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“You really didn’t have to Leona,” Vil didn’t bother trying to hide the fondness in his voice as he spoke, watching his boyfriend work in the mirror nonetheless. Between the two of them Vil had always been the earlier riser but these days, Leona had taken to waking up with him and offering to do his hair for him even while half-asleep.
It took a few tries but since that first week of mistakes and nagging, Vil never had to redo his hair after his boyfriend had had his way with it.
“Mhm, you say that everyday Princess. Still wanna do it though, gives us more time together before you have to go,” Vil could see Leona’s smug grin in the mirror. Could hear the same fondness in the beastman’s voice. Nights spent tangled in bed together until dawn were never enough when Vil always leaves before Leona wakes up.
It had started off as an odd addition to their routine. A touch of domesticity he hadn’t expected. A month into their relationship and Vil had been used to waking and leaving before Leona could even stir, leaving with a whispered farewell and a chaste kiss to his cheek at his murmured replies. When Leona had first started doing the blond’s hair in the morning, Vil was sure that it wouldn’t last a week or so. Yet here they were six months later and Leona’s hands deftly styled his champagne locks into braids and combed them into place as though they’d been doing this for a lifetime now.
Sevens I love this man… Vil didn’t bother stifling the surge of fondness that filled his chest at the sight in the mirror before him. Leona’s eyes still heavy with sleep focused now on the braids in between his callused fingers and a hair tie dangling from his mouth. After this, Vil would leave for Main Street to meet Jack for their daily morning run together. During which hopefully Leona will have taken a shower and started going back to Savanaclaw to properly prepare for the day ahead.
Or at least he’d have gotten the sleep out of his eyes.
“Almost done Queenie. Close your eyes for a second? I have a surprise for you,” Vil did as he was told, hearing the smile in Leona’s voice. Even when it was low and gruff after a long night’s sleep, it still brought nothing but a fondness to his heart. Did nothing to quell the love for the beastman rushing through his very being.
He felt a metal chain come to a rest around his neck, heard the soft click of a clasp coming together and the cool touch of it all against his collarbones. At Leona’s fingers tapping on his shoulders, Vil opened his eyes to an amethyst stone encrusted with gold embellishments hanging from a silver chain that wrapped around his neck. Bringing a hand to the stone, Vil felt his hand catch on the carved words at the back of the jewel. Yours forever, as long as you’ll have me.
The very same words Leona had whispered the night they’d first lain together. Had murmured against Vil’s skin until they’d engraved themselves into his very being. Had repeated tirelessly even when Vil had pushed him away in the ugly aftermath of his overblot. Words that had very quickly become a promise between the two of them. That for as long as they loved each other, it was with a love as fierce as any creature in this world.
“Leona…I love it, thank you,” Vil had to wipe away at the tears that threatened to gather. Impossible it was to believe, this was the same man he’d condemned day after day just months ago. Now his own heart was full to the brim with affection and…Vil never wanted it to end.
He never wanted to stop loving Leona. He wanted to keep waking up in the same bed as him, to hear the lion’s voice first thing in the morning, to hear his beloved’s whispered goodnights before bed and to continue being with Leona by his side. Statuses be damned. He loved him. He loved him, he loved him, he loved him, he-
“I love you,” he pressed a gentle kiss to Leona’s knuckles as he turned in his seat. Away from the mirror so he could properly see his boyfriend in the light of the rising sun. Emerald eyes framed by unruly locks made even more messy by sleep, the small smile that no doubt matched Vil’s own was more than enough to light his soul aflame with its warmth.
“Love you too Vil, happy birthday.”
A gentle kiss, a warm embrace and a lingering touch. Between the two of them who’d never been anyone else’s first choice. They chose each other. And that knowledge alone was worth so much more than any other present that Vil would receive today.So forgive him if it seemed as though he was smiling to himself as he walked down the halls of Pomefiore. Forgive him if he turned a blind eye to the first years failing to discreetly hide a cakebox no taller than Epel with their bodies. Forgive him if it seemed as though he was fidgeting with a pendant that hung around his neck. Forgive him if it was said that he was a little more distant that morning. Even if Rook had wisely chosen not to mention it, Vil knew it appeared that way.
But still, forgive him all these little mistakes for now dear readers. For his heart and soul were still burning with the lingering flame that was his lover’s warmth. Yes, later he’d have to attend a photoshoot and a modelling session and he’d need to focus then. But for now, forgive him this indulgence and instead allow Pomefiore’s housewarden to bask in the glow that filled him. A glow that came from the knowledge that he was loved. He was loved, he was loved, he was loved.
And he never wanted it to end.