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“Leo…if it hurts…o-or if you don't w-want this at all, p-please say so and I won't—”
Leo lays a gentle hand, cupping the back of Sakura’s head, and she stops mid-stammer, going still at his touch.
“It’s alright,” he simply says. He waits a moment to gauge Sakura’s reaction. He sees her bite her front lip, barely concealing the tips of her fangs. Her eyes, despite the darkness in the room, gleam like rubies instead of her usual soft-pinks, a tell-tale sign of her hunger. With a smirk, he adds, “Besides…I can see it in your eyes. You've been hungry for quite some time, haven't you?”
Sakura swallows, seemingly taken aback by how well Leo has read her. Her eyes, alight with thirst and nerves, take in his face and then trail down to his neck. She hovers over him as he's laying down on the bed, his neck resting on the pillow at the perfect incline for her to feed. Leo can feel her breath, cool against his skin, her face mere inches away, and still she hesitates.
“L-Leo…”
Her eyes are shimmering, and Leo thinks perhaps his comment was a bit too snarky. He traces a finger along Sakura’s cheek, a gesture he knows is calming for her.
“It's you, love,” he murmurs. “I know I’ll always be okay.”
After a moment's hesitation, Sakura nods, easing at Leo’s declaration. She starts by gently licking the side of his neck. Her tongue is chilly, and Leo shivers at first, which causes Sakura to stop again, but Leo is quick to reassure her to keep going. Her routine is methodical, as if she were preparing to dress a wound before injecting medicine into a patient. As expected of a healer, Leo has thought many times to his amusement. After the patch of skin is coated with her cold saliva, Sakura moves in.
It used to hurt at first, but Leo has grown accustomed to the slight sting of her fangs piercing into his skin, and the brief, numbing haze that overtakes his mind as the blood is sucked out from his body to nourish his partner. He never misses the way Sakura keeps an open eye on him, those ruby irises glistening with both eagerness and a concern that she may be going too far. Despite his dizziness, he has the strength to lay a hand over hers, currently clutched on his shoulder, a simple motion to tell Sakura that he trusts her.
And a minute later, Sakura finishes. Her eyes have gone back to a light, soft pink shade, her thirst satiated for now. Warm blood drips down her lips, as well as from the fresh wound she’s left on Leo. Before the haze in Leo’s head fades—and before Leo can even move from the bed—Sakura already has her rod in her hands, waving it in front of Leo; a soft glowing light pulsates from the rod, warming Leo all over. The wound quickly closes, and Sakura begins working to clean up the blood.
Sakura begins to sniffle and tremble as she treats Leo’s injury—one that she has made herself, no less—and Leo shifts himself up so he can bring Sakura into a small, comforting hug. She tremors in his arms and takes in a shaky breath.
“I-I’m s-sorry…,” Sakura cries, his chest becoming wet with tears. She always gets like this after a meal, and while Leo can't stop her from being too hard on herself nor from feeling so ashamed every time she needs to feed, he does all he can to placate her guilt.
“Don't be,” he whispers. He presses a kiss atop her head, and then another on her nose. Leo then wipes the area underneath Sakura’s mouth and chin with his glove, cleaning the remains of the bloody stains off her skin. Perhaps if it were someone else, they would be haunted, too shaken by the constant sight of seeing their own blood out of their body, but Leo is a prince of Nohr. He has endured far too much to be shaken by this, and besides, what is this if not a symbol of his trust and love for the woman in his arms?
“I told you, I trust you,” he continues. “And see?” Leo pecks a teasing kiss just on the top of Sakura’s lip, briefly tasting the light, sweet iron tang of his blood on her mouth. “You didn't hurt me. I’m here.”
He expects her to protest again, but aside from a few sniffles and hiccups, it seems this time Sakura has settled for just taking Leo’s word for it. Perhaps his constant reassurances are helping her to feel less guilty about her circumstances, after all. Sakura simply lays her head into his chest, listening to his live, beating heart. Leo cups the back of her head, happy to let her listen.