When he’d finished cleaning up for the day, there was usually nothing Leon wanted more than a mug of coffee. Unfortunately, getting one would undo all of his hard work and was therefore out of the question, so it would have to be delayed until he got home.

It wasn’t as bad as Sander, at least. Leon finished at a reasonable hour, while Sander had to stay and start work on the baked goods for the next day. And he was usually in first as well. Huh. Sander had pretty shitty hours, all things considered. But he did get paid more than Leon, even with tips. People were not generous with their coin.

It was with that dismal thought in mind that Leon’s usual, “Bye, Sander,” as he stepped out of the door was extra cheerful. He’d barely gone two steps into the street before he heard another voice, “Mmm, mmm, I’d recognise that ass anywhere. Still as fine as ever, sugar cakes.”

What. The. Fuck.

The voice was hardly quiet, but it was quiet enough that he was the only one who it could have been directed at, and he spun immediately, searching for its source. He was a quarter of a spin past it when he realised that there was someone lounging directly next to the door he’d just exited through, ankles crossed in the picture of relaxed repose. He turned back, then rearranged his feet for balance, preparing to yell at the guy who thought that was an acceptable greeting. He’d drawn breath by the time he realised, with an aborted sound of shock, “Landon?”

He was hardly able to believe it. He’d known Landon, what, two years ago? And then he’d left without warning and Leon hadn’t heard a word from him. He’d been a little concerned and irritated, because it was generally considered rude to disappear without a word to reassure people that you weren’t dead, but... there’d been nothing in the papers, and Leon had assumed Landon was okay and, well, he’d hardly forgotten him, but he hadn’t really thought about him much either.

Just occasionally. It wasn’t like he was desecrating his memory or anything, more like celebrating it.

Even though he couldn’t believe it at first, there was the same confidence to his pose, the same ostentatious sunglass choices, and really, who else would think that was an acceptable greeting. “Oh my god, it’s you. I thought you’d gone home or something.” His voice was less shocked and more pleased as he continued, staring at Landon in fascination that was impolite (not that he thought Landon cared) and probably, given their past interactions, a bad idea.

A few hours ago Landon was in Australia, running for his life and pestering Mag about going to the UK, not flipping Idaho as she'd arranged. But Mag could go be her stunning and terrifying self in Idaho. he was going to Londoooon! And now here he was, tired... but thrilled at seeing what had changed in the few years he hadn't been here. But especially how a certain someone had changed.

Having barely had enough time to figure out some temporary accommodation and take a quick shower, Landon set to traipsing about Diagon in hopes of finding that darn café. After twenty minutes of squinting his eyes at every other shop sign he started to believe his intelligence was perhaps wrong... Which would've been entirely impossible. But finally—finally he noticed it. With a grin he put his hand on the door handle, but then...

Would his work place really be the place to have a reunion? He wasn't gonna jump the guy - well, that would be a lie - but he didn't think getting Leon in trouble at work would make him more sympathetic to his sudden disappearance either... So he pulled out his tobacco case and lit one cigarette, while leaning on the wall. He was grateful for the windows, 'cause he could see Leon's long fingers gracefully tinker about the coffee machine and his lovely smile thrown at this customer or the other.

It was already afternoon, Leon couldn't be long in getting off work, he thought... or hoped. There was a limit to the amount of lurking he could do without getting the aurors sicced on him. He'd went to about a quarter of his pack by the time the coffee shop started to empty and he could see Leon disappear into the back only to wave back at some dour looking creature. He waited for him to step away from the door, taking the time to admire the view—and damn, what a view.

"Mmm, mmm" he acknowledged appreciatively, biting softly into a sly smile. "I'd recognize that ass anywhere" he admitted, a bit amused, tilting his head low so he could watch over the rim of his glasses. "Still as fine as ever, sugar cakes" he drawled, pushing off the wall lazily, chuckling a little bit at Leon's ungrateful shock. "The one and only, baby" he laughed, raising his hands away from his body as if him being there were the most natural thing in the world.

