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Leopold heaved a sigh of relief.
He’d been stuck in this stuffy room with plenty of important people from both Clover and Spade as they negotiated about how to move forward after the attack. These negotiations had, at this point, been going on for a few months now due to King Augustus being the most difficult man to discuss any sort of important matter with.
And with Julius not around to help with the negotiations, things had been slow going.
Leopold was mentally drained and fairly tired as he pulled himself from his seat. He had already explained to Fuegoleon that he had planned to see Yuno after the meeting, so without a second thought he ditched his brother and searched for a certain head of dark messy hair, in hopes of his presence cheering him up.
Luckily he caught sight of him from across the room and quickly weaved through the crowd, soon slipping up beside him.
“Hey.” Leopold greeted, resting a hand against Yuno’s arm.
Yuno turned his head, a somewhat spooked look in his eyes before recognition glazed over them.
“Oh, hi.” He smiled briefly. “Did you need something?”
Leopold stared at him in confusion.
“What do you mean? Am I not allowed to see my boyfriend?” He jokingly asked, a hint of nervousness in his tone.
He had had a feeling something like this was going to happen, especially since Yuno had been quite distant ever since the problem with the devils and the Zogratis siblings had been dealt with
“Well, of course Leo, it’s just I have a lot on my plate right now and I don’t have a lot of time.” Yuno replied, his expression unreadable.
Leopold stared at him in bewilderment, unsure of what to say. Once again, he felt like he’d been slapped in the face. This was the umpteenth time this had happened this month.
He slowly slipped his hand off of Yuno’s arm and pulled away.
An “Oh.” was all he could muster up to say, as disappointment settled deep within him.
Yuno gave him an odd look. Leopold hoped he may have noticed how upset he was but inevitably he seemed to brush it aside as his name was called, and his attention was taken.
Ralph had called for Yuno to follow him, which Yuno signaled to give him a moment.
He turned back to Leopold, an apologetic expression painted across his face.
“Sorry Leo, but I have to go.” He leaned forward to leave a quick peck against the side of Leopold’s mouth before briskly walking away and slipping through the grand doorway.
“Bye.” Leopold mumbled as he watched him leave, a sickening feeling settling in his heart.
He stood still for a good minute before he felt a poke to his side.
Mimosa stood next to him, a look of worry plastered across her features.
“Are you alright Leo?” She asked.
Leopold took a deep intake of breath, before letting it go and gave her a sad smile.
“Of course.” He replied, trying to keep his voice level.
Mimosa clearly doubted him, yet she kept her worries to herself and nodded with a sympathetic smile.
“Alright, are you busy?”
“Not at the moment.” Leopold shifted on his feet, his heart wrenching in his chest, knowing that Yuno had brushed him aside once again in favor of his work.
“Well, do you want to come hangout with Noelle and I? We haven’t decided what to do yet but maybe you can give some ideas?” Mimosa asked.
Leopold gave a quick nod of his head, agreeing to her suggestion before letting her lead him away. He took one last look at the doorway Yuno had left through and sighed.
Were he and Yuno going to continue to slowly drift apart in silence?
»»———— ➷ ————««
It had been two weeks since Leopold had spoken to or even seen Yuno. The last time being at the meeting, which left Leopold terribly wounded.
And that wound had only grown in size since then.
He loves Yuno deeply, and at one point it seemed strongly reciprocated, but as of late it seems Leopold’s worst fears may be coming true.
The fear that Yuno no longer feels the same love for him anymore, and that he has grown tired and annoyed with Leopold, continues to eat at him everyday.
He doesn’t want to believe it, but all the signs seem to point to it being true, and he doesn’t know what to do anymore.
His heart is hurting, as well as his soul, for Yuno is his everything.
But was he Yuno’s everything?
The only way he’d ever know was if he asked, and had a serious conversation with him, but could he have that with how far Yuno has pulled away?
Leopold could tell that those around him were beginning to pick up on his moodiness; it was getting difficult for him to keep his emotions in check these days.
He knew his sadness was as clear as day to those closest, and the amount of times he’d either brushed them aside or snapped at them for prying was more times than he could count.
He felt bad for taking his heartache out on those around him, but he was too afraid to tell anyone his worries for fear that they would agree that Yuno was over him.
And now here he was, guiltily trudging through the garden after he’d snarled at Mereoleona for so much as even implying that something was going on between him and Yuno before leaving the scene.
He didn’t like how on the nail she’d been with her implication, and now that he’d had such a strong reaction to it, she, Fuegoleon, Mimosa and Kirsch knew that something was in fact wrong.
So as he paced in anxious circles around the large garden he hadn’t noticed that nobody was coming to check on him until he heard the wind pick up behind him.
He turned around in a hurry and spotted none other than Yuno softly landing on the ground as the wind platform beneath his feet dissipated.
“Why are you here?” Leopold frantically asked.
“Mimosa called me on my communication device, she said something was wrong and that I should see you.” Yuno replied with a cool air to him.
A silence overcame them as Leopold processed the situation, his brow furrowing in frustration.
“Is everything alright Leo? What’s going on?.” Yuno spoke softly, inching closer.
“I-“ Leopold tried to speak but cut himself off, his anxiety getting the better of him.
He turned away, not wanting to face Yuno.
He wasn’t prepared for this, in fact he didn’t think he ever would be.
Leopold gripped his arm nervously, trying to get a hold of his emotions but the anxiety coursing through his veins was making it extremely difficult.
His heart was racing, his head was reeling and the world began to spin around him.
He felt a pair of hands against his shoulders but he didn’t think much of it as his breathing became ragged and the sounds of the world became distant.
