LeoVil Week

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Vil stared at the paper in his hand, his grip so tight that it began to crumble. Yet, the name written on it stayed perfectly legible.

Leona Kingscholar

The blond took a deep breath as he glanced over toward the Savanaclaw housewarden. Leona was staring down at his paper as well, an annoyed frown spreading across his unjustifiably handsome face. Neither of them were happy with who they’d gotten, it seems.

Crowley clapped his hands together from where he stood at the center of the Mirror Chamber, grabbing his students’ attention. “Well! Now that we’ve handed out our names, do we have any questions?”

“Yes!” Kalim’s hand shot up, and he waited for Crowley to point at him to continue. The whitehaired housewarden gestured to the paper in his hand, its writing facing everyone else, revealing Ace’s name. The poor boy tilted his head, confused. “What is this for and what are we doing?”

Jamil grabbed Kalim’s arm and took the paper from him, crumbling it in his hand with a whispering hiss. “Secret Valentines! You should have been paying attention!”

Kalim’s eyes grew wide with sorrow and he opened his mouth to apologize, but Crowley spoke over him. “Like Jamil -who we all heard despite the fact that he was whispering- said; Secret Valentines! You all have until February 14th to secretly give a gift to the person written on your little notes, and you have to keep it a secret, haha~!”

He placed his hands on his hips, chest puffing up proudly. “Aren’t I clever for coming up with this idea~? What a delightful way to bring my self-centered students together~!”

“Can we switch names?” Leona didn’t bother to raise his hand. His piece of paper was tucked away in his vest pocket, resting right above his heart. He hoped nobody else could hear it, as it pounded louder than a bomb inside of him.

Crowley tilted his head, frowning. “I… suppose so long as the switch is agreed upon by both parties, though it is kind of cheating…” He sighed, muttering to himself. “Figures my students wouldn’t like to play by my rules…” He then shook his head, smiling once more. “There is no limitation nor budget on what you can buy, however I will ask that you put some amount of effort into these!”

He held up a finger. “And for the person who drew my name-”

“YOU PUT YOUR OWN NAME DOWN?”

Crowley ignored Trein’s yell and continued. “Please remember that I prefer silver over gold, any and all gems and jewels are appreciated, and if I get something I don’t like, or something I deem unremarkably inexpensive and a poor representation of my worth, I will be very disappointed!”

Ruggie, who’d drawn Crowley, looked up at the ceiling as a tear fell down his cheek.

Crowley noticed, but didn’t care, as he clapped his hands together once more. “With that said!" Nobody was paying attention to him, as Ace ran up to Kalim and was shaking his shoulders while yelling 'Solid gold Ferrari, solid gold Ferrari' but Crowley continued anyway. "Go, go, go~!”

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Vil sighed as he stared at the paper. “Of all people…” He shook his head, leaning against one of the cauldrons in Pomefiore’s lab. “What do you get a man who can get whatever he wants at the drop of a hat?”

The cauldron was bubbling with a green liquid, something a few sophomores had been working on before leaving it to simmer. One of the bubbles rose from the mixture, floating toward Vil. He narrowed his eyes at the bubble, determining it wasn’t harmful before reaching out to touch it. “More than that, it’s Leona.”

The bubble didn’t pop at his touch, and Vil made a mental note to tell his students that they needed to add more Hebenon into their mixture. He brought the bubble close to him, sighing. “Leona Kingscholar…”

Leona Kingscholar, who Vil had the unfortunate curse of being absolutely infatuated with since they’d first met. He couldn’t help it, there was something about that spoiled princeling that drew him in.

Was it his looks? Well, they certainly didn’t hurt, but surely Vil wasn’t so shallow as to fall for Leona just because he was incredibly pleasing on the eyes!

No, it was more. Leona was so much more than how he looked. He was prideful, he was arrogant, he was an all-around asshole. He was lazy, he liked to nap because his dreams were kinder to him than the waking world ever was. He cared so much for his underclassmen, though he tried to hide it.

