The Lion meets his Light.

Leo: Alrighty then, Akari.

The two partners marched down the street, heading to unpack Akari's apartment. Leo had pulled out his note book, scribbling a lot in it as he walked there. In it, he wrote down a basic summary of Akari's past in it, then slipped it back into his pocket. He'd have to ask his dad about some things, but for now, he took out his mini brown book, opening it up and reading.

Akari looked up at him in confusion. "You better not be writing about me," she chastised lightly as she walked into the house, picking up a bag and heading to go get some stuff from her dresser. The house was impeccably clean and neat and tidy, and the bag was very light as she walked over to Leo again. "I'm done," she said. "I have all my clothes, shampoos, and stuff like that."

She then walked into the kitchen to see if there was anything she could bring from there to Leo's apartment.

Leo: No, just making some notes.

It was half the truth.....Eh, whatever. Leo waited for Akari to get all of her personal items while he cleared out some of the stuff in the kitchen. Which is what she walked into when she finished gathering her stuff.

Leo: Alright. I am just finishing getting some food that you had hear. Nothing refrigerated, just basic foods and stuff like that. Can you think of anything else? And if not, then we can be off.

Akari nodded her head, thinking for a moment. "No, I think I have everything I need," she told him with a nod and smile, hoisting her light bag over her shoulder. "Did you get any of the soups? They're really good. I get them from an old lady who may or may not be a witch. Either way, the only thing magical about them is the flavor, so don't worry about that," she said brightly, turning to head outside.

Leo: Alright, then. I'm going to head to the department store then to pick up some stuff, and yes, I did grab all of the soup cans.

Leo read on his way to the store, enjoying all of the fairy tales in his book. Around the store, he was debating on what to do when his madness started to creep up on him again. He bit his tongue until he was sure it was gone, then headed in the bathroom. This was not good, not good at all. His madness never did this in the past, except when he was really young and with friends......Must be when he is around others. Going to have to be careful and keep his mind busy.

Anyway, he decided on choosing green and an color very similar to Akari's eyes for the materials. He paid for them then headed home, wandering if Akari was at home yet.

Akari nodded and headed over to the apartment without him, unpacking her things in her room, humming quietly. She felt a bit awkward, being alone in his apartment, but she wouldn't tell him that. She looked around once she was done, then headed back down the stairs. She headed into the kitchen to start on lunch, just making a couple of salami sandwiches for him and a tomato sandwich for herself. She mentally started chastising herself for telling Leo about the baby - in fact, she was very upset about it. She shouldn't - should never - have told him that, nor should she have cried over it. He probably thought she was weak, or a whore or slut, just like everyone...

The door opening interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up as Leo headed inside. She took a bite of her tomato sandwich with a small smile, her amber eyes brightening slightly. "Welcome back. Where'd you go?"

He was pretty glad about the brightness in her eyes, which he figured she was fine for now.

Leo: At the department store. I was picking up some material and stuff for that sweater I promised to make you.

Probably best to leave out the small surge of madness in him. She has enough stuff on her plat as it is to be worrying about Leo's madness.

Leo: Here are the two colors I chose for you, I hope you like the colors I chose for you, Akari.

Well, his turn for a sandwich now. So, he's just gonna walk to the kitchen to get himself some food now.

Akari looked a bit confused, then brightened up again. "I love them!" she said happily, hurrying after him so that she could hug him from behind tightly. "Thank you. You still don't have to do it, though. I don't want you to feel like you need to or anything," she told him, then pointed at the counter. "I made you food."

Leo grabbed a sandwich, glad to have some food.

Leo: I do need to really.It's something to help keep me distracted at night when I am awake. Plus, seeing you like that was really cute. Like one of those kids we read for yesterday. Preferably the ones that didn't throw stuff, of course.

Bad joke aside, it was really cute and hilarious to see her act like that. Cute....Never really used that to describe someone before. Well, someone around his age. This was kind of weird for Leo.

Akari tilted her head in confusion when he said she looked cute, obviously quite confused. She made a face. "When was I cute?" she asked, crossing her arms and acting a little bit offended, perhaps. She didn't know if she enjoyed being called cute. Of course, it felt a bit... strange when Leo said it. She had been  called cute before, but it hadn't ever felt like this when anyone else said it. This felt... almost good and bad at the same time. Like, it turned her stomach and made her sit down the rest of her sandwich, having lost her appetite. She almost wanted to throw up.

Leo: Your eyes lit up so bright when you saw what was in the bag, then came up and hugged me like a child. But, if it embarrasses you, I won't call you cute often then.

