and then, there comes you, with your wide smile and expressive face—a stark contrast to his no-nonsense personality. you talk to him like he's normal, like he's not a general, like his hands are not tainted with the blood of his enemies. it makes one wonder—what does the general think of you? does he feel annoyed? bothered? angry? frustrated? or maybe..

happy?

but that's impossible, no? because of how he always dismissed your advances with a scoff, how he'd avoid you while covering his face.. that much suggested that he was annoyed by you, right?

the only one who knew the answer were the two of you. most people believed that the general thought of you as a nuisance, yet they never knew what happened behind closed doors—what happened behind his tent, the awkward silence, and mysterious disappearance..

all of it has been a secret only the two of you share.

lilia was anything but cold to you—in private, that is. he was not one to make sappy comments about how you look, but you can tell that he loves you just as much as you do. "it's the little things," he'd say.

though lately, you feel as if the distance between the two of you has stretched wider. the humans were showing up more frequently, orders were piling up, and you could tell from his face that he was overwhelmed.

so, you did what any normal fae would do. you planned to confront him about it, ask him 'what's wrong?' (even though you knew. but hey, nothing wrong with asking, right?), and then you'll give him comfort like usual.

it sounds simple enough, but knowing him, he was not one to show his true feelings. even not to you. he'd rather get run over by nine gazillion dawn knights than to admit he was stressed. so, you decided to approach the matter slowly. you slowly opened the flap of his tent, peeking your head inside to make sure he was there. "oh, general. there you are, i've been looking for you!" you smiled, entering the tent without even waiting for him to respond. what? it's not like he's gonna kick you ou—

"get out."

well, there goes all of your plans—shattered to pieces by his very own sharp glare. you knew that his words meant no harm, though. "hey now, you're kicking me out already? at least listen to what i have to say."

he sighed as he crossed his arms. "fine. what is it? i don't have all day." your smile widened when he agreed to hear you out. "i wanted to talk to you about something."

at your change in tone, lilia's posture went rigid—as if you were about to say something that would change his life forever. he blinked a few times, crooking his brows. ".. what?"

you let out a stifled laugh when you noticed his posture. at least he took me seriously enough to fix it, i guess. you slowly took a step closer to him, hands on your sides as you thought of the words you were going to say. "i just.. i don't know. maybe it's just me, but i feel like we rarely ever talk. like, talk talk. not just having a small conversation about our work or the war.." you pressed your lips into a thin line, waiting for him to say something.

but he didn't. he just stared at you in silence, his expression unmoving. so, you took that as a sign to continue. "i mean.. i get it. we're busy with different stuff.. and you're the general. there's no way we could ever spend time together all the time, right?"

you felt his gaze skimming over your features—your eyes, nose, cheeks, and the way you hesitated before adding another sentence. you've never felt nervous talking to him before, so why are you nervous now?

before you realized it, you've been silent for way too long, and the silence stretched far longer than you had intended. you could even hear your own heart beating faster now. why is it even beating faster..?!

".. uh.. actually, nevermind. sorry for bringing that up. i don't know what—"

".. i'm bad at this."

"what?"

he gritted his teeth, eyes darting everywhere around the room, refusing to look at yours. "... i said i'm bad at this." he hesitated when he repeated himself. to him, relationships are the most fragile thing in this world. especially relationships that was built on love.

the word 'love' is as strange as the human language on his tongue, so how did you pull him in so effortlessly into such a pure world? how did you talk to him like he was deserving of any of it? how did you look at him as if he hung the stars in the night sky?

he was anything but pure, anything but normal, anything but soft. yet you still chose him, and he can never wrap his head around that. "i'm not.. exactly fit for this.. pure, cutesy love you speak of all the time. i'm not the perfect candidate for this."

"i'm an amateur. i don't know how to love, and i don't.." he paused, as if pondering why he allowed himself to be so vulnerable with you. ".. i don't know if i even deserve all the love you've been giving to me."

he took a step closer, closing the gap between the two of you. "frankly, i feel lost in all this." he furrowed his brows. "i never knew how to react properly to your attempts at flirting with me. i never knew how to reciprocate that, too."

"whenever you ask me about having dinner together, about taking a midnight stroll, or when you ask me to sit next to you at lunch.. i don't know how to reply to you."