He pushed Vil all the time, and for some reason Vil liked it. He liked having someone to argue with, to shed all of his layers of perfection and just exist. He wanted to argue for Leona for the rest of his life.

”Rest of my life?” Vil shook his head, throwing the bubble out of his hands. “Schoenheit, you’re getting him a gift, you aren’t confessing your love, you aren’t proposing, it’s just a silly little gift!” A silly little gift that should represent Vil’s feelings towards Leona, and needed to have at least a small modicum of effort put into it.

Which circles right around to the question at hand; What was Vil supposed to get a man who had everything?

“Everything…” Vil tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear. “Experiences, that’s something! It’s not material, it’s just…”

He took a deep breath, moving to absentmindedly adjust some ingredients on a nearby shelf. “Can’t get him Magift tickets, he probably already has box seats for an entire season… Musicals, no, there aren’t any shows he likes touring right now, I could always get him a cheaper production but he’d complain, hah, the spoiled princeling.”

Vil sighed, picking up one of the ingredients, reading 'Lipschitz'. “I could make something, I did a decent job with that cake during the Crucible…” He shook his head, resting his forehead on the wooden edge of the shelf. “He’s a prince, he can get professionally-made chocolates whenever he wants! Not to mention I don’t even know if he likes sweets…”

Vil screwed his eyes shut. “Something only I can give him, that I’m good at…” At the sound of sizzling, he opened his eyes. The cauldron was bubbling over, sending a flood of emerald-green liquid cascading onto the ground.

The blond stared at the liquid as it began to sizzle and steam. He hated the way his heart thudded at the color, so similar to Leona’s ridiculously beautiful eyes.

He gasped, waving his hand to summon his personal book of potions, a grimoire shared amongst every generation of Pomefiore Housewardens. Vil’s finger trailed across the table of contents, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. “I know I’ve seen it before…”

He paused, tapping his finger against the page proudly. “Perfect!”

There is was; The Lover’s Brew, a mixture that the third years learned about in Crewel’s class last week. It was one of the Fairest Queen’s creations, said to be given to her king to show her overwhelming affection for him.

They hadn’t managed to make it, as Crewel decided it was far too difficult even for the third years to attempt, but it seemed like such a romantic item. By no means was it a love potion (those were… INCREDIBLY illegal), but gifting someone with the brew was a clear admission of feelings, far more powerful than gifting roses or rings.

Vil stared at the grimoire in his hands, hating the way his palms were starting to sweat. ’He’ll know what it means when I give him it…’ The blond sighed, biting his lip. ’It’s easy enough to just give him chocolate. I don’t have to go this far, I can keep how I feel about him hidden, we can stay as we are, just… as volatile acquaintances. We’ll go our separate ways once we graduate and that’ll be the end of it.’

His chest hurt, and he bit his tongue as his eyes screwed shut. He allowed himself one moment of fear, one moment of doubt, before opening his eyes with a determined nod.

Vil turned the page to The Lover’s Brew and got to work.

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Of course Pomefiore’s lab was missing the key ingredient to The Lover’s Brew. It was annoying, but hardly of any consequence. He had plenty of Lambent Flowers growing in the greenhouse for his own personal use anyway, and it was always nice to walk through the area.

Especially on the occasion where he ran into a certain classmate.

He hadn’t yet managed to reach his flowerbed when Sebek’s particularly loud voice caught his attention, and he found himself wandering toward it, wondering what the little cucumber could possibly be jabbering about.

“I would NEVER give my name over to you, Kingscholar!”

Vil’s eyebrows raised with interest, and he moved to sit on a bench, the picture of innocence and demurity as he turned over his shoulder to watch Sebek and Leona’s conversation.

Leona shrugged, his face a stony mask of calmness. “Suit yourself. I was just bringing it up as a favor to you, but if that’s what you want, then that’s what you want.”