"Not home" he frowned a little, taking a step closer to Leon and putting his hands in the back pockets of his own jeans. "But I was needed back in the States and it was something of an urgent thing" he shrugged, leaning forward, way into Leon's personal space, watching his amber eyes intensely, a slow smirk forming a the corners of his mouth. "Why? Missed me, hmm?" he asked, leaning even further, mouth close to his ears. "I sure missed you, sugar. Thought a lot about you" he almost hummed, softly, but not lecherously... more amused and easy-going. "And your hands, your mouth..."

He pulled back with a soft chuckle and threw him a toothy grin. Getting one hand out of his pocket he grabbed Leon's wrist and pulled him into the street. "I'm stealing you for a drink, pretty boy" he declared, throwing his head back to laugh and wink at Leon. "And you can tell me all about how much you pined after I left."

Leon nodded vaguely, even though urgent thing could mean any number of things, and so told him nothing. But he’d never really expected Landon to stay long; he didn’t seem like someone who would settle down, and even if he had, he talked about his family so much that Leon had been sure it would be near them. He’d just thought that there would be some warning before he left.

"Why? Missed me, hmm? I sure missed you, sugar. Thought a lot about you, and your hands, your mouth..."

That was – close. Very close. A little – no, a lot too close for comfort. Even if he might have enjoyed it once. Especially given what Landon was saying, which, okay, he would have appreciated the sentiment once (and it was always good to have his ego stroked, he could admit that) but that was two Rick-free years ago. Even if he weren’t dating Rick, he’d still be cautious after two years without any contact. It was enough that he leaned away, a little late, but still trying to move out of Landon’s personal space and get a more respectable distance between them.

"I'm stealing you for a drink, pretty boy, and you can tell me all about how much you pined after I left."

“That won’t take long, I didn’t,” Leon declared with a half-smile, indicating that it wasn’t strictly true, but he didn’t think that he had. Pining was what you did for people you were in relationships with, and although he’d had a relationship with Landon it had been a little too shallow to require pining over. More… regretting the disappearance of a friend, which could be called pining if you wanted to quibble over definitions. He’d been more worried about his sudden disappearance than anything else.

He had been planning on doing some work for a sculpture that evening, but the deadline was a long way away and it would be interesting to hear about what Landon had done in his years of absence. Even if he felt a little guilty going for a drink with someone who he’d been… intimate with, it wasn’t like he was going to do anything! Rick was on good terms with several of his exes, and he’d been drinking with Charlotte once or twice (which Leon was fine with, Charlotte was really lovely and – okay, he minded a little bit, but it was fine really).

Whatever, Landon was also (sort of) a friend who he hadn’t seen in two years, so it was fine if he went to get drinks and catch up with him. Better to beg forgiveness than permission, which he didn’t need anyway.

But even if they were getting drinks together, Leon should do something about the touching. Usually, it was fine – he was normally the one who made other people uncomfortable by being tactile – but given their history, and the way Landon was dragging him, it was better for all concerned if Landon got some personal space, for once.

“I’m coming for drinks, you don’t need to drag me,” and that was a start, but not quite enough, “also, I have a boyfriend, so, um. Yeah,” wow, so coherent, “if you could stop hitting on me, that would be great, and I won’t have to pour my drink on you,” much better. Although now that Leon thought about it, he wasn’t sure if Landon was capable of doing it. Whenever he’d seen him with other people, he’d always been oozing charm at someone. And when he’d met Rick, he’d poured his drink on him. But Landon didn’t know that, and nor did anyone else, which was very much for the better.

Satisfied that he'd done something, and that it was now Landon's responsibility to not do something, he moved on, “Where did you come from? Are you staying in London?”

“That won’t take long, I didn't

"Awe, sweetheart, now don't you be lying to me now" he said with an amused chuckle. "You telling me my pretty face didn't come up once on any of those long lonely nights?" he smirked and rubbed his thumb over the inside of Leon's wrist, feeling his pulse under the skin. He'd always been so cute when defensive, and Landon could never say no a teasing.

