Royal Pride (Leona Kingscholar/Yuu)

34 ~ I'm So Deeply In Love With You

Yuu headed for the gate, feeling nervous about her outfit choice. She should've gotten it checked by Vil before she took off, but it was too late now. It was pretty obvious he was planning on taking her out, but she didn't know what exactly they were doing, and that was worrisome.

Ruggie had mentioned that they would probably be doing a bit of walking, so she'd worn her comfiest shoes, but she was worried she'd be underdressed. Or overdressed. She'd dressed in a way she'd felt nice in, but couldn't help but wonder if she should've dressed more fancy.

She snuck up behind Leona, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Boo!" He let out a fake laugh. "I'm shaking in my boots."

Yuu tugged at her sleeves nervously. "So..?"

Leona ran a hand through his hair, reaching into his pocket as he said, "I remember one time you mentioned that your ideal date would be at an amusement park, so..." He held out two tickets, embarrassedly glancing to the side. "Would you like to go on a date with me?"

She felt like Cupid had shot her straight through the heart, and she was perfectly happy with it. "Of course," she said cheerily, taking one of the tickets and linking their arms together.

They rode on a broomstick to their destination, Leona at the front and Yuu behind, arms wrapped around his waist. He apologized for not having something more "romantic or whatever" (his exact words), but it was their fastest mode of transportation.

"I'm actually enjoying the ride," Yuu remarked, watching as the scenery below them whipped past. Leona let out a low chuckle. "Hope it's not more enjoyable than the park itself."

She smushed her face into his back. "Thanks for taking me out."

"What're you thanking me for? I'm not doing you a favor. I wanna be here, too."

"I can hear you blushing," she answered, poking fun at him. He went silent and she laughed, feeling exhilarated by the high speeds and the cold wind.

At last, they landed and entered the amusement park. It was pretty empty, probably because it was a school day in the middle of November.

"What do you wanna do first?" They both asked at the same time. "You first," Leona said. "No, you," Yuu countered.

"I'm taking you out, so you first," Leona argued. She pinched his cheeks. "Fiiine~ How do you feel about roller coasters?"

He shrugged. "M'kay, let's go find a good one." As they walked, Yuu wrapped her arms around his neck loosely and floated behind him. Lilia had recently been teaching her how to float ever since she discovered her ability to, and she much preferred it to walking.

They spent the first part of their date going on roller coasters. Yuu was a little disappointed that Leona didn't have a huge irrational fear of them that she could ridicule him about, but it was good to know that he was enjoying their date.

After that, they took a quick break to go get food, sitting down at a table with an umbrella above it. The sky was already starting to get darker, much to Yuu's disappointment.

"What're you making that face for?" Leona asked. Yuu blinked a few times; her expression must've shown on her face.

"Ah... I was just thinking that it's getting dark, but I still wanna stay out."

He swallowed what he was chewing before asking "Are your parents here?"

"Huh?"

"Who cares if we stay out late? We literally can do whatever we want. We're both adults, yeah? Might wanna let one of your dorm friends know where you are just 'cause of everything that's happened lately, but that's it. There's hardly any enforcement on our curfew, anyway."

A smile rose to Yuu's face. "Thanks for the reminder," she said, taking his pinky in hers.

They then headed for the carnival games. "Which one do you want?" Leona asked, nodding towards the different jumbo prizes. She laughed and went over to the darts game, which was giving a lion plushie as a prize.

Yuu pointed to the angry-looking lion. "I want that one, it looks just like you!" She started laughing as Leona pressed a hand over her face while getting darts from the person manning the stall.

They both knew that Yuu was just as capable as him and could win the prize herself—just needed a bit of wind magic—but the gesture was sweet and romantic and it made Yuu happy to know that Leona wanted to make her happy.

"Now, which one do you want?" She asked after he won her the angry, dark-maned lion. He glanced around a bit before pointing his thumb at a cat who had a similar color palette to Yuu. "That one there that looks like you."

She smiled, linking their arms together as they walked towards the stand he was pointing to. "Cats are carnivores," she commented.

"I was looking around for omnivorous animals, but this cat looks too much like you to pass up," he laughed. "You've finally made it above the herbivores."

It was a simple game—toss the ping pong ball into the cup—that once again, Yuu won by using a slight, hardly noticeable amount of wind magic.

After perusing the fair a bit more, going on a few more rides, playing a few more games, and getting a few more snacks, the two ended up in line for the Ferris Wheel.

Yuu took a bite of Leona's cotton candy, but he didn't say anything about it. She could tell that he was planning to confess on the wheel—not to get ahead of herself, but it was obvious. His entire demeanor had changed and he was much stiffer.

They finally made it to the front of the line and sat on the same side of the compartment. "I had a lot of fun today," Yuu said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, me too," he said distractedly, staring off towards nothing in particular.

She took his hand and kissed one of his knuckles gently. "Don't go getting cold feet now," she teased, though she kept her tone soft to reassure him.

Leona groaned loudly. "This isn't supposed to be hard!" She let out a laugh. "Of course it is. Even if you know the outcome, you're still nervous. Don't worry, take your time."

"...Yuu," he spoke at long last. She smiled at him, urging him to go on. "You've become so important to me. I... can't imagine living without you anymore. Everything about you is so captivating. I always find myself thinking about you, so much that I can't remember what I even did with my free time before I met you."

Leona paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts before making direct eye contact with her. "I'm so deeply in love with you, Yuu. I know I've hurt you a lot in the past. But even so..."

His cheeks were a dark shade of crimson as he moved the back of her hand to his lips, speaking against them.

"Will you give me the honor of being your boyfriend?"