it wasn't the longest time leo got to spend with harley before the whole argo ii quest and then well...his death, but it was enough to get attached to the boy. it was maybe that harley was a good one, with wide grins that were missing teeth and his own kind of ingenuity. or maybe it was that he was much too similar to leo himself, with too much heavy stuff behind those happy smiles. not that harley admitted, but it didn't take a genius to figure something was off. with harley's eyes sometimes looking too mature for his eight years old or his jumpy reactions or the fact that he was staying year-round, which was usually what someone did when they had nowhere else to go. and that was not even mentioning the battles he has been through.

now that leo was back there was guilt added to it as well. how much suffering he has caused his younger brother with his disappearance. it was just so plain in view, with harley now almost attached to his hip during the day, working on projects, or rumbling, or showing off whatever weapons he constructed and whatnot. it was clear at night too, with nightmares and restless sleep. and harley was no stranger to night terrors, but each one made leo's heart twist nevertheless, especially when they were about him.

this night leo was awoken again by harley tossing and turning in his bunk, faint lines of 'no's and 'don't leave's escaping his lips. and leo was out of his bed and kneeling beside the boy in a second. his tone light, his hands hovering just above the skin, not quite touching so as not to startle the younger. "hey hey, it's alright, buddy, just a bad dream, it's okay. i'm here, it's okay"