Work Text:
It was the end of the first day one and every club had just returned to the camp, exhausted by the arduous day of challenges, ones more than others since some didn’t even raise a finger. Y/n and Grim however were having their share of fun, they weren’t allowed to participate in the challenges, but recording such good memories with their friends was very fun.
Y/n was reviewing the photos that were taken during the first day while Vargas was speaking with everyone. Just as you and grim were wondering where you two would sleep, professor Vargas came over and explained he was going to sleep in the Dwarfs hut and both of you would sleep in a tent next to it.
….
Grim and you had just settled inside and were about to change to comfy clothes to sleep when you noticed the inside of your bandages were all sweaty, well that was to expect after such a day. After wiping the sweat you still felt the need to take a bath, most obviously you wouldn’t ask Vargas to take a bath in the hut due to certain circumstances…. You were thinking about what to do when you remembered there was a lake nearby, and it had a small and clean beach so it was secure…decided, you glanced one last time to check if Grim was asleep, picked a small bag with a spare of clothes and a small towel you brought, and left the tent.
…..
On the campsite Leona had just left to his tent, leaving Ruggie and the other members of the Magift club discussing who would stand watch and look after the fire. He was lying down trying to sleep when he felt a familiar scent. The noise outside was preventing him from sleeping, so he might as well just go check what the hell you were up to this time.
He might not admit it, but since the Octavinelle Incident, more specifically, since you had threatened him (when mc threatened to make noise every morning outside of Leona’s room if he didn’t help them), he had grown an interest in you, and by now he really didn’t mind your company or when you showed up in the gardening house when he was napping, or even when you sat down next to him. Actually, it seemed that he slept better when you were there. But he would never admit this.
Leona quietly left the tent and went in the direction of the forest where he felt your scent. Leona had light feet and walking at night in the forest was almost as easy as it was during the day, so he reached you pretty quickly.
You, on the other hand, were walking steadily but slow, walking in a forest at night really wasen’t one of your skills, you almost tripped a few times. Of course, Leona was nearby just watching the whole thing from behind with that smirk of his, he was even eating an apple, he was wondering how come you didn’t hear him.
Well anyway, after a while he grew tired of seeing your miserable form struggle, and finally approached you. He had just lightly touched your shoulder and calling you” Herbivore” but he couldn’t even finish because you jumped from the sudden touch, screamed high enough to make Leona turn his ears backward, and were about to throw a punch at whatever had just touched you when Leona caught your fist mid-air with ease. “Tsk, why so damn loud” he said while rubbing his temple with his free hand.
“Le-Leona?? Why are you here?” You had just finished your sentence when you saw his green eyes narrowing a bit, and it finally came to you you had tried to punch the Leona Kingscholar.
Your face went white in a matter of seconds, it’s not like you were afraid of him, you could say your relationship had reached the level of friendship more or less, but this was pushing the boundaries quite a bit!
You quickly retreated your fist, who was still in Leona’s warm hand, and apologized “Ah-! I’m so sorry Leona!! It was a reflex!” you gestured with your hands while saying this, to make yourself more believable. Much to your surprise, Leona didn’t do anything and just crossed his arms “So? what are you doing at this time of night in a forest?”
“Ah- I was.. heading to the lake…” you shifted your gaze to another side while scratching your cheek and smiling awkwardly. It’s not like you were lying to him, but you didn’t really want to say you were going to take a bath. Leona concluded you probably had run out of water and didn't think more about it. You were thinking about what to say next when Leona just started walking and passed by you. “Hmm, Leona? Where are you going?” you asked.
He didn’t even bother to turn around and said “You are going to the lake right? hurry now or I will leave you behind”.
Quickly you hurried to his side “You didn’t ’t really have to come….” you said only hearing a “hmnn” coming from him.
And maybe due to the shock you suffered a while ago or to the fact you were distracted by Leona’s presence, it still didn’t hit you that his presence might make your task of taking a bath a tad more difficult. And when it did, you hurried to say “ Leona, you should really go back, I don’t want to take any more of your sleeping hours….” you really enjoyed his presence, but you really really hoped he went back.