’Seven, he looks so handsome.’ Vil quickly turned away, resting his hands on his lap. ’Forget the Lover’s Brew, I ought to get him some new clothes. Granted, that’s more of a gift for myself, and he probably wouldn’t even wear them regardless, but…’

His thoughts were interrupted as Sebek let out a barking noise that probably indicated agreement. “It is what I want! My Secret Valentine will be very happy with my gift, far more than he would be with yours!”

Vil couldn’t see it, but he was certain Leona was shrugging once more, possibly resting his hands behind his neck before letting out a lazy yawn. A perfect performance of apathy, if Vil were judging him he’d give him a ten out of ten. “You’re probably right. I’m awful at giving gifts.”

Sebek laughed, and he sounded so proud of himself that Vil had to stop himself from laughing as well. “I am certain you are! Whoever your Secret Valentine is will be very, very miserable!”

Leona let out a noise of agreement, and Sebek started to stomp away, his footsteps loud even against the grass. The prince waited for one moment, then two, then three before… “Yep, Malleus is going to be miserable.”

Vil covered his mouth as he let out a gasp, which Sebek did as well. He was so loud that he covered up any noise Vil could have possibly made, and he dashed back to Leona. “Your Secret Valentine is his highness?!”

Vil couldn’t help but turn over his shoulder to watch Leona nod, his ears twitching and his tail swinging side-to-side. “Yep. I’m probably just going to get him some cake.”

Sebek visibly recoiled. “YOU MUSTN’T!”

“Or throw a party and forget to invite him.”

“CRUELTY.”

Leona smirked, leaning closer to Sebek. “A lizard, then. Might make him laugh.”

Sebek’s face was positively red. “Lizard. You would get… his royal highness… Crown prince of the Fae… A… lizard.”

For the third time, Leona shrugged. He turned his back to Sebek, staring out into the greenhouse all dramatic-like as a breeze sent his hair billowing around him. “Like you said; My Valentine will be miserable.”

“You MUST put in more effort for your gift!” Sebek grabbed Leona’s shoulders. “His highness is so excited for this, if you fail in your quest, you will break his heart!”

Leona sighed, shaking his head. “I’m just so cruel and insensitive, it makes it hard for me to give decent gifts,” He turned toward Sebek, smiling in sorrow. “If only I were as kind as you. If you had Malleus, I bet you’d give him the greatest gift ever.”

Sebek froze, and Vil silently applauded the prince’s performance. He really must not have wanted to have to get Malleus anything. That, or he really wanted whoever Sebek had, but there wasn’t anyone Vil knew who Leona cared enough about for all of this.

Sebek cleared his throat, cheeks turning pink as he reached into his pocket to pull out his piece of paper. “I… I suppose I would be the best one to give his highness a gift… I am not worthy, but the honor must fall on my shoulders!”

He held his hand out to Leona. “We will trade!”

Leona gave Sebek a pointed look. “Are you sure?”

“ABSOLUTELY.”

Leona reached into his own pocket. “Once we do this, we can’t take it back. You’re alright with that?” Sebek nodded, and Leona held his hand out. They traded papers, and Leona gestured for Sebek to leave. “Go on. Get ‘his highness’ the most perfect gift you can imagine.”

Sebek had tears in his eyes. “I WILL!”

He gave Leona a salute and ran off hurriedly muttering under his breath about what to get. He was so focused on his mutterings that he hardly noticed Vil watching him as he ran off, something the blond was more than content with.

He made sure Sebek was gone before glancing toward Leona. The prince was staring at the name on his paper, and he was smiling. Not smirking, not gloating, just… smiling.

Leona ran his finger across the paper with a tender kind of care that made Vil wish he were the paper. Which was a normal thing to think.

The blond reached a hand out to fan himself as Leona started to mutter to himself. “Done with the easy part… Just have to tell him how I feel…” He sighed, looking up at the glass roof of the greenhouse. “How am I supposed to do that? Am I really going to do this…?”

