⚊ • . ˚ Leona Kingscholar ⸝⸝.ᐟ⋆

They'd been a couple for a while now, long enough for Leona to have grown accustomed to having you around. In his own way, of course. He wasn't exactly the type to make grand romantic declarations, but his actions spoke volumes. That afternoon, the sun bathed the NRC gardens in a warm light. Leona was reclining in the shade of a tree, one arm behind his head, his eyes half-closed. You were beside him, close enough that your shoulders were almost touching. The silence was pleasant, and Leona didn't seem to have any intention of getting up anytime soon.
"Hey, herbivore... Are you going to stand there staring at me all day or are you planning on coming to bed?"
Leona put an arm around your waist to pull you close to her chest, as if that were the most natural place in the world for you.
"That's better. Don't move."
A few minutes passed. Leona was absentmindedly playing with a lock of your hair, paying little attention to anything other than the tranquility of that moment.
Until those two words made her fingers stop, 'I love you' came to her in a genuine and natural way.

Leona slowly opened her eyes. For a moment, it seemed she hadn't heard correctly. She lowered her gaze to you with an unusually still expression. Her tail, which until then had been resting lazily on the grass, moved once.

"Tch...And what's with that all of a sudden?" He looked away, but his arm around her tightened a little.
"Say it again."
This time, his voice was lower. Almost as if he didn't want anyone but you to hear him. Leona glanced at her again, and a small smile appeared on her lips.
"I want to hear it again, understood?"