“Now that we are already here it's a bit late,” He said with that ‘I’m annoyed’ ton he knew to make.
He was right, you two had already reached the lake. You were taking in the beautiful scene of the lake and the moon reflecting on it when Leona spoke up “We don’t have all night” he was now leaned against some rock, and honestly he looked stunning in the moonlight with those emerald green eyes of his, but this was not the moment to be thinking about this!! You gave a few steps forward but stopped and looked at Leona “Could you hmm...could you turn around?” you shyly asked, your face with a light shade of red.
“Hm? What’s the problem of me staying here” he moved one of his hands to his hip and tilted his head a bit waiting for you to answer.This time you couldn’t really look at him at all, you stiffened your shoulders a bit and finally said “I came to take a bath” In a voice so low Leona almost had trouble hearing it.
He looked a bit annoyed now “Ah? Then again what is the prob-” Leona stopped mid-sentence when it came to him. He had actually forgotten. He massaged his temple with his eyes closed and said ”I will be over there” and left to behind a structure of rocks a bit farther away.
You muttered a “Thank you…” and went towards the shore.
There. you began by removing the bandages around your chest, and then the shirt you had used during the day whole day, you kept your pants since you just really just needed to clean the sweat in your upper body. You emersed a towel in the water and when you finally felt the clean (cold af) water of the lake in your skin, you let out a heavy sigh.
On the other side was Leona, leaning against a rock, backward to you. To anyone who saw him it would look like he was sleeping, but he was actually dwelling on what had just happened. After he had found out and agreed to keep it to himself he did think about it for a while, but at that time you two were no more than acquaintances who meet a lot and sometimes went to classes together, so in the end, your situation had slipped to the back of his mind. He had a frown on his face but it wasn't out of annoyance, if anything, it was due to his own actions up until now.
Leona was thinking about how the hell he had grown comfortable around you recently when his eyes shot open by a splash sound and a high-pitched scream coming from your direction. He got up and was ready to complain about the noise and about how come you fell in a place that had only sand when he heard that sound that had been perturbing his sleep the whole day. fairies. (they were the most common enemy in this event). They were nothing to him, but you were a human, a non-magical one at that, so Leona just made a tsch sound and prepared to dispose of them.
“Ah, what a pain,” he said to the air while going to take them out. “Herbivore you stay…..”
(art by L I U M S on twitter and instagram)
You were already dressed, but now soaked from head to toe and with an unsettling expression Leona had never seen you doing, he would be making a smug face while laughing and mocking you if he weren’t too busy scaring that water fairy to death with his glare only. You also looked like you were about to grab the damn fairy and drown them on the spot, and he probably would have noticed that if he weren't too busy trying to kill the said fairy with his glare only.
“Scram” he didn’t scream, nor use an aggressive tone, but the way he said it had an imposing and superior aura to it.
And the fairy probably felt he would squeeze them to death next because they flew away in a blink of an eye. He was still making a mixed expression of anger and annoyance when he turned to you.
“Thank you, Leona, they came out of nowhere” You were trying to wipe away the water from your clothes, and only noticed Leona’s expression when you looked at him “Ah.” You looked troubled “Did I…did I perhaps wake you just now?”
Anyone who spent more than 5 minutes with Leona would know how much he liked sleeping, and in your point of view, you were preventing him from sleeping by having him accompany you to the lake. (Even if he was the one who followed you out of his own volition -_-)
Seeing your troubled expression made Leona get more at ease, and his brows weren’t frowning anymore “Now it doesn’t matter, does it” he said while rubbing one of his ears, now with his usual air of indifference.
You were still trying your best to get most of the water off your clothes, but this didn’t go unnoticed by you “Have I hurt your ears too?” Your voice was now in its normal tune, sweeter since now you didn’t need to pretend to be male. It’s not like you changed it too much when pretending, you still sounded pretty feminine, a bit like Epel if you had to say.