Vil narrowed his eyes at Leona. ’Tell… him…?’ Was… Was Leona thinking about confessing his feelings to whomever his Secret Valentine was? Vil didn’t even know Leona was interested in someone, but…

He looked down at his hands, noticing that the tips were slightly stained. In his hurry to get his flowers, he forgot to wash off the starting parts of the Lover’s Brew.

Vil balled his hands into fists as he rose up from his bench to make his way toward Leona.

“Of course I’d run into you here.” Vil called out to the prince, who straightened up upon seeing him.

Leona carefully tucked the paper into his vest pocket. “I’d say the same about you,” He glanced past Vil, toward where he knew the blond kept his flowerbeds. Of course he knew where, it was right by his favorite napping spot. “You here to check up on your plants?”

Vil nodded. “They’re growing very well, I’ll make plenty of…” He cleared his throat, tucking his stained hands behind his back. “Of interesting potions from them,” He gave Leona a pleasant smile. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with Sebek.”

Leona clicked his tongue, leaning back. “That kid needs to learn how to shut up,” He then shrugged. “I didn’t want to have to get dragon-dick a gift, can you blame me?”

Vil snorted out a laugh. “Dragon… dick…” He covered his face with his hand, embarrassed. “Don’t call him that.”

Leona liked hearing Vil’s laugh. His tail flicked as he leaned closer to the blond. “I’ll call him whatever I want to call him.”

“You…” Clearing his throat, Vil moved to kneel down onto the grass. “Hopefully your new Valentine is a much better alternative to dragon… ahem. To Malleus.”

Leona sat down as well, resting his back against a nearby tree. “He’s not the worst candidate,” His tail thumped against the ground as his eyes searched over Vil. “How’s it going for you?”

Vil let out a hum, plucking a blade of grass out and watching as the green of the grass started to stain his fingers, concealing the remnants of his potion. “I’m managing,” He lifted the blade up, watching the way it caught the light and continuing. “I hope the person who got my name is a decent gift-giver.”

“I’d hate to have gotten your name,” Leona smirked, still watching Vil. “You’re so picky, it’d be impossible to get you anything you’d like without spending a fortune.”

Vil huffed, releasing the grass to glare at the prince. “Contrary to what you might think, I’m not some kind of ungrateful brat. So long as it’s given with sincerity, I’ll accept whatever gift I get with grace.”

Leona looked away from Vil, ears curling against his head. “I never said you were an ungrateful brat.”

Vil swallowed. “Good. Because I’m not.”

“So. All you want in ’sincerity’, huh? No gifts, no poems, no candygrams, just…” Leona waved his hand almost too carelessly. “Something… sincere.”

Vil nodded. “That’s all I want,” He chuckled as he turned to look out into the greenhouse. “With this school, I doubt I’ll get it.”

Leona’s ear flicked as he stared up at the branches of the tree he was resting under. “You…” His hand balled into a fist, digging into the hard bark of the tree as he prayed Vil didn’t notice. “You deserve sincerity.”

Straightening up in surprise, Vil turned toward Leona. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling as warmth spread across his chest. “Thank you.”

As Leona let out a careless grunt, Vil brushed some grass off of his pants, clearing his throat. “You’d probably be a difficult person to get a gift for. What could anyone possibly buy for a prince who can get anything he wants?”

“Can I get anything I want?” Leona turned back toward Vil, one eyebrow raised.

Vil met his gaze and nodded. “Of course you can. You’re you, you deserve everything,” He then cleared his throat as his cheeks flushed pink. “I mean. You act like you deserve everything.”

Leona’s tail flicked. “Uh-huh,” He adjusted his position against the tree, moving so that he was closer to the ground. “When it’s someone like you saying that, I almost believe it.”

