Finn made a noise in the back of his throat. “Enough of that question.” He hooked his chin over Logan’s shoulder to look Leo in the eyes. “You’re just too gorgeous. We can’t resist you
THE IDEA OF LEO BEING RELUCTANT TO ACCEPT COMPLIMENTS OR AFFECTION BREAK MY HEART
As promised, the bombardment continues!
This was a very interesting prompt to work with, because you can be reluctant to accept love for a myriad of reasons. And there is a huge difference between accepting love and affection, and accepting and being confident in your sexual orientation, which Leo seems pretty sure of (as far as we can interpret from SW, C2C, and Vaincre). If this is you, I understand it's difficult, and you're not alone. Your FinnLo is out there waiting (if that's the relationship you desire, of course)!
Enjoy some Lovernut appreciation! All credits to @lumosinlove <3
Leo hummed quietly to himself as he turned onto the sidewalk. Viv had made a fresh back of ciabatta, and had texted him this morning to come down to the bakery and grab some for sandwiches that week. His boys had kissed him goodbye as they went for a run and he had begun a slow meander down to the park and then the bakery, enjoying the peace of the Gryffindor summer morning. He smiled as he walked back the long way through the park again, watching as the ducks quacked softly in the pond. Their chicks were still young, retaining some of their fluffy feathers, and he broke off a bit of bread to toss to them. They ruffled their feathers and approached him, waddling slowly over to where he was standing on the water’s edge. He cooed softly at them and then stood, leaving them to their snacks. As he was walking away, a sharp whistle sounded behind him.
“What’s cookin’ good lookin’?” a voice called.
Leo rolled his eyes and turned around to see his boys jogging slowly up to him. Finn was smirking sharply as Logan laughed beside him. For the last few meters, Finn sped up and launched himself at Leo, laughing, wrapping him up in his arms and pressing a slightly sweaty kiss to his cheek. “Nutter butter baby!” he sing-songed.
Leo was blushing and a little sheepish. “Sweetheart, you’re gonna cause a scene.”
Finn just gripped his waist and picked him up off the ground slightly, leaving him suspended in the air for a few seconds. His teeth were spread in a bright white smile. “Just let me love you, baby.”
Leo felt his face heat up even more and he ducked his chin with a grin. “Fish-”
“Uh uh,” Finn said. “Nope, none of that.” He set Leo back on the ground and opened up his other arm for Logan to tuck himself against their sides. They were both smiling at him lovingly, Logan’s head against Finn’s shoulder. Finn reached up to stroke Leo’s hair. “We get to love you wherever we want, nutty baby. You’re just too pretty.”
“Oh, stop that-”
“Non,” Logan cut in. He kneaded the skin of Leo’s hip with one of his hands. “Finn’s right. You’re just too pretty.” He stood up on his toes to kiss Leo soundly, and Leo felt warmed through and through. “The prettiest boy in the world.”
***
Finn watched Leo laughing with the tiny older lady in the grocery store, helping her to reach the zucchini and arugula that were placed on the higher shelves. She commented on his height, then on his strength, which got him blushing good-naturedly. His accent was always stronger with strangers, a lot of ‘yes sirs’ and ‘yes ma’ams’ accompanied with his bashful small talk. He wasn’t as outgoing as Finn, not by a long shot, but he was charming, particularly with elderly people, and was always willing to help. Finn leaned his forearms against their shopping cart and smiled adoringly.
“There you go, ma’am,” Leo said, placing the final bag of vegetables in her basket. “Can I help you reach anything else? You need me to carry something out to your car for you?”
She laughed. “No, dear, but you’re sweet.” She shook her basket and patted his arm. “Just needed a few extra things my husband forgot to get me the other day. I’m off to find some breadcrumbs. You have a lovely day!”
Leo smiled brightly at her. “You, too, ma’am.” He waved her off, then turned to Finn. “Sorry about that honey. What were we looking for, some squash- mph.”
Finn had taken Leo’s face between his palms and kissed him gently, in long, slow strokes that made his body tingly. When he pulled back, Leo was smiling, a bit embarrassed and flushed, and Finn leaned in to kiss him softly once more. “I love you so much, baby,” he whispered. “You’re so good.”
“Oh,” Leo said. He shrugged and blushed even more. “That’s very sweet, thank you.”
“Hey,” Finn urged. He kissed Leo once more, rubbing a palm gently up and down his side. “You are good. You’re so good, and helpful, and kind, sunshine. Lo and I love that about you, okay?”
“Okay,” Leo replied. He rested his forehead on Finn’s shoulder briefly. “I love you.”
“Love you so much.” Finn scratched his scalp a few times then looked at the list in his hand. “Squash time? Then some peppers.”
Leo lifted his still-blushing face from the crook of Finn’s neck. “Yeah,” he said, kissing Finn’s cheek. “Squash time.”
***
Leo looked gorgeous in the golden hour light, Logan thought, tall and tan in the dying summer sun. They’d gone to the local courts to shoot some evening hoops, and now Finn was over at one of the stands in the park getting them some ice cream. Leo’s phone had rung and he had excused himself to talk to Regulus about their plans to go to an amusement park the next day. He was laughing, his head thrown back and his curls long and wild. He had taken his shirt off, too, while playing basketball, and had yet to put it back on. Logan roved his eyes over his body greedily, trying to forever internalize the feeling he got just from looking at him. Leo caught his eye briefly, waving with a wide smile, before saying goodbye to Regulus and hanging up the phone. Really, Leo smiling was a feat that should be illegal: his dimples were deep, his teeth white as snow, and his eyes so bright they could light up the darkest room. Logan sucked in a breath and walked up to him.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Leo said. “Sorry, I was just talking to Reg. I’ll be taking one of the cars early in the morning, if that’s okay?”
