━━━ leona loves the boy in the garden ♡ fluff, bit angsty, pining, book 2 and 3 mentions, leona is a little insecure and pining hard, male reader, lowercase intended, more lore for reader (wow/s), 3308 words
the book leona borrowed from you (and still had yet to give back) began by saying the language of flowers and plants are beautiful, and then it'd go on to list some flowers and their meanings. amaryllis meaning pride; aster is a symbol of love and even daintiness; calla lilies mean beauty. one of those flowers listed is the white carnation, also one of the flowers you had given leona. the white carnation has quite a few meanings, but they all lead to the same thing nonetheless: sweet, innocent love.
if you move through the book a few pages, you'll find the salvia. it goes on to list colors on the flower having their own meanings. the blue salvia has a meaning you've always thought to be more beautiful than the red; i think of you. it was that flower that you gave to leona because it was true, you think about him. he was on your mind even when he laid next to you as you tended to the flowers. he was always there in your thoughts even when you needed to be focused on your task at hand. he owned your mind even though he was completely unaware of it.
and of course, the chrysanthemum; the red chrysanthemum. it was your favorite flower in the way you hated it so much. you told yourself you'd never own another, you'd never plant another, and yet you did anyways. because it was a flower you knew would get your feelings across exactly for its meaning was simple and straightforward; i love you. the same thing you'd only ever wished your mother had told you before she sent you off to live with your aunt. the words your mother told you she'd never utter as you were the reason, she let the magic consume and fog her mind. the words you'd hoped to tell leona yourself even with the flowers in your hands.
i love you, leona. i love you.
but you could not, not when leona hadn't come to the botanical garden for what you realized was half a month. you understood, of course, and it was bad timing on your part. all the dorms, including your own, were busy with preparing for spelldrive. and then there was the mysterious injuries that began to take some of the best players in every dorm by swarm. so, of course, leona was busy and probably couldn't come around to the garden as much as you wished he could. (because you'd admit, you missed seeing him.) so you opted to pay him a visit at his dorm, which quickly changed to just leaving ruggie to deliver your flowers to the prince in hopes that he understood exactly what those flowers meant and what you were trying to say. (he had your book on the meaning of flowers for months then, so you assumed he must at least know some of the meanings for the flowers.)
you paid him a visit a few more times after that but was quickly shooed away by ruggie who always had an excuse. you just wanted a response; because whether it was rejection or not, you needed him to tell you face-to-face. maybe then, you'd finally be able to get over the unfamiliar racing of your heart and the constant thoughts that centered around him.
if leona wanted to talk to you, he knew where to find you. and if he didn't, then you'd just track him down after spelldrive and force him to give you an answer because you didn't like how unfamiliar it was to be waiting so anxiously for a response.
however, what you didn't expect, was to have the prefect from another world suddenly approach your dorm and request the help of your housewarden to stop the culprit behind the mysterious injuries; leona. being a part of heartslabyul, you were expected to aid in the plan as well; you didn't protest, even when you were faced with the feeling of a pit in your stomach and a tightness in your chest as the realization that the man you were in love with was the reason one of your dormmates was injured. (but you still loved him even when that thought was almost painful.)
it was a surprise, to confront the lion and have him admit what he and ruggie were doing. but it was even more of a surprise when you recognized the obvious signs of building blot (something you were all too familiar with even before riddle). watching as ruggie struggled to breath as sand picked up and the air became thin with the grains. leona's signature spell was powerful; you knew that from the time you once asked him about it during your conversations in the botanical garden. you could start to see the effects it began to have on those around you, including yourself. breathing growing short and bit of panic rising in your chest.
but for the lion, leona could never forget the way you looked at him as you wrapped an arm around ruggie and pulled him away. you coughed under the effects of his spell, eyes wide as you stared up at him and━ oh, were you scared of him? the fear in your eyes would probably be unrecognizable to those who couldn't read you, but leona noticed it, and amongst the blot that began to take over, he felt his own self crumble at thought that you were scared of him. (if only he knew it wasn't fear of him, but for him.)
you managed to stop leona just before the blot could consume him whole, much to your relief. and as the blot that took form behind leona released him, you were the only one quick to rush forward to catch him just before the prince could hit the ground. and as he lay unconscious, you held him, so carefully, as if he was another one of your flowers in your garden.
