fire flower; leopold vermillion x oc [Black Clover]

Chapter 16: Apology

Right before Mari's second entry under Day Seven, Infirmary:

I lie on my cot underneath the filtered, tinted light of the infirmary. Today has been nice and quiet; four days from when Leopold tried to burst in here, his vermilion hair sticking out in the scuffle. What was he thinking?! Moron... You can't just barge into the infirmary, even if you're Captain Fuegoleon's brother. But what bothers me the most was the way he shouted "I need to see her!" Something in his voice reeked of concern and apologies; it made my stomach fluttery.

I rub my eyes, the coldness of my palms knocking some sense into me. Whatever. I don't care about him. He doesn't even like me as a friend. He was willing to bargain my feelings for some fake treasure! Pride and his own skin are all that matter to him.

Blinking out the fuzzy spots in my eyes, I stare at the ceiling. I don't have the luxury to daydream about him. I need to get back in shape, and I need those stars!

I rub my eyes again, hoping I'll feel more awake. When I lower my hands, I'm met with a dreaded shade of vermilion peeking out on the right side of my cot.

"Leopold, what are you doing?" I say with an exasperated sigh. But my heart twists and my stomach pulls itself in awkward directions as I lean to the side to get a better look at him..

"Shh." He puts his finger to his lips. "The healing wizards can't find out I'm here."

"You can't just sneak into the infirmary! You're disturbing the other patients!" I protest.

He looks around and turns back to me. "Seems like they're all asleep, so it shouldn't be a big deal." He flashes a toothy grin, and my heartbeat quickens just the tiniest bit.

"Look," he continues, "I just wanted to make sure you were fine. Those wounds were pretty bad." His face twists a little, but then it's gone, and he keeps on talking. "I'm sure you want to know what happened, right?"

He's got me there. I nod my head, but tentatively. I get the feeling that Leopold didn't just frolic in and ask the Moon Shade organization to kindly turn themselves in.

"I captured them. I took out their base and all of their members." He looks down at his hands, and I see that his fingers are trembling. "Mari... what they did to you..."

"It's fine. It's my fault for falling for such a simple trap. I'm glad that you got me out," I say, a smile flitting across my face.

"No!" His voice reverberates through the infirmary. I shoot him a look and he mumbles something like an apology. "No... it shouldn't have happened. I called you out there, I left you vulnerable, it's my fault."

I'm about to respond when I hear the thundering footsteps of the healing wizards. Leopold curses under his breath and leaps to his feet. What an idiot, couldn't even keep quiet for five minutes.

Then, it happens in a split second. He takes my head with his hands and gives me a kiss right on the forehead.

"An apology," he mumbles, his face turning as red as mine, before he races off sprints out of the infirmary door.

The angry ramblings of the healing wizards are drowned out by the beating in my heart as I hesitantly touch my forehead. I can still feel his kiss on my skin, still feel the gentle hold of his hands.

Confusion and shock threaten to overspill, so I frantically grab my journal and scribble what I can down. It's just an apology, Mari. But why would he do something like that as an apology?! It doesn't make sense! Stupid Leopold! Why did you have to do that?!

Yet through it all, I raise my hand to my forehead one more time, and I smile.