You’re my favorite o’knutzy writer at the moment! I need to know if you know about the head canon that Leo was a dancer for years and that’s why he’s so flexible! I loveee this! Just imagine him constantly spinning or leaping unprompted or instinctively pointing his foot
Some professional athletes, like NFL players, do do ballet to help with balance, flexibility, mobility, and strength! So enjoy this little thing I wrote taking a break from homework- finals are no joke in college. Thanks for the ask! <3
Also, let's show some appreciation for français louisiane! It's not a common language anymore, and I like to think that Leo's parents grew up in a more rural area outside of NOLA where Cajun French was spoken a lot, before they moved to the city and had Leo. I imagine that they did everything to make sure Leo spoke it as much as possible. Hence, French ballet classes for our little sunshine!
All credits to @lumosinlove !!
Leo was not normally a fan of keeping secrets from his boys. In fact, he was generally staunchly against the notion. They told each other everything eventually- all the little details about their childhoods, Finn and Logan about their years at Harvard, Leo about his high school life. But sometimes things were forgotten, or just didn’t come up naturally in conversation, and somehow, Leo’s mother had a special knack for unearthing elements of his past that he would rather not be revealed until the precise moment that he wanted them to be.
Like right now.
“Oh, look at what I found!” Eloise exclaimed. She was sitting at the dining room across from Finn and going through old boxes of photos. Leo had initially resisted with a blushing, stammering refusal, but she and Finn had double-teamed him until he conceded. “Look at you in your leotard, you sweet little boy.”
Leo’s head jerked up abruptly, his eyes widening. Beside him, Logan was also looking at Eloise from where he was helping Leo prepare lunch in the kitchen. Finn had started moving to sit beside her. Leo knew the photo that they were looking at, the one from when he was about eight, all dressed up for dance class with his leotard and tights, his curls wild and golden and his face still slightly chubby.
Leo shook his head. “Oh, no, mama-”
“You were so cute, honey. Boys, c’mere.”
“No,” Leo gasped. He grabbed at Logan’s arm. “No, no, no, oh my God. Wait-”
But Logan’s smile was teasing, and he moved over to sit on Eloise’s other side. When he sat down his grin turned adoring and his eyes sparkled. “Oh, mon soleil. Tres mignon.”
“Ouais,” Eloise replied. She was giggling. “He used to love wearing his leotard.”
Finn looked up at Leo, who’s eyes were like saucers. “Why didn’t you tell us you did ballet, baby?”
Leo rubbed his hand over his face and stayed by the counter. “Because it’s embarrassing.”
Logan shook his head. “Non. Non, it’s not. When did you stop?”
Eloise smirked. “He still comes with me to the studio when he visits sometimes.”
Finn’s mouth fell open. “What? But we’ve never seen you go!”
Leo groaned. “That’s because I only go when I come here without you guys.”
“Or when he ‘comes with me to the grocery store’ when you all visit.”
Finn barked at a laugh as Leo flushed even more. “Mama. That was our secret.”
“Oops,” Eloise shrugged. “Better now than later.” She stood up and kissed Leo on the cheek with a smile. “I’ll go bring the sandwiches out onto the porch. Y’all come join me when you’re done here.” She picked up the tray Leo and Logan had prepared and whisked out of the room, her linen pants swishing.
Finn got up and came to wrap his arms around Leo’s waist. “Why did you hide ballet from us, sweetheart?”
Leo was so embarrassed. “It just- I started when I was, like, three? It was to help with balance and flexibility. And then I started doing it pretty seriously in the off-season once I decided to be a goalie. Never competitions or anything, just classes. French ones, too. It’s how I kept it up when I wasn’t speaking it at school as much.”
“Ouais,” Logan said, still looking at the photo. “That makes sense, soleil.”
“I know, but…” Leo sighed. “It’s still just a bit embarrassing.”
“Why, sweetheart?” Finn asked. He pressed a few kisses to Leo’s neck.
“I don’t know,” Leo replied. “It’s just- it’s such a stereotype. The gay boy doing dance and stuff.” Leo felt tears start to well up in his eyes. “I was already struggling so much with being gay and playing hockey as a teenager, and I think- sometimes I wanted to stop doing ballet to just, I don’t know, distance myself from it.”
“From what?” Logan asked, eyebrows furrowed. He also stood up, pocketing the photo, and came to wrap his arms around Leo and bury his face in his chest.
Leo rested his own arms around the small of Logan’s back. “From being gay, I guess. For a while, until I realized that I didn’t want to hide.” He sniffled. “I think that ballet sometimes just brings up all that shame I felt when I was younger, in middle school, when I realized I didn’t like girls.”
Finn was stroking his hair back from his face. “But do you like it, Le?”
Leo looked to him and a few tears fell. Finn caught them with his thumb. “Yeah.”
Finn smiled and kissed him briefly. “Then let’s look for classes in Gryff.”
Leo bit his lip. “Really?”
“Oui,” Logan said. He tilted his head up to rest on Leo’s collarbone. “It helps you, non?”
“Yeah,” Leo said. “Yeah, it really does. And I really like it.”
Logan reached up to grab his hair and bring his mouth down to be kissed. “D’accord. Then we find classes.” He kissed him hard again. “And I’m sorry you felt you had to hide it. But we won’t ever judge you for that.”
“I’m sorry for hiding it,” Leo replied. His boys were looking at him so lovingly, holding him so tightly, and he was so warm. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
Finn shook his head. “It’s alright baby. It was a hard thing to bring up.” He grinned mischievously. “But now we know how you got so flexible.”
Leo snorted. “That’s also because I’m a goalie, Harz. We kinda have to be.”
Finn shrugged. “Hey, it’s not a bad thing. I certainly reap the benefits.”
“Finn,” Leo chastised. “My mama is out there.”
“Oh, like she doesn’t know that already.” Finn pressed a burst of kisses to his cheek. “We’re young and in love, what does she think happens when we close the bedroom door?”
“Fish,” Logan laughed. “Non, we’re going to be kicked out.”
“No we won’t,” Finn countered. “She loves us.”
“I love you,” Leo said. He was smiling and kissed each of their foreheads. “I love you.”
“We love you so much, mon coeur,” Logan said. He was soft and heavy in Leo’s arms.
“We do, baby,” Finn agreed. He bit at Leo’s jaw. “And I’ll love you even more if you do the splits for us tonight.”
“Jesus, Harz,” Leo said. He rolled his eyes hard, but he was blushing. “Let’s go, mama’s waiting for us with the sandwiches. I’ll grab the tea.”
“Non” Logan said. He batted Leo’s hands away, took them, and kissed the backs of each of them. “Non, you go. I got it.”
Leo smiled and watched as Logan puttered around the kitchen, getting a tray and a stack of glasses to go with the pitcher. Finn was behind Leo with his palms low on his back, kissing the top of his spine and shepherding him out to the porch where his mama was waiting. When they stepped out of the door, she looked up from her book and grinned. “Ça va?”
“Ouais,” Leo said. He gazed at his boys, who were bickering quietly about where to place the tea tray on the table, and smiled. “C’est bien