Wow, he was really creeping himself right now. He never had a crush before, so this was pretty new to him. At least, he thought this was a crush. Maybe the madness was doing more then he thought, making him feel like this. Or it was bad gas. Probably not, but anything is possible.

Akari blinked slowly and tilted her head to the side with a small frown. "No, no. It's fine if you call me cute," she assured him, though she wasn't so sure of that herself. Honestly, it made her feel so.... so weird inside. So, she just decided to ignore that feeling. It had begun to feel like the beginnings of puppy love, so she squelched that idea as fast as it popped into her head. No, no, no. That couldn't happen ever again. She would not love anyone, anyone at all, ever again. It was too scary a prospect, and while she didn't think that he would leave her if something happened like what happened with her and Tyler, she couldn't be sure and wasn't willing to risk it. "And of course I'm excited! I don't get presents anymore," she said, brushing her fingers across the colorful fabric.

Leo: I'll make it extra special then. Now, I was thinking that the sweater mostly be green with some sort of design on the front of it with the amber. Not sure of what to put on it for design, though. So, I think I'm going to wing it on that part.

Leo took a couple of bites from his sandwich, then sat down in the kitchen. He didn't really have much else to say, so he took a bit of a bigger bite so he could chew while she talked.

Akari looked at him with a small smile. Extra special. He was extremely nice. If things were different, in another life or something, she might like him in a different way than she did now. This was the type of guy she needed, and she felt something tugging her heart that made her want to give into temptations and like him in that way. Still, she did feel her stomach lurch when she looked up at his red eyes and she glanced away, handing the other half of her sandwich to him. "Can you finish this? I'm not really hungry anymore."

Leo: You want to go lay down for a bit? Sometimes you just need to lay down and think, or sleeping will help you out as well.

Leo was happy to finish the sandwich, though was worried about Akari. Either Leo was eating a really bad tomato, or she was still thinking of her past at the moment. Probably going to be for a bit thanks to him, which kind of stinks. Mental note, stop bringing these things up in the future.

Akari shook her head quickly. "No, no, I'm fine. It's nothing, just me being stupid. I was letting my thoughts get away from me," she said with a small smile. "Honestly. I'm such an idiot sometimes," she said in a quiet tone, stretching and heading into the bathroom to lock the door behind her, her eyebrows knitted up in worry as she held her hands over her fluttering heart.

Leo let out a small sigh, then laid down on his couch. Second one was right, she was thinking about her past. He should have never have pushed her to tell him, it was stupid. He should know of all people that somethings just remain a secret. Anyway, he decided it was time to start the sweater. He got out his sewing machine and got to work. After around thirty minutes or so, Leo figured he made some good progress on the sweater, making it a bit bigger then his sweater so it can double as a nice dress for her as well.

Akari came back out about forty-five minutes later, looking down at her feet as she walked over to sit down on the couch. She pulled a pillow over to warm her feet a bit and glanced over at Leo every now and then. It was never for long though, since she felt very ashamed. "I'm sorry," she murmured quietly. "I'm really pathetic." Perhaps these feelings she had in her heart for Leo weren't quite what she thought they were. She hoped so, anyway. She did not want to fall in love with him, with anyone actually. She hated the very concept now, because all she wanted was her baby. That was it, and she just knew if things like that happened between her and Leo, he'd leave as well. She couldn't be that stupid twice.

Leo stopped making the sweater, then looked over at Akari. Time for a hopeful speech to raise her spirits a bit. AKA, motivation speech time. He seems to be giving a lot of these out to Akari lately. Probably not in reality, but the feeling is still weird none the less.

Leo: No, it's not. You've been through a tragic experience, and of course you are going to feel terrible about it. Some things are hard to accept, and your past is no exception. You can still mourn for the kid, it's perfectly fine. It shows that you are a good person and truly care. Okay, you did something dumb with a boyfriend in the past, that's fine. Your not the first or last, it'll happen. But, you learned from your mistakes, you wanted to keep the child, and you want to have that child still. Now, it is terrible that you can't, and you have learned, you just need to learn another thing. Don't repress your feelings. If you have a crush on someone, admit it. Maybe not to the actual person, but just admit it to yourself at least. It's healthier to do, and if you lie about it to yourself, it's going to hurt you more in the long run.

Akari was suddenly overwhelmed with the strongest, strangest urge to go over and kiss him on the lips. She almost did, actually. It took a lot of self-restraint to just walk over and kiss his cheek, pulling away quickly with the tiniest of blushes. "Thank you, Leo. I'll think it over, okay? I do not want to be hurt again, so I'll have to wait and see if I can trust any guy again. But if I can't, then I will just stay alone for the rest of my life." She turned around, feeling tears burn her eyes again. "I do want my baby," she said softly, her voice strained and very shaky. "I don't want anyone to do anything like that to me again."