“Two times in a single night is too much, no?”He retreated his hand and returned it to his pocket.
“The first time was your fault though….”You looked to the side and had a troubled smile on your face “But I apologize, sorry”. Leona analyzed your expression and half-serious said “You don’t look so sorry however” he started rubbing his chin and curved a little to match more your height “What will you do to compensate me?”. With this statement, you looked away and let out a troubled, very fake half-laugh “Ahahaha……”
Leona enjoyed very much seeing you troubled, more than he did the others, but in a good teasing way “*sigh*you should start thinking about drying yourself herbivore”.
Oh don’t you say, It’s not as if you weren’t trying!!! “How come I didn’t think about that” you said with obvious irony while squeezing your hair to get most of the water out of it.
Now that Leona thought about it, this was the first time he saw you with long hair after that one day, and even if unconsciously, he couldn’t bring himself to stop looking, not trying one bit to even mask it.
“W- what? is it so weird I have long hair?” you had now cleaned most of the water off yourself, and Leona didn’t help one bit.
(Normally, you do your hair in a specific way so it looks short even though it's long, I took that idea from Lucina from FE, I’ll drop a picture of how the hair is done at the end)
“What a problematic thing I have gotten myself into…” Despite seeming he was complaining about coming along with you to the lake, he was referring to spending time with you in general, somehow you were the kind of person who sooner or later would get involved in the weirdest problems, and it seemed this time you had dragged him with you.
However, despite complaining, Leona had begun enjoying your company for a while now. It had even reached the point that seeing you two napping side by side in the botanical garden was frequent. No one dared to mention it though.
You noticed your bandages floating in the water “*Sigh….* it seems I can't use these anymore” you looked pitifully at the drenched bandages you picked up.
“Just use another shirt as a chest binder. If you hang it tightly enough it will have the same effect” Leona said as if this was the most normal situation in the world.
You looked at him for a second “that is actually pretty smart you know” and proceeded to turn around and do as he had suggested. After finishing and seeing how it looked you let out a pleased ‘hum’ sound and said “As expected of the great Leona!” you made a few movements to see if it was comfortable and turned to him with both hands on your hips and a confident look “So, how does it look??”
Leona made an over exaggerated expression as if he was thinking hard and made a “hmmm” sound for a long time just to keep you waiting. “Leonaaa!!” you cried, he intended to keep his teasing but after looking at your face again he noticed despite having a smile, you looked scared, afraid even, in fact.
No normal person would be able to see this, not even Deuce or Ace could, but after having you bugging him for so long, Leona had started getting more aware of things like this, so he stopped and let out a sigh of defeat. Honestly, only y/n to make leona give up his teasing.
“No one will notice” he said with a rare reassuring tone while tapping you on the shoulder.
Hearing this, you let out the air you were unconsciously keeping on your chest. ”…thank you”. With that, you seemed more relieved, you really did trust Leona’s judgment huh.
“Heh, if you are really that thankful, then next time you go to the botanic garden bring me food” Well, that seemed fair enough, you thought, but then a smug grin grew on his face “Actually no… that doesn’t seem enough to compensate my great effort.“Oh no…” you thought. At this point, you could only prepare for what was to come. Leona could get tyrannical at times with his requests, but he should have mercy on you……right?
After a dramatical pause, Leona continued “Next time my brother throws that furball of a nephew to me, you, my dear herbivore, will be so kind to take care of him for me”.
What? That cute angelic cub? You saw no problem at all! At least on him you could release your hidden desires of petting lion ears. But looking at Leona, he really did look overjoyed he could get rid of Cheka next time he came to visit. You couldn’t possibly ruin his moment by saying you would love to take care of his nephew, that would ruin part of his joy, so you just went along.
“Oh, poor little me, having to take care of the sweet-Achoo!”