"it's strange to me, name."

you pressed your lips shut, as if considering how to reply to his words. you decided to bring the palm of your hand closer to his face, gently caressing it. ".. i know. you're not the only one, lilia..." when your palm touched his face, he unconsciously leaned into your touch.

his face looked softer now. like he was the purest fae in the whole world. like he wasn't even a general. it makes you feel even more flustered to be under his gaze for some reason. "i'm.. not good with this, too. i've never done this before. not with anyone other than you."

"but.. but i want to try." you looked away from his face, feeling somewhat embarrassed to say what you wanted to say. "i want to try new things with you.. everything you mentioned earlier.. i want to try all of it with you.. all the normal things.. but i don't know how to!" you accidentally raised your voice in frustration. not directed at him, but more at yourself.

"i want to be like.. like every other couple. i want people to look at us and don't think i'm weird for approaching you.. for people to think that we're just like any other couple.."

he stayed silent for a while before he opened his mouth, ".. that's impossible. we're anything but normal, dummy. i'm a war general, and you're a soldier under me. we just—it's just impossible for us to be normal."

but when you only stayed silent, he sighed. ".. we can try going slow, you know?" his gaze softened, hands reaching up to your waist to pull you closer. "you don't have to want to do that all at once.. we can always do it step by step." he leaned his forehead closer to yours, almost touching. "do you want to?"

"... you're.." you pursed your lips, "it's so weird to hear you speak like that, lilia.."

he scoffed. "if you're going to say that, then it seems like i must take back my offer, ungrateful fae." though there was a flicker of amusement when he saw your face contort into that of panic.

"i was merely joking." you grumbled under your breath. ".. then i guess we could start slow..?" you blinked a few times, cheeks turning into a deeper shade of red as you realized how close you were to his face—hell, you could even see the faint scar under his eye.

it all feels so.. unusual.

"... yes. we could do that." he replied before going silence. now the two of you were just staring at each other, waiting for the other to make their move. you moved your palm from his cheeks towards the nape of his neck, slowly pulling him closer.

the two of you can now feel the warmth from each other. you didn't know whether it was from the very tension that fills the room—or whether it was because of how close the two of you were. but you just felt so hot all of a sudden.

you looked at him for a few moments, as if waiting for him to say something. when he didn't, you decided to open your mouth instead, only to close it after a few seconds. you can't help but notice the way he has been hovering his lips over yours, as if contemplating whether he should move even closer or not.

he only hummed lowly, and instead of waiting any longer for him to do the first move, you took it as a sign to close the gap with a soft kiss. really, he waited long enough to get this close to you, and now you're kissing him? is this a dream? turns out, fairy tales do exist for lilia vanrouge.

but god, have you always felt this good against him? even in just a split second, he could feel your warmth breath against his face, how your fingers on his nape seemed to be clutching tighter to anchor yourself, and how you couldn't stop squirming under his hold.

he kissed you back—gently, at first—before letting out a rough exhale, and that's where he suddenly deepened the kiss without warning which caught you off guard. "m—mmph?!" you widened your eyes, hands traveling down to his shoulders to keep yourself from falling.

lilia pushed you slowly against the bed in his tent. it was hard, and kinda rough on the surface, but at least you're not on the ground, right? he's on top of you now, making it easier for him to kiss you senseless. suddenly, you gently slapped him on his shoulder.

he hesitantly pulled away from you, panting, sweating, and everything all at once from the kiss. ".. what.. what is it..?" he was stuttering from the feeling of you against him earlier, his brows furrowed, annoyed that you stopped him but decided to listen anyway.

"s.. slow down.. you caught me off guard there.."

"... i can't help it. you tasted too good to stop. besides, you did that first."

"i did that softly."

he groaned, rolling his eyes at your statement. "a kiss is still a kiss, no matter how you deliver it." well, that's true. but he still didn't have to do that to you so roughly for a first time! ".. fine, tell me what you want, then."

"... slowly, i want you to do this slowly." you looked up at him with a slight frown. "a few steps at a time, i suppose.. that's what i want.." you muttered lowly.

".. sure. we can start over again from the top..." he finally looked into your eyes, gaze softening at how vulnerable you looked from this position. ".. or we can always start over with a dinner.."

"like normal people do."

A human had discovered this little hidden part of paradise, and it didn’t seem like she was leaving any time soon. 

She and Silver had taken a quick liking to each other, as if they had been old friends for a long time. That was false, because Malleus had been there throughout all of Silver’s childhood, and not once did this girl ever dare appear before them until now. 

