Love problems (Leon and Maria)

Leon's heart was hurting again and it was the kind of pain that came from say, heartburn. No it was a deep internal hurt that made him want nothing more than to curl up into a little ball and never face the world again. As it was he was strong enough to resist that urge even if he hadn't slept in recent days.

He needed a second opinion. He needed some advice from someone he trusted with his home, with his secrets and with his life, if needs be. Leon stood up from the sofa in the front room,

"Maria?" he called out for his ever faithful maid and confidant, "Maria can I talk to you for a moment?"

Maria had been more and more worried about her employer over the recent years and she could not believe that he was getting even less sleep than he had been, surely it wasn't healthy for a human to go so long without even a little bit of a rest period inbetween.

When he called out for her, even his voice seemed to radiate pain and she bit her lip a little, she truly could not help but think this must be due to some sort of heart ache, some sort of problem with the heart, but she couldn't dare to hope it was because of herself...

It was something she had been contending with for a while now, this idea of Momo Aziwa, of course she knew who she was, if she was meant to was a different idea.

Walking into the living room where Leon was, she nodded her head at him and smiled gently;

"Oui Monsieur Becker?" she asked him "How can I help you?"

Leon was so dreadfully tired but sleep wouldn't come and he knew it, it never did after all. He knew that it would never go away unless he found the true happiness that only love could bring to someone. It ached and it hurt right now but he had to try and push himself forwards. He had to have faith that his love would be requited in the end.

The reason why his heart ached so much right now was because he had no faith that his love could ever be requited. His pained expression softened when he saw Maria, she seemed to be able to calm him just by being around and it meant that he enjoyed being around her,

"Well..." he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "You see Maria I... I have a problem and I need your help... your advise... can you help me?"

Maria smiled gently, although inside her worries were being realised, Leon looked to be so tired and so drained by all of this and even though it would hurt her so much to give him advice to help him be with a woman that was not her, she would do so.

If you love someone, let them go, and if they don't return to you they were never yours to begin with, as the saying went she believed.

When he openly asked her for advice, Maria smiled again and bowed her head making sure she schooled her expression into one of concern instead of one of pain.

"Of course Leon sir, what would you need advice about?"

Leon was not so tired and not so drained as to notice that Maria seemed bothered by something. However, right now, he was too tired and too drained to ask. He would ask her about it after some sleep so that he wouldn't fall asleep on her.

He was a bit distressed when she looked down. Had he upset her or something? Maybe her own problems couldn't wait until after sleep. He'd ask her after some advice,

"Well... I need advice on how to know if a woman likes me." he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I'm not good at recognising when someone is interested in me... what kind of signs should I be watching for?"

Maria was still suffering with the internal debate of whether to lie to Leon and to tell him that what Momo was doing was something that meant that she didn't like him, or to tell him the truth, she thought that it would be best to tell him the truth, he would be angry with her if she didn't.

When he asked her how you can tell if someone likes you, Maria could have gone into a large gushing debate about how someone can tell if someone loves you...but that was not his question.

"I suppose they might buy you gifts when you are ill or upset, they might go out of their way to spend time with you and when they do they spend a lot of time with you, they may joke with you or they may blush when they speak with you....does that answer your question?" she asked quietly.

Leon was a bundle of nerves right now. He really wasn't very good when it came to noticing when a woman was interested in him and right now that meant that he was totally at the mercy of Maria's advice. But he trusted her not to lead him astray, he trusted her completely after all so it was easy for him to trust her with this.

Leon waited and listened as she told him how to tell when someone liked you. He had to admit that Momo did a lot of those things around him and was momentarily happy for a moment before frowning,

"Yes... but..." he looked at the floor, "How does someone show that they love you? I know she likes me now but... how do I tell if she loves me?"

Maria's heart glowed for a moment when she saw Leon was happy with what she had told him, but the fire dwindled when she knew that it was not because of her that he was feeling this way, it was because he had realised that Momo liked him...

Biting her lip, Maria hoped that from what she was now going to have to tell him, he would not be able to tell she loved him, and would put her actions down to that of a close friend, as she would not want to complicate things for him.