You were going to start talking again when the wind blew strong, Leona had his super comfy-looking camping coat, but you? In your still humid clothes, it felt way colder than it actually was.
Meanwhile, Leona had already gone to pick up your bag ”Herbivore!” but as you turned to him, you saw only black ”Catch!”. You ‘eh’ed and expected your bag hitting you hard on the face, but next thing you knew, a fluffy warm feeling hovered over you.
After roaming around with your hands you were able to take the ‘thing’ from your head, your hair was now a mess, but your eyes lit up when you saw that in your hands was Leona’s camping coat.
You probably spent a while looking at it, because Leona said “You gonna stay there eating my coat with your eyes, or you gonna return to the camp”. And when you looked at him again, he was already heading to the woods with your bag in hand.
“I’m going Leona, I’m going. wait for me!” you said while you hurried to his side and tried to put in the coat in a very sloppy way. You didn’t notice, but he was looking at the scene with a smug smirk. And by the time you had reached him, somehow, you managed to dress it wrongly.
“You know, I’m not an expert, but I’m pretty much sure that’s not how you dress a coat” He said while examining the way you had dressed it. “*sigh* come here”.
Leona then fixed the coat’s sleeve and helped you dress it correctly while mumbling something about herbivores being too dependent.
——
You two were basically halfway back to the camp, and you weren’t already there because you kept on misplacing your foot and almost falling, plus, the way back was upwards and it was dark.
You had misplaced your foot at least 30 times now, and in way too many of those, you had to grab Leona’s shirt so you wouldn't fall. And for someone who enjoyed their personal space, he didn’t seem to mind too much.
You did try to avoid doing that as much as you could, but, just like now, you really had no other option if you wanted to avoid falling, so for the sake of your face staying off the ground, you grabbed Leona’s shirt hem again. This time, with quite a lot of strength, and when you looked up, the first thing you saw was Leona’s ears turned backward and he turning to you.
“Oi, don’t pull the hem of my clothes just because you have bad footing” (yet again I cannot describe his expression properly, so I just drop an image of it, here)
.(yes i edited it to match night time)
Tsk tsk, it’s not like you could help it! it was dark! and the ground was irregular as hell! and you didn’t have a tail or godamn cat eyes! And the coat was so big on you couldn’t even move properly your arms! And it even had his scent!
Well, that last one wasn’t really a problem, actually, you were quite pleased with it, but you were running out of things to complain about!
This venting was only half-hearted though, you were really comfy and warm due to the coat Leona lent you, plus it had his scent all over it, and even if it looked huge on you, it was quite the cute sight, and even Leona thought it, but that ain't ever coming out of his mouth.
You were still throwing half-hearted insults at the situation when an ‘oh’ sound came from him, and you unconsciously looked at him. Big mistake, since he had an ever so smug expression “Or perhaps….can it be that you are scared?” his smirk widened even more, if that was even possible, and he had a hand supporting his chin.
And this was it, you could almost feel a vein popping on your forehead “Who is scared??? you say that because you have good night vision and a fluffy tail to maintain your equilibrium!” you pouted and went past through him without caring anymore.
It was very rarely you had these little outbursts, so Leona felt proud he was able to stir up one and was enjoying the situation the best way he could: with his eyebrows up, a smug smile, both hands on his hips and ready to tease you more.
You were still walking forward, and Leona was still talking, but all you could hear was ‘bla bla bla’ in your head. So when he stopped and said “wait, there’s a-
You were too late to realize there was a huge root in front of you, and tripped over it, you quickly used your hands to protect your head and brace yourself for the impact.
That never came, because as we can expect, when you opened your eyes you were still mid-fall, and there was an arm around your stomach supporting you. “That’s why you should listen to me herbivore, why are you always giving me work” He said while massaging his temples, his arm still around you.
The fall probably smacked you awake because you just realized how childish your small tantrum was, and how much of a help he had been, “You didn’t need to catch me…” you said in low voice, now looking at the ground you would be in if not for him catching you.
