The Dreaming Forest

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Ya.

"Goodness me, I thought I taught you better than to be so impatient." sighed the Sin. He glanced around. Well it was a rather large forest. They didn't get lost, did they? He looked back at the spurned man. Maybe it'd be best to start and hope they show up soon.
"You must hate my guts, hmm?" he asked with a sad smile. "You'd think I'd be used to it, but I'm not. Not from you. Not getting to see your smile is torture for me. I know I screwed up, dearie, and no amount of apologies can fix that. If you're still done with me then I'll chase you until you can look me in the eyes again. I might have to become your very own stalker." he attempted to joke. He started moving forward. "I love you, Leon. Never once did I stop loving you. If you want to leave after all this then I won't stop you. If you want to stay then I'll do whatever it takes to build up your trust again, I'll even take care of Aysun so you can get your occasional break. I promise with all my heart to stay honest with you and remind you just how much I love you every day." He stopped just a couple steps away from Leon.

 

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Leon Court




Leon listened quietly, a hard look on his face at all times. Inside, he was melting. It was so hard to stay mad at Nikolai when he was being so incredibly sweet. He just couldn't help but want to forgive him. But no, he couldn't let himself! He was angry, he was hurt, he was-
"Leon."
The man didn't even have to turn to know who spoke. It was possible, but he still turned, only to be greeted by the sight of his entire family. His hand came to his mouth as he stared at his parents, silently watching as they moved closer to him. His mother set her hands on his cheeks, tears in her eyes. "Oh, look how handsome you are," she gushed, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. His eyes closed as she touched him, his own tears threatening to fall. She felt so real.
"And how good a father I always knew you'd be," praised David, setting a hand on his son's shoulder. Leon opened his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks as he laughed breathlessly and reached out a hand to touch his father's arm. Jared and Levi came around their parents, standing by their brother as his mother and father released him.
Jared snorted. "Wow, you look old as hell," he mocked.
"You look like Hell in general," snickered Levi, although he wrapped his arms around his brother and hugged him. "You better say thank you."
"What?"
"Nikolai brought us back, Leon," explained Annie. "Not to life, but for a visit."
"And to ask us something." David gestured to the Sin, turning Leon around.
The teacher swallowed hard, looking tenderly at Nikolai. "You... You brought my family back?" he whispered. "What did you ask them?" He took a step closer, his heart swelling at Nikolai's gift. He could only imagine what else the man had done.

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Where Aysun tried to hide behind Leon's legs to avoid the mysterious people, Nikolai only smiled. It was a heartwarming family reunion. He could see the many stories they all wanted to tell each other, all the things they wanted to say, and those streams of tears coming down Leon's face.
When the attention went back to him, Nikolai smiled a knowing smile and closed his eyes, reaching into his pocket. "I asked them for their permission for me to marry you." he answered softly. Finding what he needed, he got down on one knee and held up the ring for the other man to see. "Leon Court, will you marry me?"

 

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Leon Court




That ring. He knew that ring. It was his grandfather's, given down to the eldest boys. The last time he saw it, it was on his father's hand. He glanced over to his parents, who smiled encouragingly. Looking back to Nikolai, he tried to speak, then simply nodded. "Yes," he squeaked after a few moments. Kneeling down to Nikolai's level, he set his hands on the man's cheeks and leaned in, touching their foreheads together. "Yes, I'll marry you." He smiled, leaning in to kiss the Sin as his family cheered behind them.

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Nikolai smiled and felt his insides warm up with joy. He said yes! They could get past all this and go forward! Together.
The Sin welcomed the kiss, his eyes closing as only a few tears, both of endless relief and joy, rolled down his cheeks. No other kiss could ever compare to Leon's.
When they were done, Nikolai took his fiance's left hand and slid the ring onto it. "A perfect fit." he mused and smiled up at his lover until they were both ambushed into a hug by a giggling Aysun.
"You're happy again!" she exclaimed while hugging both of them as tightly as she could.

 

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Leon Court




Leon laughed happily as Aysun hugged them, wrapping his long arms around them both and holding his family close. He couldn't believe he'd ever allowed himself to believe he'd let all of this go. The man looked up as Annie and David appeared beside the little family, kneeling down to better look at the girl.
"Is this little one our granddaughter?" asked the woman, eyes twinkling as she gazed at the child. Leon nodded. She took a deep breath, then tapped her shoulder. "Your name is Aysun, right? I'm your Uncle Leon's mommy, and this is his daddy. We're your grandma and grandpa."

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Aysun shrank and clung to Leon's side when the strange lady spoke to her. She stayed silent with wide eyes for a minute then, after giving Leon a hesitant look, looked back at the woman and moved a little closer to her. "Will you visit a lot more?" she asked in a shy tone as she kept a fist against her mouth.

 

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Leon Court




She was quiet for a moment, not moving. It was as if she was a movie that had been paused. After a few seconds, Annie nodded. "For you, sweetheart, I'll do whatever I can to come see you," she promised, determination in her eye. She wasn't going to watch her grand-baby grow up from a tiny screen in Heaven.

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Aysun stared at her for a moment then broke out into a smile and hugged with a squeal. "I never had a gramma before!" she beamed.

 

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Leon Court




The ghostly woman wrapped her arms happily around the child as she was hugged, closing her eyes and holding her tightly. "And now you do, Aysun," she said, kissing the girl's head.
Leon stood not too far away, his arm around Nikolai's waist as he watched his parents both hug his daughter. "This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen," he said quietly, glancing down to the Russian. "And I owe it all to you."

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"Mmm, to be fair, dearie, Kiyaka did most of the work." Nikolai said as he continued looking at the family reunion of sorts. Unlike Leon, the Sin didn't look too relieved. "... You realize Miranda will come soon, yes?" he said after a while. "Grigori darling can only hold her back for so long, as can I."

 

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Leon Court




Leon's eyes grew dark, looking past his daughter and his parents into the thickness of the woods. "She threatened my daughter, my life, and she used you. Let her come." He raised his chin a little, his eerie calmness a little unsettling. He didn't say what he would do when she got to them, but it went without saying.
He was going to kill her.

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"Thinking rashly are we, you bad boy, you~?" Nikolai purred over at Leon, knowing he'd want to do something, but not thinking he'd go for a kill. "I've done everything I could in the last century, I fail to see what you could add. Showing off your muscles might make her angrier."

 

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Leon Court




"Just promise me that you and Aysun will be somewhere safe when she gets here," he said, looking around for a place that he could store his family while he did what had to be done. He didn't want them to see him like that. After all of this, he knew that he'd have to get that woman's touch off of Nikolai, but right now, he had to get rid of her. "I don't care where you go, so long as it's safe and far from her."

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"You expect me to stand idly by?" scoffed the Sin. "You may be stronger than me physically, but that's not going to beat her. You should keep Aysun safe while I face her."