Malleus felt a twinge territorial when Lilia described in detail how Silver had let this girl into their home when alone, and by chance, Lilia was finally there to witness it himself. 

They ‘met in a dream,’ supposedly, though Silver retained very few memories of his unconscious spell. Pip could recall the dreams perfectly, and Silver accepted this from her. Lilia told him he just had to accept it too.

As it was, Pip was aware that the Prince of Briar Valley was acquainted with Silver, but it seemed she didn’t understand the depth of their relationship. Even as she was shown the private childhood photos, she naively assumed Malleus’s presence for all of Silver’s birthdays was just some ‘royal visit.’ 

She also didn’t seem to know much about fae at all, night or diurnal. She knew plenty of humans and had been filling Silver in on the happenings of human towns. 

Malleus knew he had suggested Lilia leave Silver with humans years ago; Lilia would remind him of this whenever Malleus found himself rolling his eyes at Lilia’s recollection of interacting with the girl. He didn’t take kindly to reminders of it. 

“It’s not a bad thing for Silver to engage in more human things. You yourself said it was good for him and Sebek to make friends at NRC. How is Pip any different?” Lilia asked from his slouched position on his living room couch.

“You know well why she’s different. I suppose holding hands and wanting to take him to the human lands for an entire season sounds like ‘just friends’ to you?” Malleus retorts, arms crossed and against the wall.

“It’s adorable, isn't it?. You know, your parents were friends for hundreds of years until courting each other. Even with their short lives, humans like to take love slow too.” Lilia sighs wistfully. 

The little stories Lilia would sprinkle in about his parents often gave Malleus pause, encouraging him to take a leaf out of his father’s book and try to be more understanding and thinking before feeling. 

If Silver gaining a partner in life was inevitable and it had to be this girl, Malleus wanted to ensure that she understood two things— That she needed to prove herself worthy and she must understand the mighty power of the night fae. 

Though Lilia appeared to have an easier time letting things play out, Malleus was still a Draconia. Even if Silver no longer desired to be a knight, he was the child of Malleus’s friend, whom he reared alongside him. It was not outside of his jurisdiction to decide the worth of any partner Silver would have, as a future King and as Silver’s family.

So while Lilia would chide him over needing to allow Silver to have independence and make his own decisions, Malleus still felt the need to scope the situation out himself. In his mind and large chaotic Draconia feelings, it was his right to. 

“You’re certain Silver will be preoccupied by the time she comes here?” Malleus asks. 

Lilia waved a flippant hand, “I requested he collect some wild berries, though I’m sure he’ll be in a hurry since he’s anticipating Pip’s visit. Whatever you have planned, we’ll have to do it quickly…What do you have planned?”

“You’ll see,” Malleus replied cheekily, lip curled upward as he envisioned his plan coming to fruition in mere moments, “Just remember to dim the lights, grab her as soon as she enters, and we’ll whisk her away to her trial.” 

Lilia did as he was asked, using magic to blow away the tiny flames in the oil lamps that kept the cottage alight in the early evening. 

For fae, waiting even a dozen minutes was like seconds melting away. A gentle knock appeared on the cabin door. 

“Come in~” Malleus replies in a warm, almost sing-song voice. 

As Pip walks inside, Malleus quickly magics the door behind her to shut abruptly. That was Lilia’s cue to quickly grab her, wrapping his arms and legs around her shoulders and waist the way he would during defense training. 

Pip did thrash and try to fight him off, but she was far weaker to Lilia’s tight hold than Sebek and Silver were. The moment Malleus brought a single candlelight to her face, she froze. 

“Prince Malleus-“ she exclaimed in shock. Clearly, she was impressed by his sudden appearance. It was rare that Malleus conversed with humans other than Silver, Sebek’s father, and his classmates at NRC. 

She referred to him as all denizens of Briar Valley were meant to. Both Human and Fae knew of his power. 

Malleus shushed her with a finger to his lip, “We’ll talk in a moment.”

With magic, Malleus teleported the three of them to an area in the forest he had constructed ahead of time, made with fallen rocks from Mount Dread, and shaped into a small, dome-like dungeon nestled not too far from the cottage for a quick return. 

It resembled the interior of BlackScale Castle enough to trick someone who surely never set foot in fae lands before, but it was a safe, innocent distance away from his Grandmother’s actual dungeon. 