"HOw to tell if somebody loves you? That is difficult, as it can be so different, although...I believe when someone truly loves you, you are the only one in their life that matters, when you need them everything else stops, when they want your help you give it, and even when your heart aches to see them happy with somebody else but you...you are happy for them simply because they are happy."

Leon was happy on the inside that Momo liked him, or seemed to from Maria's advice, but something was bothering him. He had an inkling that Momo wasn't only one who liked him if he used Maria's advice and he couldn't quite put his finger on who it was.

He knew that knowing if someone loved you or not was a lot harder than trying to tell if someone liked you but he was clueless and he needed some idea,

"I know it's harder to know if someone loves you but... but I just have to know, you know?" he reasoned before listening in silence. As he listened he deflated a little bit, "I... I'm not sure if she feels that way about me... not that strongly... I... I..."

He stopped, unable to speak.

Maria hated the way that her information made Leon so sad, she didn't want to see him speechless in sorrow, so she thought about how she could try and make him happy again even if it did begin to tear at her heart to try and convince him to persue another woman.

If you could even still class a monster such as Maria as a woman, after all, at the end of all her years she had found someone to love, he just did not love her in return.

"Please don't be distressed Mr. Becker, I am certain that love takes time to develop and grow, as Hugo said; 'Love is like a tree; it roots itself deeply in our being, it grows by itself and continues to flourish over a heart in ruin. Love takes time to grow and flourish, but it is present still from the seed." Maria smiled, fakely although one could hardly tell, every word was like a punch to her heart.

Leon had thought that he would be ready and willing to accept Maria's advice even if it turned out that Momo didn't love him. But now it turned out that she might love him but not enough to reach Maria's standards of love. It was maddening and saddening.

It felt kind of cold, to know that you loved someone so completely and yet they didn't seem to love you in the same way. He shook it off. She still love him it seemed and perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps she loved him like he loved her,

"I think you might be right... too much to ask that a woman loves me right off the bat right?" he joked without any real humour, "I hope that she can love me... I hope that anyone can love me."

Maria smiled a faint ghost of a smile and she ran her hands up and down her arms, if she could have gotten goosebumps she would have done and she thought that she would need to be away soon, she felt like she was about to burst into tears.

"You are loved Leon," she smiled lightly "You just don't know it." Maria added, in a quiet voice in case he would hear her and think that it was she that loved him...she did after all, but desired to keep it secret.

Turning to the door Maria walked quietly towards it and placed her hand on the doorknob, turning back to give another small smile to Leon, wondering if he would feel better now;

"Is that all Monsieur?"

The ghost of a smile made Leon give one of his own. He wasn't sure why but whenever Maria smiled at him, however small, he felt the urge to smile back. It was one of the many reasons he was glad to have her around,

"Thank you for saying so Maria." he said before blinking a little bit as he caught what she said, "What do you mean Maria?"

When she moved to go he immediately stood up and moved closer to her. Even though his own problems he'd recognised hers. He moved closer to her before opening his arms for a hug,

"I know it's unprofessional... but you could really use a hug right now I think." he commented before hugging her to him, not letting go as he spoke, "Do you want to tell me what's bothering you? Perhaps I can help?"

Maria smiled gently at the door and she thought about for once telling Leon how she felt about him, it would make things easier if he returned her feelings...but she knew that he didn't, she knew that he loved Momo more than anything, and there would be no point in making things awkward between them.

"I merely mean that I am sure that Miss Momo does love you, she just has not told you yet, so you do not know just how loved you probably are." she smiled at him, tilting her head to see him.

When he held open his arms to her, Maria squeaked when she seemingly got no choice as to whether she got a hug or not, leaning into Leon, smelling his scent...being in his warmth, the warmth that she could never have for her own.

It was all too much and she pushed him away from her with a; "NO!"

Rushing to the door she opened it and ran upstairs, to her room, where hopefully she could stop the flow of tears before they began to pour from her eyes, then there would be no hiding it. What she was.