and while ruggie didn't understand flowers, and he didn't understand you or leona, he understood, in that moment, as he watched you hold leona until he regained consciousness, that you loved the prince.
leona was avoiding you. he knew that, ruggie knew that, you knew that.
leona was avoiding you and he didn't understand why. ━ okay, that's a lie, he knew exactly why. it's because he (and his pride would never admit it) was scared. scared, because after his overblot, he didn't know what you wanted nor how you felt, and he didn't want to face it either. he doesn't think he could handle a rejection from you of all people.
ruggie has voiced his disappointment of the lion on several occasions, not happy that he was sending you away every time you tried to see the prince because leona was too much of a coward to face you. ruggie's had to come up with excuse after excuse just to send you off, and he's running out of reasonable excuses, and he knows you've realized. and while he's said this to leona a number of times, leona still refuses to face you. at one point, ruggie was desperate enough to drag a confused jack over to try and get him to move from his bed.
jack sighed, standing at leona's bedside and apologizing to ruggie, as it was obvious the lion had no intention of moving to go talk to garden boy as ruggie called you. the freshman didn't understand what was going on nor why leona had to talk to the gardener of the botanical garden, but it was obviously important if ruggie was trying so hard to force the lion out of bed.
ruggie groaned, "come on, leona! talk to him!"
leona didn't reply verbally, but the annoyed flick of his tail as he turned his back to the two told them what he was thinking.
"coward." ruggie glared, arms crossed over his chest as an awkward jack stood next to him, a bit caught off guard by the sudden insult thrown towards their housewarden. when ruggie still gained no response, the hyena scoffed, turning away to stomp off, to which jack followed. but ruggie made sure to add just before he shut the door behind him, "i'm not turning him away again!"
leona scoffed, tail flicking aggressively as he stared at the three flowers in a vase, set safely on his desk. (because while he may be avoiding you, the flowers were once a confession, and he preferred to have that if he couldn't have you.)
everyone has a point where their patience dries, and they can no longer find themselves able to wait for something or someone. and for you, a rather stoic and otherwise patient person, it may take a while before you reach that point, but even you have that moment where you no longer find yourself able to sit still. (and your patience was strong because it had been a month since you last seen him.)
your patience just so happened to run out while at an unbirthday party. you had been in a conversation with trey regarding the science club (and rook's extravagant need to cause poor trey issues by almost blowing up the lab), when you overheard deuce and ace talking. you nodded at whatever trey was saying, but your mind was on the freshman's conversation as you heard them mention savanaclaw and leona.
you learned then that the prefect and grim found themselves staying at savanaclaw because the prefect had signed a contract with azul, putting their dorm on the line because they were trying to get ace, deuce, and grim's freedom back after they had been stupid enough to sign a contract with azul in the first place.
you felt frustration build, grip tightening dangerously on the teacup in your hand and eyes narrowing on the treats in the center of the table. trey noticed your silence, stopping to stare at you as your mood took an uncharacteristic turn. he was caught off guard, after his years of knowing you since you guys met in your first year at nrc, you had never been this expressive, and he couldn't understand what caused the sudden turn in mood (it's not like he knew it was because you overheard the freshman's conversation, nor why that would make you upset.) even if it was a small change in your character, it was enough to cause him concern.
"[name]?" he called.
you blinked, relaxing your grip on your teacup and turning to him with a hum, "yes?"
his brows furrowed, "are you okay?"
you tilted your head, "of course. why do you ask?"
"well━" trey sighed, "nevermind." (he's long since learned you can't be read or understood so easily.)
you nodded, leaning back in your chair and grabbing a treat from the table, biting into it slowly as you stared off in thought, feeling the frustration bubble in your chest again.
you weren't upset because the prefect was staying with leona ━ far from it, actually. you respected the prefect; you fought alongside them twice now. and they often paid you visits at the botanical garden, telling you they enjoyed coming because you made the garden peaceful and it gave them a break from the chaos, (even you were flattered by their words). they were nice and had admittedly become a friend to you.
rather, you were upset because they only mentioned leona. after a month of being turned away by ruggie and hoping for the prince to turn up at the garden, the very mention of leona caused frustration to build and patience to dry.
you were tired of waiting.
