Leo stared at the work in his hands with worry. He had initially planned on making a sweater, and had even gone to the trouble of getting Klaus’s measurements from Gilbert secretly after explaining the situation to him.
There were only a couple days left till Christmas though, and he had messed up a few times and needed to undo and redo project at least twice. So far, he only had about 6 inches of the bottom of the sweater done, and hadn’t even started on the sleeves. Leo thought back on the past month; there just wasn’t enough time between Libra and his part-time job, especially when he couldn’t use the downtime at the office because Klaus was there.
It was clear to Leo that it was too late to try and finish it with the time he had left. He thought about scrapping the idea all-together and using what little money he had left to try and buy Klaus a present, but once he deducted Michella’s allowance, and his food and living costs, he only had about twenty dollars.
But he didn’t want to go that route. He really wanted this present to be special, and to maybe try confessing his feelings at the party. Even if he went Christmas shopping now, Leo didn’t have any good ideas about what he could get Klaus that would be special and within budget.
Also, what did you get a man that was so rich he had a private butler?
He groaned, rolling over in bed with the knitting supplies strewn about. The pattern book fell out of the supply bag, right next to Leo’s head.
Leo grabbed the book with one hand, and leafed through again, looking for ideas. Maybe he could turn it into something else?
+++
Leo stayed up late right before the day of the party, putting the finishing touches on his present. He wrapped it carefully with a goofy wrapping paper design that had cartoon reindeer and tiny santas all over it. He then sharpied on “To Klaus” on the little card attached to a red ribbon with the nicest handwriting he could muster, before setting it aside with his suit and passing out for the night.
Christmas day had arrived, and Libra’s hard work securing the city had paid off. There was little chance of a catastrophe big enough to interrupt the party happening, Steven made sure of that. Leo wasn’t needed at the office today, so he spent the rest of the day in a mild panic, going over what he would say to Klaus over and over again.
About an hour before the party started, Leo was mostly dressed and ready, but he was seriously debating just not showing up when he heard a firm knock at the door. Leo used his all-seeing-eyes and saw Zed, standing there patiently in custom formal wear, holding a discreet gold paper bag with tissue. He quickly opened the door.
“Zed? What are you doing here?” Leo asked. Zed gave a small smile before entering Leo’s tiny apartment.
“K.K told me to come get you for some reason. She didn’t say why, but I figured we could share the taxi to the party hall.”
Leo groaned but closed the door behind his friend. Zed walked in, and calmly sat on Leo’s only sitting area in his apartment, his bed. He motioned for Leo to come join him. Leo knew that Zed wasn’t stupid, and that the rest of the office had an idea of what his problem was. He sat next to his friend and buried his head in his hands. Zed patted him on the back.
“Today is going to be an important day for you right?”
Leo nodded.
“I don’t know how it’ll turn out, but as Huma say, ‘Sometimes you just have to man up and go for it’” Zed said with humor.
Leo smiled a little at that. “That’s something you definitely heard from Zapp!”
“Right, and sometimes that idiot has a point.” Zed sighed. Leo looked up at Zed and saw his face soften as he kept speaking. “Between the two of us, I thought I was going to be the one to make the first move. But that idiot knows just how to mess up my plans. He told me while we were walking to lunch one day, like he was talking about the weather! No preamble, no indication of any feelings beforehand, just the most ridiculous confession in Huma existence.”
Leo grinned. “That does sound like Zapp. What did he say?”
“He said, and I quote,” Zed put on his best Zapp impression. “Hey Zed, wanna date? I’ve got a movie and wine at my place, let’s hang out tonight.”
Leo laughed. “That’s literally the worst thing I’ve ever heard. But I guess it’s tame for him”
“Yeah, I know. But it was fun.” Zed readjusted his tie. “And I got my revenge later anyways.” Zed checked the time and then stood up. “Leo-kun, we really must get moving if we don’t want to be late. I know telling you not to worry won’t mean much, but it’ll be fine. The rest of Libra will have your back if you feel like drinking to forget later.”
Leo brightened at Zed’s words. “That’s right, the drinks are free tonight!”
Zed rolled his eyes and gathered both his and Leo’s presents. Leo stood up and put on his jacket, finally fully dressed and ready to tackle the ordeal ahead of him. They locked up his apartment and headed downstairs.