“Ah? What crap are you saying now? after all the work I went through, if you get full of dirt now it will all be for nothing” He looked a bit annoyed, but just like your insults earlier, it was half-hearted. He had a soft spot for you, not that he would admit it.
And after lecturing you, Leona finally let go of you after assuring you were steady on the ground, “Let’s go now” he began walking again, only to stop moments after, for some reason his ears were a bit down ”Next time just grab my shirt again or something”. Despite looking uninterested, he was actually waiting for your reply, more specifically, you thanking him.
So he couldn’t help but look back when he heard you saying “Leona…” in such a sweet tone. Though what he was not expecting to see when he turned back, was a lock of your h/c hair stuck in a three-branch. “My hair is stuck…” you said with the voice of someone who still had a lot to lose, but needed help regardless.
Leona however, had the look of someone who was not paid enough to handle this, but it’s not like he could leave you there, so yet again while lecturing you on how herbivores should be careful, he helped you.
While he was, doing it more carefully than he would have with anyone else, trying to free your hair locks from the tree branch and telling you multiple times to stay still, you couldn’t help but wonder, a sad look now on your face.
“Hey Leona…” you began while facing the ground. Receiving a “Hah? what is it now?” from him. You were glad he was behind you, and you were facing the ground, because the look in your face was probably really pitiful. “Do you really not mind…?” You began stroking your hands with your thumb in a nervous way “you know, me being….” You really tried to finish the sentence, but Leona cut you off “It’s not like it makes any difference is it? Why the question”
You thanked he couldn’t see you, or else he would have noticed your trembling hands. You valued a lot the bond you had with Leona, more than he could imagine. Ever since you arrived at NRC you felt you didn’t belong ,out of place even, but when you were with him…that feeling disappeared. (kinda cliché but bear with me) You were really afraid this could affect your relationship, so hearing him say this, did reassure you a lot. “No particular reason, I was just asking haha-Ouch!”
You felt a pitch in your head, but your hair was already free. “Next time don’t be this reckless” Leona scolded you. Did he just flick you.
“Did you just flick me”
“Got a problem with it? If possible I would like to reach my tent tonight” He was already walking again, just a bit slower so you could easily reach him, and it was not like you could do anything against him so while you massaged the spot, you just picked your pace and headed to the camp together.
—-
You two had finally reached the camp, more specifically, Leona’s tent. “Oh, we are here…I should get going, thanks for coming with me” you gave him a small smile, and began walking away.
“Oi, aren’t you forgetting something?” You looked back to find Leona with his arms crossed looking at you. Only then came to your mind that you were still wearing his comfy outdoors coat. At the realization you quickly took it off and handed it to him, feeling a bit sad you could no longer feel his scent. “Here you go, then I will be off, good night Leona, see you tomorrow” you gave him another warm smile he so much appreciated and walked off again.
However, had you not walked 3 meters Leona spoke up again “Herbivore, come here” You wondered what could he want, so you turned to him again, and as soon as you did, he continued. “Sleep in my tent”. He had a calm expression and said it with the most normality ever, yet you were only able to let out a ‘eh?’ sound before he resumed. “It’s not like we haven’t slept together in the botanical garden before, and I doubt you are down to spend the night near that bastard. He doesn't know, does he” On this last part he put a hand on his hip and gestured with the other, as if he knew he was right. Wich he was.
You instantly knew the ‘bastard’ he was referring to, was your teacher, since he always addressed him that way. “Well…you are right…” That was the reason you had gone to the lake in the first place.
But before you had the time to actually answer his question he made a smug smirk and spoke again. ”Plus, won’t it be better to have the real thing instead of just my scent in a coat?” he said jokingly, yet again trying to stir up a reaction, but instead of doing that, you looked away a bit flustered, little he knew he was right. ‘Have I been caught?’ you thought while laughing nervously.