Vil stared at the prince for a bit too long to be considered proper before turning away once again to stare out into the greenhouse. It was late winter in Sage’s Island, and yet the greenhouse remained in perfect health year-round, plants still sprouting in its artificial warmth.

A breeze washed over them both, and Vil wrapped his arms around himself. “What would you want, from your Valentine?”

Leona stared at Vil’s back, hand reaching out for him before he caught himself and lowered it. “I can’t think of anything I want that anyone can give me. The only thing I want is something I have to earn myself.”

Vil turned toward Leona, eye twitching in annoyance. “You wouldn’t care about much effort someone puts into a gift, so anyone giving you anything is pointless,” He stood up from the ground with a huff. “Whomever your Valentine is-”

Smirking, Leona moved so that his stomach was lying on the ground. “It’s you, isn’t it?”

Vil blinked. He then turned away from Leona. “Goodbye.”

Leona grabbed his hand before he could get far, wearing that cocky grunt that had no business being as cute as it was. “So that’s a yes.”

Vil tried to pull his hand out of Leona’s grip, not saying anything. The prince laughed, a sound that made Vil’s heart squeeze so tightly that he hated it. “Vil Schoenheit, world-class actor, foiled by my basic deduction skills!”

He shook his head, grinning. “Aren’t you something?”

Once again, Vil tried to pull his hand away. “Goodbye.”

And once again, Leona didn’t let him leave. “Uh-uh. I need to tell you what to get me-”

“That ruins the entire ‘Secret’ of the idea behind Secret Valentine’s! And besides, I’m already making something, even though it’s apparently worthless to you.” At this point, Vil grabbed Leona’s arm as he dug his heels into the ground to get out of the prince’s grasp.

Leona gave Vil a look before releasing his grip, sending the blond falling to the ground. Or at least, he would have, if Leona hadn’t managed to catch him. His hands slid easily onto Vil’s waist, as though they were meant to be there and Seven did it feel as though they were meant to be there. His face was a mere inches away from Vil’s, and the blond fought against his every instinct to end their back-and-fourth right now by kissing the prince silly.

Vil screwed his eyes shut, not wanting to look at Leona. “I don’t like you.”

He could just tell Leona was smirking. “I can tell.”

Vil felt himself being set upright, feeling the way Leona brushed his hands against his shoulders. “Whatever you give me, it won’t be worthless.”

“You just said-”

“If it’s a gift from you, then it’s not worthless.” Leona’s hands stayed resting on the younger man’s shoulders. “Because you’re Vil the Motherfucking Schoenheit and I shouldn’t be the one to tell you that anything you make is going to be great.”

Vil looked away from Leona, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. “Thanks.”

Leona gave him a smile before taking a deep breath and straightening up. “So, what’s my gift?”

The blond shrugged, pulling away from Leona to make his way toward the flowerbed, where he was supposed to be gathering his ingredients this whole time. “I can’t just tell you!”

He ran his fingers down the stem of a glowing Lambent flower, stopping just before he could pull it out from the ground. “And it’s not technically done yet, so…”

“I need you to stop whatever you’re making and do something else for me.”

“What?” Vil was baffled, he tugged the flower up from the ground far less elegantly than he should have and turned toward the beastman. “No? It’s not ’done’ but it’s a lovely gift! I…” He swallowed, placing a hand over his chest. “I really… really wanted to share it with you.”

He sucked in a breath, looking away. “I thought you said any gift I could make would be great. Was that a lie?”

“No!” Leona held his hands up in defense. “No, it wasn’t, I…” The prince let out an annoyed groan, running his hand through his hair. “Dammit.”

He straightened up, reaching into his vest pocket to pull out the piece of paper he’d so skillfully taken away from Sebek. “I’m going to be confessing my feelings to the person on this paper tonight, and I need you to make me something for it.”

A flash of anger washed over Vil, and he tensed up. “Excuse me? No! NO! Absolutely not! A confession should be between the individuals involved, I’m not making you anything!” He crossed his arms and turned away from Leona, not wanting to look at the prince. “What would you even have me make?”

