable month off from school.

Lea turned sharply around a corner up ahead and disappeared on you. Letting out an exasperating sigh, you picked up your speed and followed his path, only to suddenly feel the ground slip away from your feet and come crashing down hard. Both of your knees scraped badly against the cobblestone road beneath you. You started to pick yourself up, tears falling down your face, and looked behind you to see a leg sticking out from the shadows. Laughter filled the air as the leg's owner showed herself: Elrena. She had been bullying you for some time now, picking on you the most for the noticeable stutter that came out when you were flustered or scared. It seemed as though the blonde nymph did this on purpose to make you stutter even more, much to your embarrassment.

"Awww, what's the matter, [Y/n]? Trip on air again, you klutz? You should be more careful, ya know. A skill like that could get you hurt," she laughed.

Blood started to trickle down your kneecaps, the cuts stinging even more each second that went by. "Y-you d-d-did that on p-purpose, Elrena!"

"T-t-too bad, [Y/N]! N-next t-t-time, look where y-you're going!" Elrena mocked your stutter, stinging you more than your cut up knees.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

You looked up to see Lea running towards the two of you, his two Fireball frisbees in each hand. When he noticed your knees, his eyes widened and looked back at Elrena. "Did you do this to her?"

"That's none of your business, Lea. [Y/n] here needs to pay attention to her surroundings a bit more, that's all. It's not my fault she t-t-trips herself up."

Hearing Elrena make fun of your stutter made Lea flare up even more. "Enough, Elrena! Get lost already! [Y/N] has done nothing to you, so back off!" Lea's face was almost as red with anger as his hair. He threatened to throw a frisbee at her by raising it up behind his head, ready to launch.

Elrena hesitated for a moment before letting out an airy laugh. "Whatever, losers." She flipped one of her long antenna-looking strands of hair from her face and smirked as she walked away, leaving you and Lea alone.

Lea knelt down beside you with a worried look on his face. "Are you okay?"

You could barely nod in response to him. You weren't sure if you were more upset about getting hurt, or being embarrassed like that in front of your crush. Lea knew that Elrena had been picking on you, but he never witnessed it, only hearing you tell him about past altercations. Tears fell down your cheeks again as you sobbed in frustration.

"Here, let me see," Lea calmly said as he took your hands away from your knees to get a better look at the damage. The bleeding seemed to stop, but they were still pretty banged up. Standing up, he took your arm and wrapped it around the back of his shoulders, slowly lifting you off the ground and placed his other arm around your hips, bringing you closer to him. You felt your face flush again, but it quickly faded as the pain from your knees felt only worse when you attempted to walk. Lea was patient, letting you take your time as you approached a bench next to the ice cream shop a few yards away. Once he set you down, he went to the shop and came back out with napkins, a bottle of water, and two sea-salt ice creams.

"T-thank you," you said quietly as he handed you an ice cream stick.

"Don't mention it," Lea said. "Ready? This might sting a little." He stuck his ice cream in his mouth before tipping the bottle to your right knee. You flinched a little in pain and gritted your teeth as the water hit your knees. Lea moved to your left knee with the water and started to clean you up with the napkins. You watched as Lea concentrated on wiping the blood away, his movements gentle and caring. Despite the embarrassment, your heart couldn't help but flutter at his actions.

"Lea? I'm s-sorry. Y-you must t-think I'm helpless."

"[Y/N], you have nothing to apologize for. And I don't think that about you. You just gotta stand up for yourself, that's all. I know it's not easy, but I know you can do it. Don't let that little bitch get to you, got it memorized?" Lea smiled and began eating his ice cream again. It was then you realized that Lea never seemed to notice your stutter. Or at least, he noticed but never let it bother him. He accepted you for who you were, never judging, and made you feel comfortable to be yourself around him. He was... the only person in town that really did that for you.

Taking a risk, you gave Lea a quick peck on his cheek and thanked him. Lea's eyes didn't meet yours for a minute, but the blush on his face was as clear as day, and his eyes were wide with surprise. He turned to you and raised a hand to your cheek, brushing a stray hair away from your face, and kissed you on your lips.

"No need to thank me. I'll always protect my girl."