Logan didn’t say anything, just gripped the back of Leo’s hair and pulled him down into a kiss. Leo made a startled noise, but quickly settled into it, cupping Logan’s hips gently with his hands. Logan sighed, his body listing into Leo’s, his kisses deep and sloppy and, more than anything, irrevocably in love.
When they pulled back, Leo’s brow was furrowed, as if trying to chase Logan’s mouth, but he was smiling. “What was that for, sweetheart?”
“Because I love you.” Logan tilted his head. “Why do you always ask that?”
Leo took a surprised breath, but didn’t have the chance to say anything as Finn approached with their ice cream. “Okay, I got a couple for us to share: chocolate and Moose Tracks, your favorites, babes.” He stopped talking abruptly upon looking at their faces. “What’s wrong, what’s happening?”
Logan just pulled Leo closer. “Was just asking Le why he’s always so surprised.”
Finn was confused. “Surprised by what?”
“When you show me affection,” Leo said warily.
Finn looked between the two of them before settling his eyes on Leo. “Are you surprised when we show you affection? I didn’t think you were.”
“Non.” Logan shook his head. “Like, when we surprise him with it. When we don’t… je ne sais pas-”
“When there’s no reason for it,” Leo finished for him. He took a deep breath. “It surprises me when you show me affection when there’s no reason for it.”
Finn looked a little shocked and he set their ice cream down on a picnic table beside them. “What- we need a reason for it? Baby, the reason is because we love you, I- do you feel like you only deserve affection when you- when you’ve earned it?”
Leo bit the inside of his cheek, eyes nervous and flitting around the park. His red cheeks and silence were all Finn and Logan needed.
“Whoa,” Finn said. His voice was a little panicked. “Whoa, Le, baby, that’s not true.” He took Leo’s face in his hands to force him to look at him. “That’s not true.”
“Soleil,” Logan said. Leo’s pulse was fast underneath his thumb. “Why do you think that?”
“I don’t know.” Leo’s voice was small and timid. He rolled his eyes at himself. “I’m sorry, I don’t know.”
“Is it Jack?” Logan asked, voice low. He couldn’t help but see red. “Did he make you feel that way?”
“I- maybe. Yeah, probably.” Leo took a shaky breath. “He only ever showed me affection if I did the right thing for him.”
“The right thing?” Finn asked.
“Like,” Leo started. He was clutching at Logan’s lower back as if to gound himself. “Like, if I helped him with homework. Or if I didn’t touch him in public. Just doing things by his terms and his rules is what got me affection, so I guess…” He paused, looking down at his feet. “I guess I feel I need to earn it. To deserve it somehow.”
Finn sharply inhaled and brushed Leo’s cheek with his nose. “Oh, my love,” he whispered. Logan looked up. Finn only called them each that in the most delicate moments, and only ever in private. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry he made you feel that way, but that’s not true with us. You don’t have to do anything for us to love you- we love you for who you are, sweetheart.”
“Ouais,” Logan agreed softly. He tucked his face into Leo’s chest. “Mon coeur, mon soleil. Je t’aime, I love you just as you are. Je t’aime, je t’aime, je t’aime.”
Leo let out a defeated breath and rested his head on top of Logan’s. “I’m sorry.”
“No,” Finn said firmly, shaking his head hard. “No apologies. We’ll make sure to tell you more, make sure to do more, to let you know how much we want you. Just for you. We want you just as you are, nothing more, nothing less.” He kissed Leo’s blushing cheek. “You are perfect for us just the way you are, Le.”
“Parfait,” Logan whispered with a kiss to Leo’s bare skin. “Tu es parfait pour nous.”
“I love you,” Leo said. He pulled back and kissed them each gently. They didn’t stray far from one another, Logan and Finn with their arms around Leo’s body and Leo with an arm around each of them. “I’ll… I’ll work on being better at accepting love, I think. I want it- I like it.”
Finn smiled up at him. “Good, baby.” He bit at Leo’s neck. “Because I plan on giving you a lot of it.”
“Moi aussi,” Logan said. “Moi aussi, mon coeur. You deserve all the love.”
Leo just smiled, then nodded to their ice cream. “Let’s eat this before it melts. I didn’t just bear my feelings to then let my Moose Tracks become a soup.”
“Ouais,” Logan laughed. “That’d be a shame.”
“C’mere, lovers,” Finn told them. He sat down at the picnic table and held up a singular spoon with a mischievous grin. “I’ll even feed it to you.”
Logan and Leo laughed, sitting beside one another across from Finn and accepting spoonfuls of slightly melted ice cream on their tongues. It turned Leo’s kisses sweet and chocolatey, and Logan couldn’t get enough. When they eventually finished it all, Finn and Logan made a big show of kissing his cheeks before grabbing their backpacks and making their way back to their apartment.
The entire way, Finn and Logan had their arms wrapped around Leo’s waist and Logan, for one, didn’t want to move ever again. He smiled and leaned against Leo’s shoulder as the city got darker, watching as Leo accepted periodic kisses to his neck by Finn and turned to press his nose into Leo’s bicep. And when they eventually got into bed, showered and in pajamas, Logan laid himself on top of Leo’s body and watched as Finn watched them both, a palm rubbing up and down Logan’s side and the fingers of his other hand in Leo’s hair. Leo was gazing back at him, quiet, but eyes a shining blue in the dark.
“I’m so lucky,” Finn whispered. “You’re so gorgeous.” He kissed each of their foreheads gently before laying his head on his pillow with a gentle smile. “Gonna give you all the loving.”
“Ouais,” Logan sighed. He closed his eyes and nestled into Leo’s chest. “Ouais, mes amours. All the love. All the love for you always.”
Then they fell into their most contented sleep of the summer, a loving tangle of limbs and bodies, with no alarm set for the morning.