Vil couldn’t see Leona’s face, but he heard the older man step closer. “A simple Truth Elixir potion. I want him to know how sincere I am.”

Reaching up to wipe at his eyes, Vil fought back a sniffle. “You shouldn’t have to use a potion to show your sincerity. If you love them then you should just be sincere, no need to go through all of these hoops.” No need to bring him into it.

Leona shook his head, placing his hands on Vil’s shoulders and Seven did his hands feel warm. “He deserves every single hoop I could ever possibly jump through. The guy’s a prickly, annoying primadonna, and I love him more than anyone or anything else in the world.”

He placed his hand on Vil’s chin, turning the younger man to finally meet his gaze. “I can only hope he feels the same way.”

Vil felt like he was dying. His vision was completely blurred from tears he refused to shed and he pushed Leona away. “He must. Who couldn’t love you?” Vil wrapped his arms around himself and started to walk away, and this time Leona let him. “I’ll make you your potion, good luck telling him how you feel.”

Leona watched Vil leave. “I…” Just did. He just confessed. What wasn’t clicking? The prince hurried after Vil. “Who do you think I’m confessing to?”

“Not Malleus, apparently!” Vil threw his arms up in the air before pointing a finger at Leona. “Which is good, you two would be a horrible couple,” Leona tried to speak, but Vil continued. “You’re heartless, Kingscholar. Absolutely heartless, and I’ve no wish to speak to you any more!”

He stormed off. “Good. DAY!”

Leona didn’t move. He stayed still, staring after Vil as he wondered what he’d done wrong. He then shook his head. If his confession just now hadn’t worked, that was because it wasn’t romantic enough for Vil, it’s because he put his fucking foot in his mouth like he always did around the guy, it’s because he wasn’t sincere enough. Of course he fumbled this confession!

But for Vil, he’d confess again.

He held his hand to his mouth to call after Vil. “Six PM! Greenhouse! Right here! My confession is riding on you!”

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Vil had significantly calmed down since his last encounter with Leona, potion-making always had such a way of relaxing him! He patted the basket in his arms, a handkerchief with heart patterns covering the top and hiding two bottles inside.

One of which was Leona’s Truth Elixir, but the other was that damn Lover’s Brew that he couldn’t help but make, even if… Even if Leona wouldn’t accept it, Vil had to make it.

He smiled calmly as he made his way into the greenhouse, the picture of an elegant and kindly student.

His smile was so calm and his form was so relaxed, it was almost as though he hadn’t spent the last couple of hours in a brokenhearted daze. That he hadn’t shed one-too-many tears over the fact that he wasn’t the person Leona was confessing to. That he wasn’t giving Leona the Lover’s Brew as a way to get Leona to choose him over whomever he was confessing to upon realizing that Vil the motherfucking Schoenheit was in love with him.

Vil the motherfucking Schoenheit, who anyone else would kill to be with. Who was hopelessly in love with Leona and really didn’t want to think about what would happen if Leona didn’t feel the same way.

He stepped into the area where he’d last seen Leona, and let out a gasp.

It was as though the entire Valentine’s Day holiday had thrown up there. Rose petals were scattered across the ground, forming a heart that was accented by candles. Somewhere, he could hear the sound of music playing a romantic melody, and as he turned toward the noise, he saw Leona standing behind him.

The beastman shot Vil a smile before gesturing towards the setup. “Romantic, huh?”

Vil did not want to cry. He returned Leona’s smile. “Very. You did a great job setting everything up for…” He swallowed. “For your confession.”

Leona reached out to take Vil’s hand, but the blond took a step back. “A confession that I hope never happens.”

The prince tilted his head, but Vil continued. “Leona. I want you to be happy more than anything else in the world. I want you to find love, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping that your confession here wouldn’t work.”

Leona’s ear flicked and he frowned. “What?”