Seeing this, his eyes widened a bit and Leona’s own cheeks became a little red too and he hurried to say “Anyway, I’ll go sleep. Don’t make noise when you come in” And he headed inside, You hadn’t even agreed to his offer! But for some reason, you said “Wait, I’m going in too!” And went in after him.
His tent could bear 2 people and still have plenty of space left, however, as expected there was only one cushion. And of course, the great Leona wouldn’t give up on his sleeping place, and this was his tent after all, and since you didn’t want to impose yourself on his space, you just went to the corner and settled yourself on the bare ground of the tent.
Leona was busy settling himself to sleep, so he didn’t notice you doing this right away, but when he, did a small frown appeared on his face. “Oi Herbivore, do you really plan on sleeping on the ground? Hurry up and come over already” after saying this he moved a bit to the side as if to show you there was enough space for both of you in the cushion.
Well, you were already inside and it was too late to back away, and despite feeling your heart was about to pop out of your ribcage, it was definitively better than sleeping on the ground, you just never thought he would give up on his personal space this much. Lately, he did let you stay really close to him in the botanical garden, and there was this one time his tail was even touching you, but….was this really ok??
You knew Leona enjoyed his space so you were a bit nervous, but it went away as soon as you laid down on the comfy cushion and felt the sleepiness taking over you, Leona turned to the other side while pulling the blanket to cover himself. “Finally some peace and quiet…” he said before going silent again.
You covered yourself as well, and even if you were a bit tense, as you looked at the top of the tent, and felt Leona-s warmth beside you, you slowly became drowsy “…hey Leona…?” there was no answer but you went on anyway, probably due to the sleepiness taking over you. “I’m glad it was you who found out…” and finally, you fell asleep.
If he heard you or not? Well, we will never really know.
*This could end here, but I decided there wasn't enough bonding nor fluff* (you will learn that im a sucker for fluff)
It was now around 2 or 3 am, and the night became colder, you weren’t awake, but it did bother you, so you moved a bit more towards the middle of the cushion trying to escape the cold, settling only when you met some warmth, a nice one at that.
———–
Leona never had problems falling asleep, this time was no exception, he had fallen asleep seconds after he had covered himself. But it was a bit hard not to wake up when something, or rather someone was snuggling onto your back. Even though his eyes shot open the moment he felt you, he didn’t move or speak, since he could tell you were asleep by the sound of your breath. Well it really was cold, and he knew he was hot, (take this in the way you want XD) so he couldn’t blame you.
Instead, he waited some minutes to assure you wouldn’t wake up, and then turned to you. You were peacefully sleeping turned to him, with your hands clutched together in your chest and your h/l (hair length) h/c hair all messy. He had a hand supporting his head while looking at your peaceful sleeping image.
During the times you fell asleep beside him in the botanical garden you looked nothing like this, at those times you looked more composed, as if you had a wall around you, your hair looked way shorter too, but also…in none of those times you looked as vulnerable and comfortable as now, it was like he couldn’t take his gaze away from you, greedily taking in all he never could. As a matter of fact, he even fell asleep like that.
—–
You were still asleep, but the morning rays of light began bathing the tent, making the inside get brighter and disturbing your sleep. Of course, as any person who was awake until lord knows how late, you shut your eyes tighter and tried your best to sink further in the blankets. Fortunately for you, you didn’t need to move much, since something was now sheltering you from the sunlight, and much to your pleasure, whatever it was, it was really warm too, which made you cling onto it even more.
After you began to regain a bit of consciousness, you felt something heavy hovering over you, and your pillow felt a bit harder too…only after a while did you notice this wasn’t normal, and slowly opened your eyes, afraid of the morning light hurting them, but you only saw darkness, only after trying to understand the situation did you start feeling soft breathing on top of your head, and a familiar scent came to your nose. You did try to pull away to see what was happening, but you only got pulled closer, now conscious, you felt two arms tightening around you.
When you finally managed to join the pieces together, your face reddened at an incredible speed, and a “Leona..?” scaped your lips, realizing what you had just done, you quickly covered your mouth with your hands, hoping he hadnt listened. However some seconds after, he made a low and deep growl, as he so many times did when you had to wake him for class, except you had never been this close when he did it.