Lilia set her down on a lone flat stone that served as a makeshift seat. To seal the deal on their fake dungeon, Malleus conjures up cuffs and chains to keep her tethered in place by her arms. Lilia steps behind Malleus, completely covered by Malleus’s massive stature, especially standing above Pip as she sits, eyes looking up at him in a pitiful way. 

Keeping up his facade as a frightening, vengeful lord, he prodded her to speak up. 

“Come now, why so melancholy?” He asks, “I merely wish to ask you a few questions. Not as the Prince of Briar Valley, but as myself…What is Silver to you?”

“He’s my…” Pip attempts to answer calmly, but then she questions him, “Where is he? Is he okay?”

Malleus deviously smiled; a new idea dawns on him. Raising his arms, speaking in the most theatrical, fearsome King voice he could summon, he exclaims, “In yonder topmost tower of my castle is where he lies, in ageless sleep. Should you prove yourself worthy of his affection, he will wake…I’m sure even a human such as yourself can make it to him after a hundred years or so in here.”

Malleus had expected one of two possibilities from his small test. Pip would either cower at his magnificence and beg for her freedom and Silver’s, or, if she were truly weak-willed, abandon her pursuit of Silver altogether. 

Pip did neither of those things. 

Suddenly, Pip stood up from where she sat and lunged at him, only stopped by the length of the chains around her wrist. She writhed and continued to tug at her restraints as if she could break them off and tackle him to the ground, face contorted into a scowl of genuine anger. 

Suddenly, a burst of magic blew a hole into the makeshift dungeon, revealing Silver with the remnants of a spell dissipating from his fingertips. 

“What are you doing?!” Silver uncharacteristically shouted loudly in anger. 

Malleus and Lilia looked at each other guiltily. Malleus could see the look of regret wash over Lilia’s face.

It was rare for Silver to get angry with them. When he was, it meant that Malleus and Lilia had done something truly wrong. 

What was amusing for fae did not always translate well to humans.

Silver stormed past them and checked over Pip, who was in disbelief that the supposedly cursed Silver was very much awake and not trapped in some tower. 

“Why would you do something like this to her?!” Silver whipped his head back around to them, voice still raised and filled with rage. 

“It was a trial,” Malleus explained, as Lilia had fallen completely silent, too afraid of speaking up and making things worse than they already were, “A ruse to test her willpower. She was not in any real danger, we would reveal the truth at the end-”

“Chaining her up like this is NOT okay. Whatever your intentions, you both went way too far with this!” Silver chastised them both, “Dispel the chains right now!”

Malleus did as he was told and freed Pip. Before either of them could speak up and try to calm Silver down, he took Pip firmly by the hand and led her out of the makeshift dungeon, completely ignoring his remorseful Lord and father. 

After Silver and Pip disappeared into the woods, Malleus turned to Lilia, who somehow looked even paler than usual. 

“We did go too far,” Lilia said quietly, “We should’ve thought more carefully about this and how Silver would feel. Even after all these years, I’m still misunderstanding him…”

“Don’t fret, Silver never stays angry for very long.” Malleus tried to comfort him, but then Lilia got snappy. 

“That doesn’t matter, we were still careless, and we still hurt him,” Lilia told him, “Hopefully Pip isn’t frightened of us now.”

Speaking of Pip…

“She lunged at me…Did you see?” Malleus asked. 

The image of Pip attempting to fight Malleus on Silver’s behalf was a far more intriguing response than he ever expected to get. Although he felt shame over causing the humans distress, he wasn’t unsatisfied with the results. 

Despite his guilt, Lilia briefly smiled at the memory too. 

“She’s a mere human. Even unbound, she never would have stood a chance against me. Yet, she still tried to fight me for Silver.” Malleus adds, still intrigued by Pip’s bravery.

“She’s an interesting one, isn't she?” Lilia replied. 

The two returned to Lilia’s cottage and found that it still remained empty. 

Malleus saw Lilia pace a bit anxiously in the living room while keeping his eyes on the door. Surely this was bringing back memories of when Silver had disappeared into a storm, but both knew well enough that he wasn’t a child who needed to be searched for. 

Humans grow up fast; he was almost at the age where he could decide to make another place his home and never return. 

Malleus secretly hoped he would always return to this hidden place.

Silver eventually did, alongside Pip, whose hand he still held in his own. Silver bowed his head as soon as the door opened. 

“Lord Malleus, Father, I’m sincerely sorry for losing my temper,” he apologized. 