Vil grabbed Leona’s hands, pressing them against his chest. “I hate that I can’t just be happy for you, but I can’t. I want you to be happy with me, I’m in love with you, Leona, I’ve always been!”

He pulled one hand away from Leona’s to reach into his basket and pull out the two potions he’d made earlier.

Leona glanced at the plain and honestly kind of ugly green bottle containing the truth elixir, and then looked at the Lover’s Brew, expertly contained in an extravagant heart-shaped bottle (Vil wanted their outside appearance to represent their inner beauty). “I want to be the one to make you happy, I want to be the one who gets to spend the rest of their life with you. We’re young, and I don’t know what the future has in store for us, but I mean it. I want a future with you, and I hope that…”

Vil held the bottles out to Leona, his shaking hands causing the liquids inside to slosh around. “I hope that, if you’re willing to try, we could figure things out together. Leona, I love you, I truly, truly lov-”

Leona grabbed the bottle of the Lover’s Brew. “It’s reciprocated,” He downed the drink before tossing the glass onto the ground, which thankfully didn’t break. “Holy shit.”

Vil was reeling. “Huh.”

“It’ll never be a dull day in our house.”

Vil batted his eyes, tears forming against his lashes. “Our… house?”

Leona smacked his forehead with his hand. “Shit. No. I mean, yes, but…” He shook his head, and Vil now noticed that his cheeks were positively pink with embarrassment. “This is why I wanted the truth thing. To just say everything I need to say and get it all out without fumbling or somehow making you think that you’re not the one I love.”

He swiped the Truth Elixir from Vil and downed it as well. Leona smacked his lips, not quite enjoying the taste but not caring too much as he felt its effects take place. He took a deep breath and placed his hands on top of Vil’s shoulders. “I am in love with you. I want to date you. I want you to marry me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want kids. I want to name one after your dad, who I am very worried will not like me.”

He gestured to the tattoo on his shoulder. “The only reason I got this is because I remember one time in potionology you said you thought tattoos looked nice but couldn't get one. I got it for the express purpose of you complimenting me for it because any ounce of attention you give me sends me into a high, as I am completely obsessed with you.”

Leona felt a drop of sweat forming at his brow, his voice fast and tight with nerves. “Wow. Saying it all out loud like this feels so weird. That’s the power of a Truth Elixir, huh?” He started fanning himself. “Is it hot out here for you too? I mean, of course it is, you’re always hot. You’re the hottest person I’ve ever met. I love you, have I mentioned that? I’ll say it again, I love you.”

Vil finally snapped out of the daze he’d been, taking Leona’s hands with a confused look. “You’re in love with me? But… You set up this confession for someone else!”

Leona let out a laugh, pressing his forehead against Vil’s. “You drive me nuts, I can’t wait to become Mister Schoenheit,” He gestured to the flower petals and the candles, and even the music. “All of this was for you. I wanted to give you a romantic confession, but you just didn’t get it. I wanted to be annoyed but, hello, I’m completely infatuated with you, so I found it cute instead.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “Rook helped me set it up and everything, he told me your favorite flowers, romance movies, songs. He said ‘Roi des Poison needs romance, so if you don’t give him a romantic confession, I’ll never approve of your relationship’. I figured what could be more romantic than a secret, especially with Valentine’s Day right around the corner. Then I ended up getting dragon-dick’s name…” He trailed off as Vil laughed, before shaking his head and sighing. “But it was worth it.”

He squeezed Vil’s hand. “You’re worth it. If I have to confess to you a thousand times and if it has to get ruined a thousand times, then I’ll keep on going.”

Vil smirked, cupping Leona’s cheek. “I’d love a thousand confessions, but I think I’ll be fine so long as I hear one more.”

“And you call me spoiled. You’re lucky all I want to do is spoil you,” Leona leaned into the younger man’s touch, closing his eyes. “You already know I love you.”