Honestly? From a 3rd person view, it looked like a lion holding his prey, and it sure felt the same to you!. I mean, holy- the man was strong! you tried to get free from his grasp multiple times, but he didn't even flinch! You needed to get out of there, and fast, you were a blushing mess, and out of everyone, Leona was the last person you wanted to see you like this, he wouldn’t let you go without mocking you about it every hour. So when he began moving again you froze on the spot.
Leona began by closing his eyes tighter, as if trying to deny the morning sunlight. With his eyes still closed, he stretched his neck and afterward tried to do the same with his arms, but seeing he was unable to, he opened his eyes with much reluctancy only to see a Y/n under his grasp. He was quite surprised at first, and if you weren’t so embarrassed, you might have noticed the small blush that crept on Leona’s cheeks, but such a surprised expression was quickly replaced with his usual smugness.
”Hmmmm….Look at what a small herbivore has been caught…” You felt his jade eyes sharply looking at you, but you refused to meet his gaze. “L-Leona I..I have to go” you said. Now that he was awake there was no need to be careful, also he was no longer unconscious and didn’t try to hold you in place. So you simply got up, and tried to leave the tent. Seeing this, Leona quickly called you “Wait y/-” only to be interrupted by a sharp pain and you tripping and falling.
Despite being awake for just a short while, you were quick enough to use your arms so you wouldn’t fall face on. You and Leona let pained growls out, and looking at each other afterward, you noticed what had made you fall. On your right leg, there was something wrapped around your ankle.
You had now the most complicated expression you had in a while “……Is that….your tail?” you crouched down and looked at it closer “Did…did you really just wrap your tail around my ankle?” You thought of touching it, even more about laughing at the situation but he would get angry so you ignored your desire to do any of it.
Leona was still rubbing his lower back, and only then did he look at you “Ha? What are you saying, of course I didn’t” He had a small frown, but his voice didn’t have any ill intent.
“It’s litterally still on my ank-” You didn’t finish your sentence, Leona had already unwrapped his tail. He seemed to be somewhat sulking. This however made a sweet yet mischievous smile grow on your face. You thought he was just messing with you, but…he clearly hadn’t intended in getting his tail wrapped around your ankle. Did this mean..earlier when he had his arms around you, he really wanted you close??
Either way, you couldn’t let a flustered Leona escape so easily, it was your time to have fun. “Hmmmm… I wonder how did this tail get around my ankle then…” you said while you sat on the couch and faked being thinking hard about it. ”Could it possibly be that the great Leona-san does actually enjoy my company?” you pointed at yourself while your eyes were closed and went closer while a smug smirk grew wider on your face. “..Ah! Will you purr for me nex-”.
What happened now was far too fast for you to say anything, but the next thing you knew, you were in Leona’s grasp again. “Shut up”. You were both laid on the couch again, but this time your back was pressed against his chest, and he was hugging you closer from behind. ”You are annoying” he said in a low voice while he tried to get comfortable on the pillow, nudging his nose a little on your hair while doing it.
So, this was so sudden you were no longer working at all, your eyes were wide open and “??????” was all that was in your mind for some good 6 whole seconds. Only then did you regain your rationality, and you had to admit, this was pretty soothing if you thought about it…having him embracing you, it really was comfortable…and his warm breath slowly hitting the back of your head… maybe…a little…” just a …little… longer then…” and you drifted off to sleep once more. Leona who was already half asleep himself was only able to muster a “…good” and clinging more to you, his tail rested now atop of you, he drifted off too.
———
~6 minutes later~
*CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG*
“!????!!??” Your eyes shot open because of the loud noise, and afraid someone would come in, you tried to get up and leave as fast as you could. However, before even being able to sit, you were pushed back to the place you were before “Stay” Leona said with a sleepy voice, his eyes not open yet.