Leon was aware of the tension that seemed to have sprung up between them but he wasn't quite sure of the cause. He smiled faintly at her little explanation,

"Thank you... that explanation makes me feel better." he told her before smirking ever so slightly, "I'm still not buying it though."

He had to admit that holding her like this felt... right. She fit his arms perfectly and her cold contrasted his warmth perfectly. Leon actually relaxed for the first time in weeks as he held her. When she moved him away with the sudden shout he was surprised when instead of merely being pushed back a few feet he skidded across the crapet to the far wall. He watched her go in shock before he dragged himself out of it.

Enhanced strength.

And what appeared to be red tears.

There was no mistaking what Maria was now but right now it didn't matter. What mattered was that she was crying upstairs in her room. He hurried up the stairs and opened her door slowly, moving into the room,

"Maria... why didn't you tell me?"

Maria turned, shocked, when she saw Leon standing in the door to her room, he knew what he was and he was still here? He still wanted to be around her...could it be possible that he did care for her, that he did want to be with her?

Of course not. She thought bitterly. After all what could he see in a creature like me, a vampire who has no idea about the power of love and what she's gotten herself into.

When he asked her why she didn't tell him, the truth was that as the time went on she was afraid he would cast her away...that she would never be able to see him again, and that hurt her heart so much she couldn't bare it.

"I...I'm sorry." she whispered as she burst into another flurry of tears, letting them run down her face and plip onto the carpet "I j-just was afraid you wouldn't want to keep me as your maid if you knew a-and as we became friends I couldn't bare it if you made me leave because of what I was."

Leon could see the confusion, the shock, on Maria's face when he first entered the room. Honestly, he couldn't see where the shock was coming from. There was nothing wrong with being a vampire after all, he'd never thought it made them something less than human. Some of the nicest people he'd met had been vampires. And Maria just confirmed that trend.

When he saw that his question had brought her to tears again, the blood seeping down her beautiful face onto the floor, Leon moved into the room and took out a hankerchief. He dabbed at her tears lightly as he looked into her eyes,

"Hey... hey..." he cooed as he wiped her tears away, "Don't cry Maria. I could never think anything less of you because of this. I'm a little bummed that you didn't trust me with this secret... but there's nothing to hide Maria. To me you're just the same as you were five minutes ago, you're still someone very important to me."

Maria could not bare to have Leon touch her, for each gentle press of his hand against her skin made her think about how he would much prefer to press his hand to Momo's cheek, how he would much rather comfort Momo instead of herself...and it ripped the peices of her heart with each thought.

Taking the hankercheif from him, Maria wiped at her own tears, they were stopping before Leon told her that he was dissappointed that he hadn't told her what she was straight away.

"I knew you would be dissappointed in me Monsieur, I will accept any punishment y-you choose to give me." she whispered, taking large breaths to try and stop the latest bought of tears.

When he told her that she was someone important to her, Maria blinked, and the tears stopped for a moment, she locked eyes with him and she calmed for a second, things all of a sudden didn't seem so lost...and then her eyes flicked down to his lips, before time seemed to start again and she stopped.

"I am glad that I am important to you...you are essential to me Mr. Becker, I assure you." she whispered once more, with a faint smile.

Leon saw Maria flinch whenever he touched her with the hankercheif and couldn't help but be hurt. Was he that repulsive to her that she couldn't bear his touch? Or maybe she didn't want the temptation of wanting to bite him? No she was above the temptation from what he'd seen. He blinked a few times before smiling faintly,

"I'm not going to punish you at all Maria." he told her simply, "You've told me now and that's what matters."

Leon saw that he'd shocked her into a bit of an emotional stall when he told her that she was important to him. He smiled as he looked into her eyes,

"You always will be important to me Maria. The day I first met you I knew you're become one of the most important people in my life." he told her before smiling and cupping her cheek gently, "Well I'm not going anywhere Maria. I'm here for you. But... was this the problem? Was this what was bothering you earlier? Not telling me?"