Wiping his tears away with the back of his hand, Vil moved closer to the prince. “Yeah. I do.”

And when they kissed, it tasted like love. And a little bit like truth, but mostly love.

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BONUS:

And when they pulled away, Vil’s eyes widened with a realization. “Leona…”

The prince was nuzzling the blond’s neck, eyes closed in complete satisfaction. “Hmm?”

“Leona. You just drank a Lover’s Brew.”

The beastman continued nuzzling Vil’s neck, brushing his lips against Vil’s skin. “It was the best thing I ever drank, even if it tasted like nothing.”

Vil reached his hand up to grab Leona’s cheeks, forcing to stop his nuzzling. “Leona, you drank a Lover’s Brew and then downed a Truth Elixir!”

Leona’s face was practically red at this point, and he was taking in panting breaths. Still, he smiled so happily at Vil that it made the younger man’s heart melt. “I did, you’re so great at understanding things,” He moved to kiss him. “I love you.”

“Aww, I love you too!” Vil returned the kiss, sighing happily before remembering that he was saying something important. He pulled away from Leona. “No, wait! I mean…”

He put his hands on Leona’s shoulders. “The properties that createTruth Elixirs and Lovers Brew are the same properties that are used to make aphrodisiacs!” He gestured to the older man, who was giving him a dreamy look. “And you downed both of them!”

Leona nodded. “I see,” He snorted out a laugh as he wrapped his arms around the love of his life, squeezing him tightly. “So you brought both of them here in the hopes I’d drink them so that you could have your way with me!”

He pushed them until they both fell onto the ground, tail flicking proudly. “Vil Schoenheit, you’re so bad!”

Vil swatted at Leona, but did nothing to push him away. “It’s not like I knew you were going to drink them both!” He sighed, resting his hand on Leona’s cheek. “Come on, I’ll take you back to your dorm before it really starts affecting you and you can sleep this off.”

“Or…” Leona placed his hand on top of Vil’s, voice low and sultry. “You could just take me back to my dorm and see where it goes from there?” He closed his eyes, humming happily. “I was hoping today would end like this anyway.”

Vil’s cheeks turned as red as Leona’s. “You…!” He sucked in a breath before shaking his head. “I’ll take you back to your dorm.”

“And…?” Leona batted his eyes hopefully.

He then let out a grunt as Vil tweaked his nose. “And if you can behave, maybe we can see what happens,” The blond laughed as he got up from the ground, pulling Leona up with him. “But we don’t need to rush anything, alright? You and I aren’t going to be some kind of fast fling, you’re mine and we’ll have plenty of time to do whatever you want when you’re not in an aphrodisiac-induced mindmelt!”

Leona followed after him. “I love you.”

Vil squeezed his hand. “You too.”

“I loooooove you!”

Vil covered his face with his hand. “You too.”

Leona was beaming and he wrapped his hands around Vil’s arm, resting his head on the taller man’s shoulder. “I love you~!”

And even when the potions both wore off and they woke up in Leona’s bed, the prince’s onslaught of ‘I love you’s never stopped. And neither did Vil’s ‘You too’s.

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

💐 Schedule

December 22 ~ Signups open

December 31 ~ Signups close (11:59 p.m. CET)

January 5 ~ Assignments sent out

February 14 ~ Works exchange (starts at 00:00 a.m. CET)

How the Secret Valentine will work

🌺 During the signups, we will ask you to write down 2 prompts of what you would like to receive as a gift (ex: Leona panicking in a mall to get a gift for Vil, etc) It could be a quick paragraph or a bunch of Ao3 tags.

🌺 Assignment day will give you the name of an entrant and their 2 prompts randomly picked among the whole list of entrants. Congratulations! You will be their Secret Valentine! And then, you will choose the prompt you’re going to work on for the big day! (You can do more prompts if you feel inspired).

🌺 Do not share your work in progress publicly. A Secret Valentine is meant to be a surprise.