His hand was peeled away from his arm and a cold hand came to rest on his cheek. The worried face of Yuno appears in his line of sight.
He could see his mouth was moving but there were no words.
Leopold’s head began to feel fuzzy, and a sense of nausea hit him. His legs trembled, struggling to hold him upright as he tilted forward, towards Yuno.
His hands shot forward, gripping Yuno’s jacket tightly as he gasped for air.
When had he begun gasping?
He didn’t know.
Another cold hand came to his other cheek, forcing him to look into Yuno’s eyes, his lips once again moving quickly. Leopold tried to focus on the words but it was difficult, they were muddied and unclear.
That cold hand soon left his face, gripping one of his hands and pressing it against Yuno’s chest, right where his heart was.
His heart was beating fairly quickly, but the pace overall was alright. He felt Yuno take a deep breath, before letting it go and then repeating the process.
Did he want him to follow along? He figured he could do that since he felt if he didn’t he’d pass out.
Leopold shakily followed his actions, a deep breath in, and then letting it out. In, out, in, out, over and over until Leopold finally began to feel better.
Taking more confident breaths, he could faintly hear Yuno mumbling something as his hearing returned. Leopold glanced around, realizing that his gaze seemed quite blurry.
He could feel fresh tears escaping his eyes as he blinked them away, in hopes of clearing his vision.
“Leo-”
Leopold perked his head up at the sound of his name.
“Leopold, can you hear me?” Yuno asked.
Leopold hummed softly, nodding his head the smallest amount as a confirmation.
“Good. How are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better.” He mumbled.
His voice was shaky and laced with sadness. The tears didn’t seem to want to stop, they continued to flow down his cheeks as he clutched at Yuno’s jacket with quivering fingers.
“I think we should talk about this Leo, but I won’t force you if you don’t want to right now.” Yuno wiped Leopold’s tears away as he spoke.
“I do want to talk to you about something, but-” Leopold paused, his lips quivering. “I’m nervous about the outcome.”
He could tell Yuno was confused as he pulled away from his chest, confident enough that he could stand on his own now.
“Leo, whatever it is you can tell me.”
The two made eye contact.
Leopold felt that fear build again, but he knew he needed to talk about this, and having another panic attack certainly wouldn’t help. And so, he pushed through his anxiety and began to spill his thoughts.
“Yuno, I feel like you don’t love me anymore, or at least not as much or in the same way as you once did.” Leopold shifted on his feet.
Yuno stared in shock, he began to open his mouth to speak but Leopold cut him off.
“Let me speak first. Lately you’ve been very distant with me Yuno, and I understand you are busy and have a lot going on with the Spade Kingdom and getting to know your mom, but-“ he paused to catch his breath.
“You just don’t seem to make any time for me or even try to see me when you do have the time. When I try to see you, you push me aside and it doesn’t feel good to be ignored and neglected by my lover. Especially since we didn’t get to see one another for 6 months during our training.”
Leopold took another moment to gather his thoughts before finishing his speech.
“I feel like I don’t know you anymore, and I hate that Yuno. I just want to spend time with you, to go on dates and sleep in the same bed once again. But I don’t know if that’s possible, because you haven’t been communicating anything that says you want to spend time with your boyfriend.”
Leopold heaved a sigh of anxious relief, he was happy to finally have this weight off his chest, but the thought of a possible negative response from Yuno kept him on his toes.
He watched as many emotions washed over Yuno’s face, clearly what he had said affected him.
A tense and awkward silence filled the space between them as Leopold watched Yuno formulate his words.
A guilty sadness seemed to hover over him as he gazed into Leopold’s eyes.
“I- I’m really sorry Leo, I hadn’t realized I’d been such a shitty boyfriend. I know this is no excuse but I really have been busy and I’m sorry for not trying to manage my schedule to fit you.” Yuno’s posture changed completely as he spoke, his shoulders dropped and his eyes fell to his feet.
“I should have tried harder, but I’ve been so stressed and caught up in everything I ended up pushing the person I love the most away.” He brought his gaze back to Leopold’s and advanced towards him.
“I truly am sorry Leo, you don’t need to forgive me for this right away, or at all even. I know apologizing is not enough, so from now on I will try harder and I will be there for you. I’m not going to push you away anymore, and I’ll speak to my mother about giving me some time off to spend with you.”
Yuno stopped before Leopold’s feet and gently took his hands into his own. Leopold could feel his heart bursting with love.
He knew he could never be upset with Yuno for long as his heart had already forgiven him.
With a watery smile he nodded and leaned his forehead against Yuno’s shoulder. A hand came to rest on his nape as the other wrapped around his waist, gently coaxing him closer. Leopold gave in and nestled against Yuno as happy sobs wracked his body.
He was immensely happy to know that Yuno hadn’t grown tired of him and loved him just as much. His heart was bursting with joy and affection as he pulled away from Yuno’s neck to lean forward and capture him in a fierce kiss.
Their lips messily locked together for a few seconds before Yuno pulled back with a gasp. His face was flushed and his eyes were filled with love as he brought his hands to Leopold’s face, gently rubbing his tear stained cheeks.
Yuno smiled a beautiful smile and Leopold couldn’t help his mouth forming into a large smile in return. Yuno gently pulled Leopold into a softer, more intimate kiss, their lips moving gently against one another’s.
It was something Leopold had been craving for for months, the innate desire to just love Yuno without any fear of rejection or disapproval. And that itch was finally being scratched as they pressed kiss after kiss against one another’s lips without a care in the world.
And if they stayed in the garden for a little while longer, simply enjoying one another’s company, then so be it.
Nobody was complaining.