I'd Give Up The World For You

Leo was a lover not a fighter. Daisy had known this since he was a child even if he was talented with a sword. 

He was helpful, kind, and never complained about anything. He was a good commanding officer—his soldiers loved him—and a solid person to have in your corner. He was also the only person who had ever truly understood her and cared about what she wanted. 

Juliet didn't know him the way Daisy did. She wrote a villain; she didn't live with the person behind it. That was why Daisy was so certain that Leo would never do anything terrible in his pursuit of revenge. 

And yet…she was bothered. The concept of fate had always seemed silly to her. She didn't want to blame all the bad luck she had in her life on something like fate. 

She made the best of every bad situation she had ever found herself in. She adapted. She wrote her own destiny. So hearing that the man she loved was predestined to be a villain who destroyed the world really ticked her off. 

Though Daisy couldn't tell Leo what she had learned she did ask him what he thought about fate. He seemed to think along the same lines as her. She should have known. Their opinions tended to be rather similar. If he didn't believe in fate either there was no way he would let it control him!

So she did her best to put it all out of her mind. Whatever happened with his plan, she would support him as much as he could. 

All her life she told herself she would cross bridges when she got to them. It was how she was able to keep going. It helped minimize her anxiety about moving from foster home to foster home among other things and it would help her now. 

Over the next several weeks Juliet didn't come to see her again and Elaine mentioned she hadn't seen her either. She was probably up to something but Daisy wasn't sure what so there was nothing she could do about it. Angry as she was about what happened, she regretted losing a friend. 

She couldn't forgive the things Juliet said though. She didn't know Leo. She didn't know anything!

Eager to get away from her conflicted feelings and have a nice distraction, Daisy looked forward to her visit with Ira more than she already had. It would be nice being away from it all for a few weeks. 

The night before she was set to go Leo was especially reluctant to let go of her. She was practically glued to him from the moment he got home from work. He never had liked being away from her or vice versa but this wouldn't be for nearly as long as the other times. 

"You know I'll be fine, right?" she told him as he held onto her extra tightly from behind after using magic to dry her hair post shower. 

"I know. But I'm going to miss you," he mumbled into the top of her head. 

Daisy smiled and reached up to caress his cheek. "I'll miss you too. But I will write and I'll be sure to bring something back for you. You'll hardly notice I'm gone since you have so much work to do."

Leo scoffed. "As if! I always notice when you're gone since I prefer being by your side whenever I can. I do want you to go and have fun with Ira…but I don't particularly want to be by myself for so long. It's easier to sleep when you're here."

"Well, you still have me for one more night."

Rather than responding to that in words, he picked her up and carried her to bed before holding her close and pulling the quilt up over them both. It seemed that he took what she said literally since he was practically caging her with his arms. She couldn't help but laugh at his earnestness. 

"You're cute," Daisy informed him before planting a kiss on his neck. 

Leo's arms tightened around her. "Not nearly as cute as you though. I love you so much, Daisy. Travel safe and come back to me soon, okay?"

"I'll be fine! Don't worry about me." 

"If you insist."

He fell asleep faster than she did since after a while his arms went slack. She didn't mind though. She could still feel the comfort of his nearness. And though it was summer it didn't even feel hot. 

One particularly warm night when he wanted to hold her she said it was too hot for that so he somehow used his magic to suck all the heat out of the room. He had done it every night since like some sort of magical air conditioner. It was one of the most impressive facets of his magic she had witnessed. 

Creating fire was cool enough but manipulating heat to mimic microwaves, hair dryers, and air conditioners? Amazing!

Leo was always so considerate and mindful of her comfort. It was one of the things she appreciated most about him. No one else had ever treated her like that…though she did suppose there was the one time she was hot on the way to the academy and Ira misted her with his magic.

It was one of the rare and beautiful times he was mindful about the condition of those around him instead of having his nose stuck in a book or talking endlessly about subjects that interested him. It had meant a lot to her. 

Drifting off to sleep took Daisy a while but eventually she was lulled into it by the sound of her husband's even breathing. He truly had such a comforting presence. How could a villain be like that? 

The next morning she gathered her things, ate breakfast with her husband, and had him escort her to the merchant caravan that was heading southwest. Concerned for her well-being, he had paid extra to give her a space to sit with the cargo in a covered wagon so she wouldn't have to walk in the heat. 

Leo sighed heavily as he hugged her goodbye. "Write to me as soon as you arrive."

"I will," Daisy promised. "I love you, Leo."

"I love you too. Have fun with Ira."

He kissed her briefly yet passionately and she stumbled off in a bit of a daze as he headed back toward town. All these months of kissing him regularly and she was still reacting like this!

"Are you prepared to leave, Mrs. May?" the head of the caravan asked politely. 

"Yes, thank you," Daisy replied, a bit embarrassed. She really hoped he hadn't seen that display just now. 

If he did he didn't say anything and remained the consummate professional. She didn't mind traveling with this caravan. Everyone was cordial but didn't expect her to talk to them all the time either. She had a lot of time to think to herself. 

Overthinking what she had learned about Leo wouldn't do her any good so she focused her thoughts on Ira. He wrote very detailed letters when it came to his schoolwork but neglected to include much else. Only random details he found interesting, which was much like the way he spoke. 

She had no idea how well he was adjusting aside from enjoying being academically challenged. He had never mentioned any friends by name. It was always 'my professor this' and 'my professor that.' 

Daisy continued wondering how he was doing right up until she arrived at the front gates of the academy. Then she was more concerned with carrying her trunk and actually finding him. He had found a place for her to stay and she needed to get the information from him so she could set her trunk down and write that letter to Leo as promised. 

"Excuse me," she asked the first person who passed. "Can you tell me where Ira Brooks is? I'm here to visit him."

The young man sized her up, clearly surprised that Ira had any sort of contact with a woman. "It's easier to take you to him. The laboratory he works in is pretty well hidden."

"Thank you!" 

"So what's your name and how do you know Ira?"

"I'm Veronica May and I suppose you could say I'm his mother of sorts. I took care of him after his parents died," Daisy explained.

"Ah, that would explain it. I knew he would never be interested in a girl. He may as well be married to his books. Not that there's anything too weird about that…he is the top of his year by a wide margin. Even some of the fifth years reckon he's smarter than them," the young man said with a shrug. 

"And which year are you?"

"Third, ma'am. I stayed behind to be a research assistant as well for a different professor. I'm Rai Chalice, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well," she said with a smile.