Leo walked over to Akari, then knelt down next to her. He patted her head a bit, giving a dumb smile.

Leo: It won't, Akari. Everything is your choice now. You chose if you want to have a boyfriend, you choose if you want to have sex, and you get to chose of you want an abortion. None of that stuff will happen unless you want it to, so I think you'll be fine. Now, come on, cheer up. Mainly because I don't have another speech in me right now.

Akari blinked up at his smile and felt a blush swiftly rise to her cheeks at what he was talking about. She got to her feet quickly to get away from him. "I-I said I would think about it! I didn't say I wanted sex or a boyfriend! Wh-what are you thinking?!" she demanded, almost sounding furious as she turned to storm off to her room. "What kind of guy gives a girl a nice speech like that, actually sounds like he cares, and then wants sex? That's sick," she told him, turning around to give him a glare. Okay, what he mentioned didn't sound too bad, but because it didn't sound bad, made it worse. It was harder to deny her own feelings.

Leo made an irritated face, but took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. There was a nerve that has been struck. Big time.

Leo: I didn't say I wanted sex, Akari. Please don't twist my words around like that, it's quite rude. I was just listing your options, not suggesting anything like that. I was just trying to help you feel better, and yeah, I obviously said too much. I'm not used to talking to other people for extensive periods of time.

Akari blushed darkly and looked away, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm sorry, but it sounded like you were suggesting it," she said quietly. She crossed her arms, still blushing a bit. "I really am sorry," she mumbled, blushing even more if it was possible. "I didn't mean to do that to you. Sometimes I let my brain get a little confused, and I don't think before I speak. I'm sorry."

Leo: It's fine, it happens to everyone.

Leo walked over to his sewing area, getting back to work at it. After another 30 minutes or so, Leo had finished the main part of the sweater. Well, now that he finished that part, it was time to make the design, which he still wasn't sure on.

But, that would have to wait, as Leo excused himself and walked up the stairs. When he got to his room, he could feel the madness coursing through his body, enraging him with a hint of blood lust. He punched the wall with the hand from that morning, causing it to start bleeding again. He could feel the lust of blood leaving a bit, but that rage was still there. Not good, not good at all......

Akari looked up in alarm as he left, then heard a loud thump and ran up the stairs after him. "Leo! Are you okay?" she demanded, running into his room and covering her mouth when she saw his bleeding hand. She hurried over and took his hand in hers. "Are you okay?" she demanded in a firmer tone, her amber eyes incredibly concerned as she looked up at him. That was not a look she often had on her face. "What did you do?" she asked, reaching for something to wrap his hand with.

Leo's sanity was starting to take control again, though his rage was still there and very much the prominent force in him. Which was obvious as he swung his fist at her, straight at her face. His deranged eyes stared at her, a very dark yellow, full of hatred and malice. Though, before the fist could connect, his other hand smacked her in the chest, trying to push her out of the way of the major blow, though he wasn't sure if either of these would hit.

Akari's eyes rounded in panic when he attempted to punch her, but his other hand hit her first and sent her backward, landing hard on her back. She looked up at him with round, scared amber eyes. "Wh-what's going on?" she demanded, not sure how to react. The fifteen year old was scared out of her mind, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. She couldn't even move, she was too surprised and terrified.

Leo spoke to her, his voice not quite his usual voice. It was a mixture of having a sadistic man speak, though his normal voice was still there, if not in a huge Oh-my-God-I-am-panicking-state-right-now tone to it.

Leo: No time! Sorry!

Leo was pretty happy that she didn't get hit full force in the face. Probably could have caused some serious damage to her. But, the madness needed to go, now. So, Leo reared his head back, and with all of the insane sadistic energy he could muster, he brought his head down straight into the wall. there was a loud bang, and Leo fell down onto his back, completely knocked out. Blood left a mark on the wall as well as oozing down his head, indicating that he may or may not need some help with that.

Akari's eyes widened in shock when he slammed his head down against the wall, and she ran over to him. She checked his pulse first, shaking a bit in fear before hurrying to go get a cold, wet washcloth and bending down beside his head. She carefully dabbed at the wound, shaking and worrying over him even though he'd just tried to hit her. She was being so very careful not to hurt him further, and while she knew she couldn't lift him if she tried, she walked over to get him a blanket and pillow for under his head. Then she curled up a few inches away, not touching him, but still there in case he needed anything. She closed her eyes, drifting off swiftly.