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Silver blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the dryness in his eyes. The sky was dark, stars twinkling like tiny diamonds scattered across.
He had fallen asleep again.
Though…he was sure he didn't have certain beastman napping by his side when his curse acted up unprompted.
Silver turned his head slightly, neck stiff from lying in the same position for hours, and glanced at the Savanaclaw housewarden, aurora eyes filled with curiosity.
He brought a hand up to the dozing lion's face, fingers close but not quite touching. Gently, he moved a strand of hair away.
Leona was, for the lack of better words, handsome. Very handsome actually. Which was something coming from Silver who had grew up among quite the handsome faces.
Leona's beauty was vastly different from Malleus'. Malleus was like the cold breeze on a winter morning, when the fog had yet to dissipate and revel the trees within. He had once overheard his year mates call him an 'unapproachable beauty'. It was fitting, he thought, though Silver never found Malleus unapproachable in any way. The fae had played a part in raising him after all.
Leona, on the other hand, felt like the sun. A setting sun. Beautiful and breathtaking. Silver was always reminded of the sunset back in his little cottage when looking at the beastman, a sight he could never take his eyes off of. No matter how often he saw it.
Both princes. Yet why did they feel so vastly different?
(Silver had tried asking Leona that once. The older man glared daggers at him until his drowsiness took over him. Silver woke up wrapped in his arms later, trapped in sweat and heat. Leona didn't loosen his grip until Silver almost dozed off again.)
Silver moved his finger, trailing from the nose bridge to the scar over Leona's eyes. He still didn't know how Leona got it.
The first—and only time he had questioned him about it, still during the first stages of their friendship, Leona's face got terribly sour and Silver was ignored for the next two hours.
(Trapped in Leona's arms as well. It was his luck that it wasn't particularly hot that day)
His finger moved lower, touching the long lashes this time. Leona's lashes were long, thick and darker than his own. He once heard the Pomefiore mumbled about how unfair it was that Leona's eyelashes were this beautiful. He agreed wholeheartedly.
Often times, when they would be laying together and Silver would feel a sleep spell coming, he would start counting the other man's lashes. A futile attempt at staying awake.
It never worked. It always ended with him falling asleep before reaching fifty or Leona realizing, pulling him close, and 'scold' him for wasting time.
(Every time, he would wake up still in Leona's arms. Sometimes the beastman would be asleep. Sometimes he would be looking down at him. Emerald eyes filled with a dangerous glint, one Silver often saw in a predator's eyes moments before it pounced on it's prey.)
His finger moved again. Lower and lower until it arrived at Leona's lips.
"…"
As if jolted by electricity, Silver withdrew his hand from Leona's face, turned towards the starry sky and felt his heart thump in his chest. It almost felt like a routine at this point. He could never truly appreciate Leona's beauty without his heart suddenly acting up. It was like a disease.
'Lovesickness', as his old man put it. Though Silver had no idea what it had to do with love
As Silver tried to calm his heart down, a raspy voice called out to him.
"Had your fun already?"
Silver's head snapped towards Leona, who was now looking at him with half lidded eyes.
"You are awake." Silver said, matter of factually.
"Hard to stay asleep when someone's starrin' dagger at me."
"oh." Silver realized. "I woke you up?"
"Sure did."
"I'm sorry."
A moment of silence fell between them. Leona seemed less than inclined to talk today. So Silver decide to take on the duty of speaking today.
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh wow, Now I can't even sleep at my spot?"
"…" Silver blinked, that's not what he meant.
"…It just feels like I'm waking up beside you more and more often recently…"
At his words, Leona's lips curled into a smirk, the strange predatory glint reappearing in his eyes.
"You sleep wherever you please, stare whenever you please, touch as you please…" Leona brought his hand towards Silver's face, sharp fingernail pressing on the bridge of the younger man's nose. Leona's moves mirrored Silver's, only lacking the hesitation and gentleness.
The nail drags to his cheek.
"You seem to forget who I am."
"…"
How could he forget? And that's what made it worse. The fact that he couldn't control himself was shameful. Royalty was owed respect and Silver had shown none to Leona. His aurora eyes dulled with guilt at the realization.
The nail continued to drag, stopping at his chin. Silver involuntary let out a hiss as Leona forced his face up.
"You deserve punishment for that, don't you?"
The pressure on his chin increased when he nodded.
Leona's smirk widened as he slowly removed his hand from Silver's face. Instead, he quickly gripped the other student's blazer and gave an upward push.
Silver felt himself be lifted up, turned on his stomach and dropped on a layer of hard muscle, arms wrapping around his waist. The shock only lasted a few seconds.
"…"
It took him a few seconds to realize that he was trapped in Leona's arms.
Again.
"Stop squirmin'."
Silver stopped moving and tried his best to be as still as possible. He waited for a moment before speaking.
"Are you going back to sleep?"
Silence. It was Leona's way of saying yes. Silver was unsure whether or not to feel concerned. He knew Leona held fondness towards sleeping. But recently, he was seeing Leona every time he woke up from an accidental nap. It used to only happen at the botanical garden but now, it was extended to even other secluded places.
By any chance…
A squeeze on his waist brought him back to reality.
"Stop."
so Silver did. opting to instead focus on the steady rhythm of the beastman's heartbeats.
and eventually, he dozed off too.