“I’m sorry, Silver. We should’ve thought more carefully about what we were doing. I now realize a fae test of strength isn’t something humans are familiar with,” Lilia apologizes right back.

Malleus sees how Silver looks a bit sadder at the differences between him and his father being pointed out. It wasn’t Silver’s fault at all. Lilia could be careless, and Malleus, unfortunately, prioritized his own interests over Silver and Pip’s human sensitivities. As guardians, they should strive to do better. Malleus was ready to do just that.

“You didn’t think we’d hurt you, did you, Pip?” Lilia asks Pip.

“No, I was just surprised!” Pip insists, taking both her hands back and waving them in a frantically dismissive manner, looking far more concerned than upset like Silver was, “I also want to apologize. I’m sorry I lashed out, I thought-“

“Now, now. You both have nothing to apologize for; the fault is on Malleus and me, right, Malleus?” Lilia assured them, looking to Malleus to assuage their worries. 

“All is fine,” Malleus says, “I’m more than impressed with your bravery, Pip. It’s time you know my position here now that you’ve joined us.” 

When Silver first came into his life, he thought there was no way he could ever care about a human. Yet now he was attending a predominantly human school on Sage’s Island, caring for and watching a human grow, and welcoming more change. 

There was space for one more. 

“You know me as the heir apparent of Briar Valley, and that Silver is one of my vassals, but I am also a close friend of this family.” He gestures to Silver and Lilia, “I have known Silver since he was an infant. Anyone who wishes to be at his side must earn my approval.”

Lilia rolled his eyes. Although not wanting to intrude on Silver’s decisions, he couldn’t help but compete with Malleus a little bit. “It was never your decision. If anything, it’s mine.”

“Do you truly believe I would allow just anyone to court him? Were you not the one to entrust Silver to me when you would suddenly step out? I changed his diapers too-“

“Lord Malleus, please!” Silver meekly spoke up, his face turning pink.

Pip found the scene he painted cute and laughed, placing a hand on Silver’s shoulder, “You really got babysat by the future King of Briar Valley? That’s amazing!” She exclaimed, then turned to Malleus, “Did I earn your approval?”

Malleus smirked, “I believe you have, for now,” he said, “you will never be too far from my watchful eye.”

Pip made a horrified expression, which made Malleus drop the act yet again.

“There’s no need to be scared, I was joking,” he said rather disappointedly. 

It reminded him a bit of how the humans at NRC acted around him. Though if Silver could look at him without fear even during infancy, perhaps the two of them growing closer would rub that unique trait of his off on her. 

“Please don’t tease, test, or tie her up without her consent again,” Silver politely requested, which both fae took a mental note not to forget. Silver looked to his father and laid down another boundary, “and I’m sword training her, father, not you.”

Lilia laughed as if he had not been worried sick minutes prior and reached up to place a hand on both Silver and Pip’s heads, “I look forward to seeing the results of your teaching. Pip, you keep growing stronger, alright?”

Silver and Pip looked pleased and, just as Malleus expected, the two of them seemed to move on from their previous distress with ease.

With this much company at once before Sebek had made the trip over, the crowded cabin was bound to be louder than when it once housed a crying infant. 

Pip was far from the worst addition to this little family Malleus had so diligently looked after.  

the bell over sam’s shop door jingled softly as yuu pushed it open, grim striding in next to her, his tail flicking excitedly.

“alright, let’s make this quick,” she mumbled, scanning her list. “bread, tea, detergent, and—”

“tuna!” grim shouted, already darting toward the shelf and picking up the most expensive can. “get my tuna this time! you promised!”

“i promised i would buy it if we had enough,” she called after him, already doing the math in her head. she sighed and pulled the cheapest loaf of bread into her basket, grabbed a tin of the weakest tea on the shelf, and started sorting through slightly bruised fruit.

the kitchen back at ramshackle had been dangerously empty since wednesday, and with crowley’s ever-generous (practically nonexistent) allowance, they were already stretching what they had.

“alright,” she said, nudging grim up towards the counter and pulling out her pouch of money. “let’s hope this works out.”

sam greeted them with his usual wide grin. “yuu, grim! back to scavenge my shelves again, i see.”

“scavenge is a generous word, more like beg and bargain,” she muttered, unloading the basket.

sam just chuckled, ringing up her few items and counting the money she laid out on the counter. “mmm… you’re close today. but still a few thaumarks short.”

her stomach sank. of course she was short. she tugged her coin pouch open again, digging around just in case a stray coin had appeared since this morning. nothing.

