You were floating on cloud nine for the rest of the week. Leo was now-- officially-- your boyfriend. Your. Boyfriend. You grinned to yourself as you thought about it and repeated the words to yourself. He had wormed his way straight to the core of your heart and your wouldn't have it any other way. As soon as you were ready, the two of you were going to go to the grocery store together, and you were damn ashamed of how excited you were. This most certainly wasn't a date, but you could let yourself pretend it was.

Cute sundress it was. You put it on, spun around in front of the mirror, blushed at how immature you were being but refused to change. You grabbed your purse and headed out of the bedroom, bouncing a little with each step.

Leo was waiting by the door, as you had expected him to be; he hardly had to get ready. He took one look at you and pointed back to the bedroom you had come from.

“Change.”

His expression was completely blank as your smile slowly fell. “Why?” You asked, looking down. It was one of your favorite dresses, and you didn't wear them that often so it said a lot. A-line, sweetheart neckline, flowery pattern. You could see nothing wrong with it, no stains or tears, and it was entirely appropriate. You looked back up to him in confusion.

“Just change,” he said adamantly. “We're just going to the grocery store, right? You can wear sweats.”

It was moments like these that you forgot he wasn't human, when there seemed to be no logic involved in his decisions. You sighed.

“Well I'm already dressed, so I'm just going to wear this.”

He didn't look thrilled with the statement. You raised an eyebrow. As much as you wished something had changed with your new official status, not much had, it seemed.

“How about I go and you stay here?”

He seemed a bit desperate now, no longer meeting your eyes and shuffling just slighting from foot to foot. It would have seemed normal for anyone else, but you knew Leo. He only acted needy when he had a real reason or wanted to push you against a wall, and you were betting it was the former.

“Leo just tell me why I can't wear the dress.”

He passed a hand over his eyes, but you could still see his cheeks become a bit red. “It looks very nice on you,” he murmured.

“Thank you,” you said, both flattered and confused. “But why--”

“Other people will see you.” He got himself together enough to look at you again. “And I want to be the only one who sees this.”

Killing blow, mayday, 911, you were down; the blush lit up your face like a flashlight. You freaking loved this dress now. You had to hold back a giggle, but apparently you didn't do a good enough job.

“What's so funny?” Leo asked with slight annoyance. “I'm being serious.”

“That's exactly what's so funny,” you answered, slipping on your shoes and linking your arm through his, “and exactly what makes you so sweet. Now let's go.”

He didn't look particularly happy, but he followed behind you easily enough. As you walked out of the complex, you saw N by his mailbox, opening it with his key. He looked up and noticed you and Leo, raising a hand in greeting.

“Hey,” you said slinging your purse over your shoulder, letting go of Leo, and going over to N. He smiled at you and eyed Leo at your side as he pulled his mail out of the box and pushed it closed.

“Good morning,” He offered as he turned to you. “How are you feeling? Better? Has she been eating properly, Leo?” He looked to Leo as he finished, but Leo made no response, hardly even flickering his eyes to N in acknowledgment.

“I'm much better,” you cut in before the awkward silence grew any worse. “Thank you fr asking. And how have you been? Is your sister still visiting?” Leo shifted his weight next to you in annoyance as you made small talk, letting out a barely audible huff. N was briefly distracted by trying not to drop a piece of mail so you elbowed Leo subtly in the side; he rubbed the spot and gave you a hurt look, but you just rolled your eyes. N, meanwhile, turned his attention back to you and graced you with a smile that might have made your knees weak if Leo wasn't beside you.

“I've been very good; my sister just left with her son yesterday, so I've been cleaning and getting back to routine.”

“It was good you got to see her,” you said, and N nodded, throwing a quick glance to Leo who still hadn't offered anything to the conversation.

“Yeah, it was. I need to see her more often but things get busy for everyone and it's tough.”

You nodded in agreement and understanding as N continued. “You two look ready to do something, though. Going out?”

Despite the fact that it was obvious you were going out, you appreciated his interest. Before you could answer, though, Leo grasped your hand, weaving his fingers through yours.

“We're going on a date,” Leo said bluntly, expression unchanging. N blinked in surprised and you gaped at Leo, surprise clouding your mind as you tried to salvage the situation. N started to look between the two of you in confusion.

“W-what Leo means is that we're going grocery shopping... It's kind of a long-running joke... anyways, we should probably get going, so maybe I'll see you around...”

You started away,pulling Leo with you but N stopped you quicker.

“Wait, will you be around later? I have something I want to drop off to you a late get-well present of sorts--” He seemed relatively unperturbed by Leo's intentional slip. Happy for the distraction, you hastily nodded.

“Sure, we should be around; we'll see you then!”

You took the opportunity to escape while he was waving, hurrying down the street that would lead to the store. You glanced over your shoulder once to make sure N went inside.

Hello all! Sorry for the delay with this chapter, I haven't been around much the past week! I just wanted to thank you all so much for your fantastic support with this story; it really keeps me going!

I am sad to say, though, that over the next few chapters Mail Order Leo with be coming to it's conclusion. I'll take a little break (like, a week) and then I'll be back with something new, so stop by and check or send me a note that you want to know when it's up and I can write on your wall (is it a bit much to think you would want that? haha) If you have any ideas for a story, pm me!

Once again, thank you so much for everything, you guys are all fantastic. I hope you continue to enjoy the story to its end!