you sighed loudly, setting your cup on the table and standing from your seat. you turned to trey, who watched you curiously. with a rather forced calm tone in your voice, you said; "i just remembered i have to take care of something in the botanical garden. it's important. tell riddle i'm sorry."
trey could only nod in his confusion as he watched you take your leave from the maze. it wasn't like you to forget anything regarding plants, let alone the botanical garden. perhaps he'll ask you later, you do seem to be in a hurry.
you didn't stop for anything on your way to savanaclaw; not when cater tried to ask you where you were going and not when you almost ran into a very confused periwinkle-haired boy upon exiting heartslabyul. you didn't care about the odd looks you received from the students as you entered savanaclaw's mirror, and you had no intention of turning away when you spotted ruggie and jack.
ruggie noticed you quickly, looking a little tense as he seen the out-of-character expression of frustration on your face. when you approached him and the freshman he was talking to, he didn't bother to come up with an excuse (besides, he did warn leona). he pointed over his shoulder and nodded, "i'll show you to his room."
you nodded in return, pleased with his response, "thank you." you glanced at the wolf beastman staring at the two of you in confusion, "sorry to interrupt, jack."
"oh, it's fine." he waved off with a tilt of his head, watching as ruggie led you into the dorm building.
when you reached leona's dorm room, you could hear the familiar sound of a complaining grim. you didn't wait as you immediately pushed the door open, and right away did your eyes meet familiar green (an emerald color that you've always found so pretty to look at).
leona tensed, his grip on the monster's neck loosening. he stared at you, silent as you narrowed your eyes on him. the lion was at a loss as he noticed the frown on your lips and the tilt in your brow. (are you angry? at him? perhaps he should've listened to ruggie.)
the prefect caught onto the tension pretty quickly, grabbing grim, who was about to start complaining again, and quickly approaching ruggie, who was standing behind you in the doorway. you moved out of the way to allow them to pass, yet you remained glaring at leona, who was oddly quiet in the presence of you. the door shut behind you after their exit and the silence between the two of you seemed to thicken.
that is, until your familiar monotone broke it, "you're avoiding me." you stated, taking a step towards the prince. you hardly gave him a moment to respond other than the sound of what might've been the beginning of no, before you continued. "why are you avoiding me?"
leona scoffed (the only noise he could make, as he was unable to muster a response now that he was faced with the boy he had fallen in love with. the boy he had been avoiding because he was under the belief that your feelings had changed after his overblot.)
"leona," you said, rather sternly. (and he liked when you said his name, even if the situation for it wasn't ideal.) "why are you avoiding me? it's been over a month, why━" you went quiet, as if you had lost a bit of your nerve. or perhaps, you were just struck by a thought. you tilted your head and sighed through your nose, "if this is your form of rejection, it's terrible. i'd prefer you'd do it person instead of avoiding me. maybe then i'd feel better, because it... hurts."
oh.
you had gotten closer, your eyes still refusing to leave his even when it became obvious that he was uncomfortable under the sudden interrogation. "why are you avoiding me, leona?"
"i'm not avoiding you." he scowled, believing that would help sell his excuse.
it was your turn to scoff (and he must've noticed how you were so much more expressive around him. how could he not?) "if that's true, then why have you not been to the botanical garden? why have we not had our common banters and conversations? why do you have ruggie send me away with ridiculous excuses? what could possibly excuse this as anything but you avoiding me?"
you waited, expecting an answer from the lion. but leona could say nothing, he couldn't find an excuse that would make sense with his behavior. he was avoiding you; it was that simple.
you sighed, expression relaxing back into its usual monotonous state, finally tearing your eyes away from his. you were quiet as you stared off to the side, and leona still found himself unable to say anything. (did this mean you still held the same feelings for him? had he not driven you away?)
"reject me."
what?
