Chapter 139: Marry me

He blinked, disoriented for a moment, the transition from his quiet hotel room to this strange, dreamlike space happening far more seamlessly than he’d expected.

Then he registered the weight pressing down against his lap.

He looked up sharply, and found Medusa sitting directly astride him, her legs draped casually to either side of his hips, her long green hair falling loosely over one shoulder as she studied him with a bright, satisfied smile.

"Told you," she said. "You just needed to actually try."

Leon froze completely, his mind scrambling to catch up with the sudden shift from empty hotel room to this considerably more compromising position.

"This isn’t what I expected," he managed finally.

"No?" Medusa asked, tilting her head slightly, her smile widening. "What did you expect?"

"Not this," Leon said, gesturing vaguely between them, though he made no immediate move to shift her off his lap, some part of him too caught off guard to react properly.

"You reached for me," Medusa said simply, as though that explained everything. "This is where that reaching led. I don’t control the specifics."

Leon eyed her skeptically. "I find that very hard to believe."

"Fine," Medusa admitted, laughing softly. "Maybe I influenced it a little."

Leon exhaled slowly, deciding arguing the point further wasn’t likely to accomplish much.

"The requirement," he said instead, steering the conversation back toward the reason he’d actually reached out in the first place. "You said you’d tell me."

Medusa’s expression shifted slightly, the playful teasing settling into something more deliberate, though the warmth in her eyes didn’t fully fade.

"I did say that," she agreed.

"So?" Leon pressed.

She leaned forward slightly, resting her hands lightly against his chest, studying him with an intensity that made it difficult to look away.

"Patience," she said. "I promised to tell you when we met again properly. We’re only just getting there."

Leon’s frustration flickered briefly, though something in her expression kept him from pushing too hard. Whatever she actually wanted from him, she clearly intended to draw the conversation out at her own pace, and arguing against that seemed unlikely to speed things along.

"Fine," he said finally. "Take your time."

"I intend to," Medusa said, a small, satisfied smile settling back onto her face as she shifted slightly, seemingly in no particular hurry to move from where she currently sat.

Leon studied her for a moment, still trying to process the sheer surrealism of the situation, before finally speaking. "Can you stand up?"

Medusa let out a soft, dramatic hiss, the sound almost reptilian, her expression shifting into an exaggerated pout.

"You’re no fun," she said. "Having such a beautiful girl sitting on your lap, and you’re asking her to leave."

Still, she rose from his lap without further protest, the motion smooth and unhurried.

The snakes coiled through her hair stirred slightly as she moved, hissing softly among themselves, though the sound carried none of the earlier hostility from their first meeting.

Leon pushed himself upright the moment she cleared his lap, only to freeze halfway through the motion, his gaze dropping briefly toward his own trousers.

A certain, unmistakable tent had already pitched itself in the fabric.

He hissed sharply under his breath, quickly shifting position, one hand moving instinctively to adjust his stance in a vain attempt at discretion.

"Damn it," he muttered.

Medusa’s eyes followed the motion immediately, her earlier pout melting into a wide, delighted grin.

"Oh," she said, drawing the word out with obvious amusement. "Well, that’s flattering."

"It’s not like that," Leon said quickly, his face heating despite himself.

"No?" Medusa asked, tilting her head, clearly enjoying his discomfort far more than she should have. "You’re sure? Because from where I’m standing, it looks exactly like that."

"Can you not," Leon said, exhaling sharply as he tried to will the situation away through sheer force of embarrassment alone.

Medusa took a small step closer instead, her grin softening into something deliberately inviting.

"I could help with that, you know," she said, her voice dropping into a low, teasing register. "If you wanted."

"No," Leon said immediately, holding up a hand as though that alone might physically stop her from advancing further. "Absolutely not."

Medusa pouted again, though she didn’t press the offer any further, apparently satisfied enough by his flustered reaction alone.

"Suit yourself," she said, settling back onto her heels, though the teasing glint in her eyes hadn’t faded in the slightest.

Leon took a steadying breath, forcing his attention away from his own body and back toward the actual reason he’d reached out to her in the first place.

Whatever strange, overly affectionate energy Medusa consistently radiated toward him, he still hadn’t fully decided how much of it he actually trusted.

It felt too fast, too intense, especially for someone who’d been, until barely a day ago, nothing more than a name etched into the surface of his shield.

"The requirement," he said again, steering the conversation firmly back on track. "You still haven’t told me."

Medusa’s expression shifted slightly at that, the playful teasing settling into something more deliberate, a small, knowing smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

"It’s simple," she said. "You’ll just have to marry me."

Leon blinked.

For a moment, he genuinely thought he’d misheard her, the words simply failing to fully register. When they finally did, he let out a short, disbelieving laugh, certain she was joking.

"Right," he said. "Good one."

Medusa’s expression didn’t shift at all, her smile remaining fixed and steady, entirely unbothered by his dismissal.

Leon’s own smile faltered slightly under the weight of her unwavering stare.

"You’re not joking," he said slowly.

"I’m not," Medusa confirmed, moving closer again, closing the distance between them until she stood directly in front of him.

She reached out, placing one hand lightly against his chest, her palm warm even through the fabric of his shirt.

Leon immediately took a step backward, putting distance between them once more.

"Wait," he said. "What do you actually mean by that? Marry you?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Medusa said simply, unbothered by his retreat, taking a slow step forward to close the gap he’d just created.