He knew they probably hadn't parted well because of his sudden disappearance, which he'd always felt bad about. But they'd had to leave in the middle of the night and there simply hadn't been time to send an owl... And then it had been too late, he thought. And what was he about to say? 'Sorry I left without saying crap, but here's an owl three months later. Oh and I had a really fine time with you'? That just wasn't right in his books, and he thought Leon wouldn't've appreciated it either. But just because he'd been away, it didn't mean that he hadn't check up on him once in a while... He had his ways.

Landon raised a curious eyebrow at his declaration of being involved and dropped his wrist slowly, only to lift it and place it around his shoulders, giving him a powerful pat on the back, grinning brightly at him. "Leon, darling, this is just me saying hi to an old friend" he wagged his eyebrows and smirked slyly, but removed his arm, dragging it slowly downwards, stopping to squeeze at the base of his neck just a little before he took a few steps sideways. "But I can respect that" he nodded, giving another wink for good measure, and taking one last, highly appreciative look at him.

If he had a knut for every time he'd been threatened with glasses being thrown at his face, and all the times it actually did happen - not to mention the slaps, punches and occasional kick in the nuts - he'd be a very rich man right now. "Still as feisty as ever, I see" he chuckled, head tucked down, raising it to throw an unreadable look Leon's way and biting a snort into his lower lips. He threw a side glance as his question came and gave a barely there skeptical look. News of his last assignment should just about hit the British media, so that wouldn't be a very wise move.

But just a few weeks before, he'd had a legitimate job in Brazil, offering his services to a diplomatic French unit on business. "Săo Paulo" he said with a very good Portuguese accent if he did say so himself. He smiled charmingly and pointed at himself. "And here I thought my perfect tan would give it all away, shame" he shook his head and sighed jokingly, lifting his sunglasses on top of his head to see him better. "I am for a while, just got in this morning" he replied more seriously, looking for a sign that pointed toward a pub. "I'm at the Cauldron until I find something more adequate. Why?" he smirked dangerously, turning his face toward him.

"Feel like giving me a visit? I'm sure my bed can hold two, although it's a single, and the water pressure's shit—but I dunno how yer boyfriend might feel abut that" he teased, chuckling low and taking a few steps away preemptively. "Tell me about this boyfriend of yours. Is it serious?" he asked with a fond smile, extracting another cigarette out of his silver case.

There was no mistaking what Landon was implying, and Leon was embarrassed to admit that he had, even if Landon had said he had thought of Leon in the same way. “Yes,” Leon denied anyway, but unfortunately the blush on his cheeks showed exactly how honest he was being. But it hadn’t been pining. That was different. This time, he was quicker to pull his wrist out of Landon’s grip, frowning and rubbing his hand over where Landon’s thumb had been.


He couldn’t help but scoff at Landon’s claim. Talking about someone’s ass as an opening was definitely not purely friendly behaviour. But if Landon had been assuming they’d be picking up where they left off, and even Leon’s insistence that he was in a committed relationship didn’t have him backing down, then maybe. He’d always been flirtatious, but given the nature of their relationship at the time, Leon hadn’t bothered to question it. He smiled at the promise, but didn’t comment – saying good seemed misplaced, and he didn’t know quite what else to say. He wasn’t going to thank someone for promising not to hit on him, especially if they didn’t even consider it hitting on him.

“There’s more than one place to get a tan,” Leon pointed out, but he was already easing a little, “if you had enough time to sunbathe, you can’t have been very busy.” He didn’t comment on how quick Landon had been to see him, or – now that he thought about it – that he’d known to find Leon at Alohomocha. He’d been thinking of it as a chance meeting, but Landon had been waiting. He’d probably spotted Leon through the window and thankfully decided that it would be more fun to surprise him after work than bother him during it.