"what?" leona asked, almost harshly.
you looked back at him, head tilting as you repeated your words, "reject me and i'll leave you alone. i'd feel better if you rejected me now, to my face, then continue to avoid me. reject me." you were stern and stoic as you spoke, but leona still noticed how you clenched your dorm uniform in your fists, and how your eyes were staring to gloss the more you spoke. "tell me my feelings are unrequited. that the flowers were thrown away and that you didn't enjoy the time we spent in the botanical garden. reject me."
leona knew it wasn't fair for him to feel angry at your words. he's the reason you're standing in front of him, asking the prince to reject you since that did seem to be the impression he gave after avoiding you for so long. yet he couldn't help but glare at you, who remained unwavering as you stared right back at him, eyes glossed with unshed tears the longer you waited.
leona knew he shouldn't find you so wonderful to look at, even as the air around you was thick in tension and the tightness in your chests were unknowingly shared between the two of you. you always managed to look amazing to him, even now, and even when you were covered in dirt after tending to the botanical garden.
he shifted in place and your eyes caught sight of familiar colors almost hidden behind the rectangular lamp on his desk. blue salvia, white carnation, and red chrysanthemum.
you sighed, relieved as you met his eyes again. yet more firm in your next words. "you can't, can you?"
"why are you even here?" leona couldn't help but ask, scowling at you (fake, you could tell).
"because i love you." you answered, simple and straightforward, like the red chrysanthemum. leona faltered in his persona, the forced scowl on his face turning into that of a frown, ears twitching as he searched your face. (for what, he didn't know.) you shook your head, eyes flickering between his own, frowning at him in return, "have you really not realized that? i love you ━ even after you've avoided me. i don't think my feelings even faltered. they're stronger now."
you raised a hand towards his face, but paused, "i was scared, you know?" leona glanced between you and your hand, the unfamiliar racing of his heart so loud he wondered if you heard it. "i thought we wouldn't be able to save you. i though i'd lose you."
your hand was on his face now, fingers gentle as you traced his cheek, and leona had to refrain from leaning into you. this was new. the feelings you stirred in him was new, but he didn't reject it; he couldn't, not when he began to rely on them while he was avoiding you.
"please, leona," you said, rather softly, expression gentle compared to the monotone expression you always carried around anyone else. "let me love you."
leona knows he's fallen in love with the boy from the garden, and he knows now, that he loves him too.
pt2. i actually really like how this turned out although this wasn't exatly my vision lol.
i think leona is a neat character to write for. he's seen as lazy and prideful (and yeah, he is) but a lot of the time, people fail to realize that that isn't his whole person.
he's the second born in a royal family, and that itself is reason enough to not be the biggest fan of his status. the second is always seen as second best because their older sibling, is well, older. they're the one taking the throne and what is the second born going to do? nothing, because they can't have the throne after the first born, that goes to the first's born child once they step down.
he spent his whole life being looked down on by the servants in his own kingdom because he just didn't fit up to expectations. he would hear everything, all the whispers and the insults, yet he did nothing except take it. and naturally that would make anyone feel insecure. i know i would if i was in his place; hearing people whisper about me being nothing compared to my older brother?? that's harsh, especially since he was still a child while hearing all this. what do you think all those harsh words will do to a child's psyche? absolutely destroy it.
so yeah, i think he's insecure. his entire life and talent is seen as second best; even in nrc when standing alongside the heir of briar alley he still isn't first. so of course, that would fuck with someone's already shaky psyche of viewing yourself as nothing more than second place. i also think this really plays into why he's still in nrc despite being intelligent and magically talented. riddle couldn't collar him because his magic was so strong and he's as cunning as he is smart so that begs the question why hasn't he graduated? i think it's because he doesn't want to go home any more than he already has to when it comes to holiday breaks or when cheka pays him visits. he'd rather stay in nrc, where he can keep up appearances and avoid hearing the whispers in the hall. (and plus, they already look down on him, what's failing a few years going to do? it can't get any worse.)
so when it comes to gaining romantic feelings for someone and someone gaining romantic feelings for him, i don't think he'd know what to do. in his mind he's second place, that's all he'll ever be, yet he entertains the thought of being someone's first choice. and when he is, he's unsure. can he really be someone's first choice? can he really be seen as anything more than the second-best category he spent his whole life in?
it's why i wrote the reader the way i did. he loves leona and he's willing to prove that to him by pushing past his own trauma to show leona that "yes, i love you. i pick you. i want you." and leona doesn't know how to react to this to confession so he chooses to avoid him, scared he's seen he's never someone's first and that the reader's feelings have changed. but when the reader shows up in front of him, showing a part of himself that he's never shown to anyone else and admitting to leona that his feelings haven't changed and he's still in love with him, probably even more despite leona avoiding him, leona has to accept that reader chose him, that he loves him.
in other words, i just think he's neat.
i'm done rambling now lol :")