Maria was a little shocked when she was told that she was not going to be punished for what she had done and she was very glad of that fact even if she did hope that she was going to be able to repent for the lies that she had told to Leon...she felt so guilty for doing so.

"I...I suppose so." she said with a small happy smile on her lips, she was glad that he cared about her so much that he would not want to see her hurt.

When Leon touched her cheek, Maria jumped lightly and although it pained her, she had to resist not to lean into his touch and not to lean away from it lest she upset him. Gazing up into his eyes, Maria wanted nothing more in that moment than for Leon to touch his lips to hers.

Even though she knew that was the furthest thing from his mind when she was covered in blood and he was infactuated with another woman. Her heart almost ruptured in her chest when Leon said she was one of the most important people in his life, oh if only he knew what he meant to her, what she wanted.

"Yes," Maria lied flawlessly "It was what was bothering me Monsieur, I really hate to keep things from you, it was getting hard to bare when you were being so honest with me."

Leon had to chuckle a little bit when Maria looked so shocked. Was it so hard to believe that he could just be a nice guy and not judge her about this whole thing? He smiled back at her,

"You keep on supposing but I'll tell you for certain it's the only thing that matters." he told her teasingly, smiling as he looked in her eyes, "There's nothing to forgive now that it's all out in the open."

There it was again. She jumped when he touched her. It hurt that she didn't want anything to do with his touch apparently. He tried to school himself so that the hurt didn't show in his eyes but he was unsure about how successful he was. He managed a smile,

"Well I'm glad that we got that out of the way. I'm glad that you've trusted me enough to tell me..." he turned away and whispered sadly, "Even if you won't even let me touch you..."

Maria only smiled gently when she was told that there was nothing to forgive now she had told him, she was so very lucky that she would have been employed by someone so understanding, someone so...caring and loving.

Even if he was not aiming that love at her, however much she desired it to be.

Seeing the hurt on Leon's face when she had jumped Maria opened her mouth to explain herself, she hated that her actions had made Leon upset, even if she had been made upset by his own actions.

"Forgive me Leon, I...I did not mean to upset you I am just not used to being touched, in such a manner." she smiled faintly "I do however like it, being so open with you."

Maria smiled gently and she was unable to hide her small pointed fangs as she grinned.

Leon didn't see the vampiric state as something to be feared or hated, it was just something that added to a person. So to him, Maria being a vampire wasn't a big deal. He accepted her regardless of any 'condition' she had and that wasn't about to change.

He blinked a few times when she seemed so concerned by how hurt he was because of her jumping. Maybe she didn't find him repulsive after all, it might have just been a reflex or something,

"Ah I should have thought about that." he said sheepishly, before smiling, "I was about to say sorry but if you like being so open with me then I don't think I will."

Leon couldn't help but notice her small fangs and chuckled a little bit as he tilted his head to the side to look at them,

"You know it's funny... I never noticed them before now. I wonder why that is?"

Maria smiled lightly, she was glad that he would have apologised to her although there was no need, he would never need to apologise to her because she had been put through so much pain already because of him...she scare thought it possible for him to do anything worse.

"You never need to apologise to me Moinsier, however much it might be deserved, because I will always know you are sorry, even if you never speak the words." she said in a small, but confident voice.

When he told her that he had never noticed her fangs before, Maria paled a little bit and she hoped that now she was out in the open, Leon wouldn't know that was how vampires blushed.

"I always try to keep myself in check around you sir, however the recent loss of blood...has made me rather thirsty." she whispered, paling even more.

Leon had the decency to blush. She'd basically just told him that she thought that he was a good man. Someone who would be sorry for his actions or words even if he didn't say so. He smiled faintly,

"Well even if you do always know that I am, I think I'll say the words anyway." he told her with a widening smile, "That is if you don't mind essentially hearing it twice."

The way that she paled suddenly made sense to him. A vampire he'd met before had explained that to a vampire, paling was blushing. He suddenly grinned,

"You're blushing!" he blurted out his discovery before blushing himself, looking sheepish, "Sorry, I just figured that out... but you say that you're hungry? Well... is O-negative alright for you?"