Royal Pride (Leona Kingscholar/Yuu)

8 ~ Relationship Restored

Run.

All of her instincts were screaming at her to flee. Why? She knew that there was no point. She was going to stop avoiding him. She wanted to talk to him again. She missed him.

But her legs started moving on their own. After a moment of shock, staring up at him with wide eyes, she bolted through the mirror.

Why did she run? Why was a direct run-in with him so scary? Why—

"Yuu!"

Her legs froze at the sound of his voice, but her mind was still screaming, telling her to run. She realized that she was scared of how he might react after she started avoiding him for no reason. What if he didn't want to even see her anymore?

But the look on Leona's face was one she had never seen before. It was a look of mixed emotions, but also a look of vulnerability. There was something intimate about looking into his eyes at that moment—he definitely wouldn't let just anyone see him with this expression on his face.

He didn't say anything, just stared. Yuu knew that she would have to speak first, but she couldn't think of what to say. 'Why is it so hard to just talk to him? It's not like anything happened between us... I just pushed him away, and now I'm able to make it right.'

She turned around, unable to stare into his eyes and speak at the same time. "I'm... sorry," she started. She was still searching for what she wanted to say in her mind.

It seemed like it was out of nowhere when Yuu suddenly felt strong arms wrap around her. Any words that she had strung together in her head had disappeared, and she was certain that he could hear her thumping heart.

But then she realized that she could feel the hammering of his heart, too. And something about how fast it was felt comforting to her; it was a little reminder that they felt the same way about each other, something she still had a hard time wrapping her head around.

"Why are you running?" Leona asked in a husky voice, volume near a whisper. His arms loosened around her ever so slightly. "I'll respect it if you don't want to talk anymore, but... can I at least get a reason why?"

Her hand flew up to touch his arm gently. "I... you did nothing wrong. I've just been, just having a rough couple of days. I-I didn't really know how to handle some of the things that were going on with me..." It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie, either.

"But why avoid me specifically?" Leona whispered into her hair, his arms still firm around her.

'Everything he does makes me fall for him more and more.'

"I feel as though you know why," she said. There was no way Ruggie didn't give Leona the same treatment he gave her, constantly reminding her that Leona liked her. Leona had to know the reason.

He nuzzled his head slightly into the top of her head. "I can't say I do." His voice had a slightly playful twinge to it, and Yuu could tell that staying instead of running away was the right thing to do. They were back to repairing their relationship that she'd damaged.

She let out a quiet laugh. "I'm almost positive that you know why. And I know that it was an incredibly stupid thing to do, avoiding you, and I'm sorry. There really was no good reason."

"I'm glad it wasn't something I did," he exhaled. His tone sounded much brighter than it did at the beginning of their conversation. "But..." Yuu could feel him smirk as he spoke. "I still need to hear your reason~"

"Then..." Yuu took a couple of steps away from Leona and turned to face him, hands behind her back and a smile plastered on her face. "I guess you'll have to find out for yourself."