“Leona..! wake up..!!” you cried while trying to move him.
*CLANG CLANG CLANG*
Hearing the call to wake everyone again, you looked in the direction of the tent entrance. Meanwhile, Leona let out a small growl of protest while finally letting go of you and sitting on the couch “No one is going to come in” he finally said while massaging his temples because of the loud noise, his ears a bit turned back, they are sensitive after all.
Hearing that did reassure you, and looking so relaxed as he did, it was hard not to believe him, though it was Leona who we were talking about so….
You were looking at him with the helpless expression of someone who knows it’s a lost cause. Though as soon as he noticed you looking at him he said with the still narrowed eyes of someone who just woke up from a pleasant sleep and a grin growing by the day, his fangs now showing “hmn, like what you see?”he said, stretching himself just as a cat would.
You just let a “mhum, right” and stood up “That one is getting old Leona”. Just as you had developed the habit of always going to the botanical garden to see him, recently, he too, had developed this tendency of showing off and praising himself every time he woke up and you were there. So you were quite used to it by now(not that it didnt get your heart racing a bit).
You stretched and picked up your bag, and noticing he was looking at you as well, and turning back to him “And you? Enjoyed having this ‘herbivore’ as a hostage?” you said jokingly. Leona, still laid down, with his hand supporting his head, smirking tenderly yet smugly at the same time ”If I remember correctly, the ‘herbivore’ entered the lion’s den by its own will”.
Not having a way to argue back, you changed the subject “I really should get going now.” You said while quickly looking around to check if you didn’t leave anything behind. And as you were going to exit, Leona grabbed your wrist “For someone being so careful the whole night, you sure can be reckless” He released your wrist and you looked at him with a confused expression, seeing this, he let out a sigh “You sure you want to get out with your hair like that?”.
Your face went blank for a split second at the sudden realization you had lost your hair elastics at the lake last night. What were you gonna do? Seeing this, Leona shook his head slowly as if asking himself why did it sometimes felt like he was babysitting you, and more importantly, why did he actually enjoy it. “Here” he said while taking off his own hair elastic and handing it to you. “I don’t have another one, but this should solve the problem until you reach your tent”
Receiving his hair elastic in your hands, your eyes were sparkling with thankfulness. Quickly, but nimbly you did your hair in a similar way you always did. Finished, you swiftly left, but not one step later you turned to him again. You had an earnest look in your eyes “….Thank you Leona, for everything. I mean it” you finished with a small smile on you. Leona was going to say something along the lines ‘You should, I don’t usually put this much effort, I expect you to pay me back’ , but you went to him and did the unpensable.
You were going to leave, but before you turned completely to the exit, you turned back to Leona again and walking rapidly towards him, and without thinking twice, you hugged him. Despite being friendly with everyone, you had never done this before, nor to him, nor to anyone since you had arrived to the NRC (I’m sorry if you are a hugs person).
Needless to say, even Leona was speechless during the whole thing, its not like just anyone could try to hug him, much less being allowed to, there was only Cheka, but that was a special case.
That being said, this was so unexpected that even when you let go of him, exited swiftly and without looking back, he still had his jade green eyes wide, only regaining his senses several seconds later. A deep blush formed on his cheeks, you had quite the audacity for a magicless herbivore who saw what he was capable of with his magic….though he doesn’t dislike it when you do it…
He thought just before leaving the tent for the morning meeting.
-E N D-
I can’t believe it took me so much time to finish a one shot… I wanted it to be small but it turned out with 5k words…. I can’t control myself haha…
anyway, I dont own Leona or any of the Twisted wonderland characters, this is only a fanfic therefore not canon.
—
The art was drawn by Liums and I will apreciate if you followed them on instagram or Twitter if you liked it.
Liums twitter
Liums instagram
Let me know if you like this kind story, where I shift a bit the already existing one.
here is the pic I mentioned :
(Didn’t draw this one)
BTW requests are open
Also, add me if u want uwu