Anyway, Leon was just glad that he was okay. And it was good to know that he would be around for a while – there’d be time to catch up properly. “Does that mean you have a job here?” Leon asked. He wasn’t sure how well being a security consultant paid – certainly better than being a sculptor, he thought – but Landon had never seemed to want for money, and it was a specialist area working for rich people, so he could probably charge as much as he wanted.

Leon assumed that Landon was joking, and if he wasn’t, well, Leon could give him the benefit of the doubt even after the warning. The next question reassured him that he was just teasing. He knew it was probably funny for the older man, but Leon hoped he would tone it down a little when the novelty had worn off. He chose to ignore the comments about sharing Landon’s bed, instead turning the topic to Rick.

“Yeah, it’s serious,” Leon agreed. Leon had a drawer at Rick’s place, and Rick had a slightly emptier one at Leon’s, and things were going well. A lot better than Leon had expected, better, even, than he’d hoped. Rick wasn’t perfect, but he was near enough. “He pretends to be meaner than he is, he really loves his work, he’d do anything for his sisters, and he makes me laugh. And I really like him,” the clarification wasn’t necessary with the way Leon’s voice had changed, growing fonder as he continued, a smile stealing across his face. “I got lucky with him.”

The smile remained in place, becoming just a little sweeter as he turned to Landon, “have you met anyone? I’m guessing not, if your bed is a single.” Landon clearly wasn’t committed to a monogamous relationship, but he could be in an open one. Leon preferred what he had, but different people liked different things.

"Yet no place quite like Brasil, love" he chuckled, giving a little wink for good measure. "Oh, I was very busy indeed, But I mostly worked at night" he looked elsewhere, catching the eye of some sweet little thing and raising a curious eyebrow as she blushed and scurried away. "So my days were free to drink Caipirinhas on the beach with a gatinha rubbing tanning oil in my back" he smiled slyly around a low snicker with his head tucked down. "Your cute but pasty little ass could've used some of that" he added quickly, between laughs, taking a step away preemptively, angling his body away from Leon.

"Actually no. I'm here for pleasure" he said, relaxing his posture, with a cheerful tone. "First official leave in over five years." He nodded satisfied, as if giving himself a good job pat on the back then parted his lips for just a moment, as an inspired thought cooked in his mind. "As a matter of fact... You should show me around" he smiled brightly, clasping his hands behind his back, balancing on his toes for a moment. "We never quite got around to much outside of bed last time, did we, hmm?" Or shower, desk, sofa, walls—pretty much every other surface of his apartment back then.

"You and your beau. Of course" he asked, his most charming expression in place, only the tip of a hat left to make for the most perfect of gentlemen. "Since it's so serious and he has been so lucky to catch your eye." He corrected with a wink and a little chuckle. If he'd found some similarities between himself and Leon's new beau, he wasn't about to say anything. Yet. At the inquiring about his love life he let out a long amused sigh and shook his head, maybe just a little miserable.

"You know how my work is" Landon said almost discouraged, eyes roaming aimlessly to settle on a particularly strangely dressed witch. He frowned. "I can't ask anybody to wait around for that" he continued, mirth in his voice, still looking at the witch. "That doesn't mean my bed is ever single, sugar" he snorted, biting into his lips as he winked at another shy looking thing. "I got a sweet new bike. You should let me take you for a ride once" he grinned, the implication not lost on him. "There's no softail quite like a Harley softail" he declared, making a pleased humming noise at the back of his throat.

"On second thought, I haven't the faintest where a good pub is." Landon finally found himself realizing, stopping in the middle of the road with eyebrows drawn high on his forehead and hands in the back pockets of his jeans.

If that wasn’t true, Leon had no evidence to disprove it, although he thought that a tanning booth might be even more effective than the sun and heat of Brazil. “Oi,” he said, never mind that it was true, the elbow which would have caught Landon just below the ribs not reaching its target. That didn’t matter, he’d get him when he stepped closer again – which he would, if only to tease Leon.

