I have a bit of an obsession with throwing backstory details into everything I write. I hope that’s not too much of an issue!
-- Mod Spitz
▷ Malleus and Leona finding out they’re both romantically interested in Reader
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▷▷ Malleus Draconia
Malleus didn’t want to get involved in the rivalry Leona tried to force upon him. As an heir to the throne, numerous items on his priority list outweighed the bitter second-born prince who sought to project his troubles onto him. That was until he met you.
From your fated encounter that autumn night, something about you had struck him. It had been so long since he met someone that didn’t immediately cower in fear in his presence or throw themselves pathetically at his feet. You saw him as you saw anyone else, and he never realized how desperately he sought after such a connection.
Needless to say, he quickly grew fond of you and your accompaniment. He found himself eagerly awaiting your chance encounters outside the Ramshackle Dorm, but with each passing night, the space between your meetings felt agonizingly long even for a being as ancient as him. He didn’t quite know or understand what drew him to you so desperately--maybe he was lonelier than he thought--but he began to seek you out during the day between class periods.
From across the courtyard, he saw you, a growing flutter in his chest that he found annoyingly persistent. With a call of your name, his eyes met with yours. And then they met with those of the beastman that stood before you.
▷▷ Leona Kingscholar
Recalling your first impression with the lion prince, it seemed a miracle you two ended up so close. In the beginning, Leona was inconsiderate at best and antagonistic at worst, leaving you with little interest in befriending him. Yet during your brief stay following your eviction from the Ramshackle Dorm, you began to see him in a kinder light. Maybe it was your mind’s attempt at adding a silver lining to a rather miserable situation, but even after you returned home--or rather your "home" in Twisted Wonderland--the feeling persisted. Leona was most definitely being nicer to you.
Unbeknownst to you, Leona had developed quite a respect towards you. Your quick tongue and assertive nature attracted his interest, and before he realized it, your paths regularly crossed during the day.
Ruggie, a third wheel to many of these encounters, held his tongue each time Leona stopped you mid-transit for brief conversation, proceeding to then cackle hysterically once you were out of earshot. While Leona adamantly denied his underclassman’s teasing, he couldn’t stay away from you. He wanted to brush it off as simple amusement, but as he found himself pondering the faintest details of your face while sinking into his daily nap, he had to admit defeat and realize he had feelings for you. Even he wasn’t that stubborn.
So, he persisted in following you--Ruggie's judgment be damned. It soon became a natural occurrence for him to stop you as you crossed the courtyard in the direction of your next class, and you happily welcomed the change of pace--as long as Leona remained civil. And the moment your name passed through his lips, you heard it once more echoing from behind you. Oh, it’s Tsunotarou!
▷▷ Malleus & Leona
Neither Leona nor Malleus were stupid. The moment they locked glares they understood the situation. It seemed both had taken a fancy to you, and by the way your eyes darted curiously between the two posturing men, you were clueless.
Feeling an uneasy tension and the looming threat of tardiness, you politely dismissed yourself and scurried away. Little did you know that the coming weeks would be quite..interesting to say the least.
Malleus and Leona's appearances in your daily routine sharply increased, oftentimes overlapping and resulting in aggression-laced exchanges through grit teeth.
While it wasn't uncommon for electricity to spark through the air when Leona and Malleus' paths crossed, the amount in which Malleus more overtly struck back at the other was startling even for his guardian and subordinates.
Each would find excuses to monopolize your time, attempting to whisk you away while the other was preoccupied. This often worked in Leona's favor during the day, as he made a habit of skipping his classes anyways, but Malleus had the benefit of taking your full attention at night as he waited for you outside the Ramshackle Dorm.
While not wanting to be off-putting, they both made their fair share of physical passes, trying subtle things like "accidentally" brushing their hands against yours or "coincidentally" finding your legs pressed against one another as you sat together.
It was obvious to everyone but you what was going on, and with their pride preventing them from properly asking you to be their lover, it appeared there would continue to be an endless barrage of attempts at your favor until you finally fell for them. But, in the meantime, spending your free hours with two attractive yet pathetically desperate men wasn’t the worst situation to be in.










