Leonardo Would Behave
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Leonardo would behave.
He had promised the queen as such, and, despite the knowledge that he was one of Her Majesty's favorites, he knew he could not risk angering her. Her preferential treatment of him would only go so far, he imagined; he had already been given a few too many warnings. Plus, he was here for his children. Leonardo couldn't bear to disappoint them, not like that.
But then it happened again. Some noble's coffee was not sweet enough, their croissant did not have enough filling, and the waitress was not apologetic enough for their liking (though she shook and trembled and seemed close to tears). They yelled at her, screamed to where the windows threatened to shatter. Horrible, horrible things. Incompetent, fat, ugly, bitch. Leonardo could barely contain the white-hot rage that burned in his belly.
Then they hit her. Their palm met her tear-moistened cheek, and the terrible sound echoed about the parlor. As she stumbled backward, clutching her face, Leonardo saw her eyes; blue.
The pot boiled over, and the Old Ares rose. Once filled with quiet idol chatter, the café grew silent at the creak of his chair. The abusive noble turned to see what was the matter and was met with the most scathing, furious, murderous stare.
Leonardo knew he was downright terrifying, and he knew precisely how to use that to his advantage.
There was a stand-off. The noble was frozen, refusing to lower their hand, yet still refusing to move. The waitress sniffled.
Leonardo took one step forward. Instantly, the noble retreated to their seat and lowered the brim of their hat over their eyes. The waitress took advantage of the moment and scurried out of sight into the kitchen.
Leonardo kept standing for a moment more, allowing the atmosphere to tense further and further, before silently returning to his chair. He sipped at his too-sweet coffee, well aware that the nobles were whispering and staring. When the waitress returned to refill his cup, she had an angry red palm print on her cheek.
That evening, Leonardo returned to the café just before closing with a bouquet of flowers. The waitress cried and cried, so thankful for something so simple as someone who cared. When she hugged him, so small and so fragile, he wished he could burn the entirety of Zeus down for her. But he knew that he couldn’t.
Leonardo had to behave, even if it killed him.
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@sm-baby is the queen of making quality square men who I would gladly let punch some rich pompous asshole for my honor.