That was true, more or less. For a certain value of bed. But although he couldn’t help the flush, which at the going rate wouldn’t disappear until they’d parted company, the comment didn’t bother him as much as the others had. “If you promise to be good I might find the time,” Leon offered, although he was kind of looking forward to it. He’d lived in London for most of his life, the time spent in Hogwarts the closest he’d come to living elsewhere, so he liked to think he knew it pretty well. Definitely well enough to be a decent tour guide, though without the customary umbrella.

The gentlemanly manners disappeared as quickly as they’d appeared, but Leon was too busy smiling at what Landon had said to care. It was what he might call sweet, had it come from someone else, and he elbowed the older man rather than try to say something in response, softer than his earlier attempt would have been although his elbows were too bony to allow for it to be gentle.

He might have contradicted Landon, but they’d parted (and been reunited) so suddenly that he didn’t doubt his statement. Disappearing at the drop of a hat made Landon too unreliable for a relationship to be a serious long term possibility. “Of course not,” Leon agreed, rolling his eyes slightly, “heaven knows why I ever thought otherwise.” Years without contact, perhaps. It might not be so significant to Landon, but Leon thought that he’d changed and – well, perhaps expecting Landon to change that much had been silly. Still worth checking.

Leon didn’t roll his eyes, but they did lift briefly skywards at the comment. “I know. Rick has one,” which Rick had taken him for a ride on. Both literally and… literally. “But thanks for the offer.” It had, Leon was sure, been made with the best intentions.

“Do you have muggle money on you?” There was a much better variety when it came to muggle pubs, and even in the heart of London it was possible to find cheaper than the wizarding pubs. It meant going to a dive, but there were worst things known to man. “If you do, I know a few places.” He usually went for muggle bars and wizarding pubs, but between word of mouth and the ones he’d been to in person, he could come up with something. And, since it wasn’t Friday, it wouldn’t be heaving with people who’d finished work.

"Oh, I'll always be good for you, baby"  he said faux-eriously, voice a notch lower, biting into his lip around a grin as he fought back a laugh. He wiped the grin of his face as hr grabbed his side with a soft oof, looking exaggeratedly hurt and scandalously offended at having been elbowed. The little traitor. He pushed against him, bumping Leon's shoulder with his own, in retaliation, smiling boyishly. He kind of felt like a boy right now; the teasing banter, the little games, all in good fun, but it felt easy and casual. He hadn't had that in a long time...

"Don't front, sugar" he said, head pulled back and eyebrow raised challengingly, a purse of his lips punctuating his attitude. "You know you'd want a piece of this-" his eyes directed to his own behind and a shit-eating grin on his face "-if you weren't otherwise engaged" he continued, wagging his eyebrows suggestively, only to end on a low chuckle. At hearing his beau also had one and seeing how he'd reacted Landon offered a pout and a little hmph. "I dunno what to think, Leon... You seem to have a thing for softail men" he commented innocently, and looking quite worried for a few seconds before the grin was back, accompanied by quizzical arched eyebrow.

At the question, he moved, -well, barely managed to move - his fingers in the tight space of his back pocket to extract his wallet, tip of his tongue caught between his teeth and effort written all over his face. Perhaps Mag was right and he should stop wearing jeans so tight. Then again, he'd never admit so to her face. Twins from hell. Flipping the wallet open, he ignored the coin compartment and flipped through a couple of bills, euros and reals mostly, but almost no pounds. He pursed his lips and frowned, raising his eyes back to Leon. "Point me to the closest ATM?" he sort-of-asked, sort-of-stated, frown still on his face.

"Or we could just pass by my room at the Cauldron" he said with a sly smirk hanging at the corner of his lips, gaze lowered and heavy, before it was all wiped for the face of complete casual innocence. "I have some in my luggage" Landon added for good measure. He knew it wouldn't work. Probably wouldn't work. Yeaaaah... no. Didn't mean he couldn't still try, tho.