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A loud yawn echoed through the halls, quietly accompanied by exhausted footsteps. After seemingly hours, Leona could finally return to his sanctuary and sleep like the dead.
He loved, cared about tolerated his dormmates, but he couldn't bring himself to pretend anymore.
Pretend that he actually cared about his birthday.
Pretend that memories of celebrations past didn't haunt him.
Pretend that, for one day, he wasn't exhausted.
Before he even noticed, his door stood in front of him. And on the other side, faint yet familiar voices argued over something stupid. Chuckling, Leona opened it, a smirk tugging at his lips. "So this is where you all disappeared off to." His three boyfriends, all of which were in pajamas, looked over.
Vil rolled his eyes, settling back into bed with a playful smile. His fingers slowly ran through Idia's hair, the sight practically hypnotic. "Finally, you lazy housecat," The actor sighed, "We've been waiting hours for you."
Idia's eyes flickered open, clearly comfortable with his head resting on the blond's chest. He hummed in agreement as he patted the barely open spot to his left. "Change out of that celebratory skin and reset your HP with us."
Malleus smirked, laying on the other side of their introverted boyfriend. One hand held a book, one of Leona's favorites, while the other played with tips of flaming blue hair. "We wanted to give you something special, Kingscholar." He stated, his voice as soft as the late night rain.
Leona's smirk slowly grew into a grin as he stepped inside, his attention solely on them. "Hours? It barely ended ten minutes ago, and you idiots left thirty minutes before that." He teased as he changed into more comfortable clothes. As he strolled towards the restroom, leaving the door open, the lion beastman added on, "And I thought you already gave me your gifts at the party?"
"We did. We just figured it would be better to give you this one in private, Leona." Vil answered.
A few moments later, he joined them in bed, taking up the last of the space. Slipping a hand under and around Idia, Leona rested his head on Malleus's lap. The dragon fae set the book down and lazily played with his hair with a soft hum. As he relaxed, the Savanaclaw Housewarden pulled the Ignihyde Housewarden closer, earning quiet grumbles. "Why'd you pull me away from Vil-shii? My HP was finally recovering from the mandatory torture and NPCs."
He chuckled as Vil moved closer, teasing their introverted boyfriend as he continued his actions. Idia relaxed once more, melting under their touches.
"So what's the extra gift you idiots were talking about?" Leona murmured, nuzzling Idia's neck. He watched in quiet amusement as the three of them wordlessly argued over who would give it to him. A minute or so later, Idia slipped out of his grasp, grumbling under his breath as he crawled off of the bed. Vil leaned over and pressed a soft kiss against his lips. A faint smile grew as Leona leaned into it, cupping the actor's cheek. Their lips moved lazily against each other's, content in the moment.
As they pulled away for air, he soon found his lips captured by his fellow prince's. "Needy Lizard…" He teased between kisses, his other hand slipping into the raven black locks. Malleus smiled into the kiss, his hand now resting on his cheek. Leona, too distracted by the kiss, didn't even notice the dip in the bed and how it moved closer.
Soft pink flickering soon gained his attention, pulling away with a smug smirk. Idia's hair, usually a blue as bright as a saphire, was now the same shade as strawberry cream. He held something in his lap. However, he couldn't tell what it was. All that was obvious was that it was small enough to be hidden so easily. The surprise gift could wait a few more moments though.
"Can't forget about you, Radish Sprout." Leona mumbled, sitting up, before kissing him. He felt him stiffen for just a moment before relaxing. The lion beastman's hands settled just above the tech genius's hips, holding their bodies close. His smirk grew with the sudden pressure of Idia's free hand on his chest. "Wait… No more friendly fire… W-We need to pause t-this event and give our g-gift." He muttered, begrudingly ending the kiss.
Leona didn't necessarily forget about the gift's existence, but kissing his boyfriends sounded just a bit better at the moment.
Sighing, he leaned back, his weight supported by a single arm while the other played with Idia's hair. "Let's get it over with then."
The latter, about to say something, leaned over just ever so slightly and rolled his eyes. "Malleus-shii, Vil-shii, stop the kissing CG and rejoin the party." The tech genius teased, a grin slowly growing. Leona turned just in time to see their boyfriends kiss each other one last time before pulling away completely. The Diasomnia Housewarden, smug and amused, reached for their more introverted boyfriend's hand and kissed the back of it. "Whatever you say, Shroud." The Pomefiore Housewarden rolled his eyes back, a coy smirk tugging at his lips as he did so. "As if you two weren't close to forgetting about the gift altogether during your time right now." He teased back.
As his hair turned a brighter pink, Leona chuckled, as well as the other two.
After a few moments, Malleus offered a suggestion. "Perhaps we should give him the gift now."
The other two wordlessly agreed. They moved just enough so that they faced him without moving completely. Leona sat up just a bit straighter, giving them his full attention. Without a moment's hesitation, the blue-flamed introvert pressed the gift into his hands.
His emerald green eyes flickered towards the gift, now in his hands. A small pouch, the fabric similar to leather, with four items about the size of a coin inside. His eyebrow raised slightly, looking closely at the three of them.
Malleus's expression held a sort of caring possession in the way his teeth just barely pierced his lips, clearly resisting the urge to hold him close and never let go.
Idia's contained a strange mixture of hope and resignation, as if he had already worked out a potential negative and positive outcome.
Vil's, despite having years of acting under his belt, betrayed the slightest hint of worry in the way his eyes darted between the gift and him.
But every single one of their gazes shared one emotion: love - the sort that warmed Leona's weary heart from just seeing it in their eyes and feeling it in their touches. And so with that, he slowly opened the small leather pouch. He tilted it down until four objects, light and cold, landed on his palm.
A promise ring, four to be exact. And simple as well. A thin gold band, each one with inlaid emeralds, malachite, amythysts, and topaz just a few sizes bigger than a grain of sand.
Leona was no idiot. He understood the implications of what these rings meant.
And it sent such an enjoyable rush through his veins.
Silently, he slipped his on. He watched as pure relief and elation creeped their ways into his soon-to-be fiances', boyfriends' expressions. And so, one by one, Leona slipped a ring onto their finger, pressing a gentle kiss on it before moving to the next. After placing the last one in it's rightful place, he raised his head and met their gazes. And for a few moments, no words were spoken.
A small smirk tugged at his lips. "Probably a good thing you gave me this in private." He chuckled with a teasing lilt.
Idia bit his inner cheek in an attempt to not laugh, muffled chortles slippling out.
Vil chuckled, his cheeks now holding a faint blush as his finger traced the ring.
Malleus laughed, the sound as soft as a pillow as he intertwined his fingers with Leona's.
As their loving laughter died down, a sort of calm settled in the room.
"Happy birthday, our treasure."
"… Thank you, my hearts."