“okay,” she said tightly, setting the tuna can off to the side first. “take that off. and the tea. and the detergent.”

“not the tuna!” grim cried out, tears in his eyes.

yuu sighed. “we’ll come back for it next week, i promise.”

“just let him ring it up,” a voice said from behind her—deep, disinterested, familiar.

yuu turned, startled, her wide eyes meeting sharp green ones.

leona kingscholar stood a few feet away, his arms crossed and his expression unreadable. she was so stressed out that she hadn’t even noticed him enter the store.

“pardon?” she asked, confused.

leona stepped forward lazily, setting a bottled drink on the counter. “i said ring it up. all of it.”

sam raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. “well, now, don’t see you around here much, kingscholar.”

leona gave a low grunt in response, displeased by the sudden attention. “ruggie’s been nagging all day. needed a reason to get out of the dorm.”

sam chuckled, but didn’t push it, just nodded and scanned the bottle. “fair enough. least you’re buying something.”

leona ignored him, gesturing towards the rest of yuu and grim’s groceries. “she’s with me. run it all under my bill.”

yuu was still staring at him in shock. “why-? what are you-?”

“don’t make me say it again,” leona grumbled. “you’re always running around cleaning up other people’s messes. figured it’s about time someone returned the favor.”

yuu blinked, surprised. he didn’t wait for her to respond. he tossed a few bills and coins on the counter, grabbed his bottle, and strolled out of the shop.

yuu stood there, stunned, groceries bagged and paid for, grim looking just as shocked beside her.

“…did he just—?”

“sure did,” sam said cheerfully, giving them a wink. “looks like you caught a lion’s favor. it’s your lucky day, my little imps.”

⸻

yuu rushed out of the shop, bags in hand and grim following her close behind, excitedly talking about his tuna. she half listened to him, trying to find leona so she could at least say thank you.

they found him walking on the trail back to campus. the sky was glowing orange and gold, outlining his silhouette. he stopped, sipped his drink slowly and then continued walking, like he had all the time in the world.

“leona!” she called, jogging to him. “wait up!”

he didn’t respond, but he slowed his pace a little.

she came to a stop beside him, breath a little short. “you didn’t have to do that. i was gonna figure it out. i was fine.”

“didn’t look fine to me,” he muttered, not looking at her still.

“i could’ve come back later to get the rest-“

he shot her a look.

“…okay, probably not,” she admitted. “but still. thank you.”

he didn’t respond, just started walking again.

“i-i’ll pay you back,” she said, falling into step next to him. “eventually. i don’t know when, but i will.”

“i don’t care about money,” he replied casually.

she frowned at him. she did not want to be in debt to leona kingscholar. “then how can i repay you? i mean it. i’ll do anything.”

that made him stop. he turned to look at her fully this time, one brow raised.

“anything?”

she flushed a little under his targeted gaze. “within reason, of course.”

“within reason…” he repeated her, smirking. “well, if you insist, then there is something i want.”

she waited, heart ticking a few paces faster.

“that haunted dump of yours, ramshackle. it’s quiet. no one bugs you there. no nagging, just peace.” he slid his hands into his pockets. “you let me crash there when i want to. that’s the deal.”

“…you want to…squat in ramshackle?”

“call it what you want. i call it a damn good trade. and convenient for me.” his smirk deepened. “don’t act like you haven’t had worse roommates.”

“hey! take that back!” grim shouted up at him.

yuu paused her steps, hesitating. it was odd, sure-but not an unreasonable request. she shifted the grocery bag on her hip as she thought it over for a moment. “…alright. deal. but my bedroom is absolutely off limits.”

“i don’t want your bedroom,” he said, already turning away again.

“then what do you want?”

he glanced back once at her, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. “whichever spot gets the most sun.” and with that he continued on his way to his dorm.

“great, now i gotta share my territory with an overgrown house cat.” grim complained up at yuu. she rolled her eyes, still watching leona as he strolled ahead, his figure growing smaller as he veered onto a different path.

“you mean i have to share my territory with two overgrown house cats.”

⸻

the next afternoon, when yuu arrived back at ramshackle after a long day of school, she found a familiar yellow vest draped over the back of the worn living room chair, and a certain lion sprawled across the sunniest patch of floor, arm swung over his eyes, fast asleep.