〖 ℜ 〗 It seemed as if a decade had passed since Hoshido won the war with Nohr in a rather gruesome way, something the king would have avoided if at all possible given how many innocent lives were taken and the lives of two royalty a brother and a sister forced into such a dreadful situation. Yet, there was nothing that could be done about it as that was in the past it was not like they could go back in time to fix it, besides there was no better way to stop Garon's tyrant reign the least Ryouma could do was visit the man who lost both siblings that day as Nohr's new king.
❛King Leon, how are you fairing this day?❜
To say this wasn't awkward would be a lie it always felt strange to try and converse with the Nohrian's whenever they visited for whatever reason, most of the time it was for negotiation but today it was merely meant to be a friendly matter. Yet, there was one thing Ryouma wished he did not have to suffer while visiting Nohr and that was the harsh cold brought about by a lack of sunlight, the winters were even worse with its whiteouts which just so happened to be taking place right now. The cold bit at the Hoshidan in the worse possible way, clearly displayed by how he tried to resist shivering visibly if there was one thing Ryouma had it was his ability to act like a stubborn mule even if he was caught in the act.
Leon had told himself that there was nothing he could get Takumi for his birthday that he wouldn’t like, and it was this thought, repeated again and again, that had convinced him to buy the other prince a Nohrian bow. The reason Leon had settled on a bow of all things was because, even though Takumi had the Fuujin Yumi, and many other yumi at his disposal, Leon had never seen him use a Nohrian bow, and thought he might enjoy learning how to use one. It shouldn’t have been too difficult for him, with how skilled he was in archery, but thought he would appreciate the opportunity anyway.
And yet, as he held said bow in his hands before leaving to find his lover, the worry he had tried so hard to expel came back in full force. Would Takumi even be happy to receive his gift? If he wanted to try Nohrian bows, he could have very easily gotten one himself, but he hadn’t. It didn’t cross Leon’s mind that Takumi might not have tried to learn before because he himself was worried, or that he didn’t want to stray from something he was comfortable with.
Forcing himself to appear calm when he caught sight of him, he approached Takumi, trying to conceal his present behind his back.
“Happy birthday, Takumi,” Leon said, a small smile on his lips as he brought the weapon forward and fought to keep the smile from faltering. “I know this isn’t much, but… I’m afraid after last year I couldn’t outdo myself. I thought you might enjoy the potential challenge that might come from using a Nohrian bow anyway, though, and this one is completely yours to train with as you see fit.”
And then, lowering his voice so no one nearby could possibly hear, he whispered, “I love you.”
IF THERE WAS ANYONE Takumi genuinely expected to gift him something he enjoyed, it was Leon. He wouldn’t have necessarily minded if Leon neglected to give him a gift at all, but regardless of what it was, he was positive he would enjoy it. While he wasn’t necessarily waiting for Leon to find him, he found it hard to keep his interest contained as the Nohrian prince strode toward him. It was all he could do not to stand on the tips of his toes and attempt to peer behind his back.
At Leon’s initial statement, Takumi gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Don’t worry. It’s not like I expected anything else like that. Thanks, though.” Last year, Leon’s present to him had been simple in appearance but grandiose in sentimentality, and he still cherished it dearly. Takumi didn’t expect anything quite so meaningful, but he was morbidly curious regardless. They knew each other well, and Takumi’s tastes weren’t exactly difficult to figure out in the first place.
Yet despite those factors, Leon still managed to catch him off guard with his gift as he revealed it. Takumi had never used a Nohrian bow before - he hadn’t so much as nocked an arrow with one, actually. Though known widely as an expert archer, Takumi feared that only applied to Hoshidan methods. His knowledge could easily be applied to Nohrian weapons, but he’d still never tried to do so. The only time he had handled a Nohrian bow was when he was passing one to its rightful wielder, or caring for weapons that needed a bit of improvement.
Turning the bow over in his hands, he examined its craftsmanship, noting how different it was from his Fuujin Yumi - or any yumi, for that matter. While he hadn’t had a chance to actually use a Nohrian bow before, he already knew they were of a different structure than the yumi he was so familiar with. They were more symmetrical and not as large, but just as effective. He was well aware that a weapon’s prowess was not based solely on itself, but on the soldier who wielded it - in that sense, a Nohrian bow should have, in theory, been just as useful to him as one of his yumi. While he often doubted his own skill, he at least knew his way around the battlefield as an archer. Whether he was truly as good as he appeared to be with the Fuujin Yumi was left up to debate on his eyes, but he did handle a bow and its arrows with ease.
Despite Leon’s low volume and how distracted he’d been by his thoughts, Takumi heard what he said, and he averted his gaze almost immediately, looking virtually everywhere except into his lover’s eyes. His face lit in a blush—one he reflexively tried to hide behind his sleeve—and he couldn’t fight the smile that crept upon his lips, either. How many times had they exchanged those words with one another? It had to have been countless by then, yet Takumi couldn’t grow tired of them; he doubted that he ever would no matter how much time had passed.
“I-I love you, too,” he murmured just as softly as Leon had, lowering his hand back to his side. Clearing his throat, he spoke louder once more, as though pretending he hadn’t said anything else to divert attention back to Leon’s present. “I’ll have to make sure I meet your expectations with this. I can’t have you thinking you wasted your time, y’know.”
EVER SINCE KAMUI HAD been given the opportunity to leave her citadel for a short while, she had been seeing less and less of her precious little brother, Leon. Even when he visited, something about his behavior seemed off - it was as if he wanted nothing to do with her, and she needed closure. Had she done something wrong? “Leon... can I ask you something? Why are you avoiding me...?”
IT WAS SOMETHING THAT HIS SIBLINGS, especially the ever-attentive Aqua, had always done for him. Something that he looked upon with disdain, yet on the same hand appreciated it all the same. As of late, Takumi had been able to take care of things on his own, but he knew that Leon could use assistance once in a while. It was the first time they’d seen each other in a long while—it had been months, he knew that much—so he felt it was only fair that he reminded Leon that he had Takumi’s support, and the latter wanted to keep him from making embarrassing mistakes.
And so, when he adjusted his fellow prince’s inside-out collar, he couldn’t keep an amused smile from creeping across his face. For someone so intelligent, Leon could be quite careless.
“I can’t believe you still do this,” he commented, eyes shining with obvious mirth. It felt like a personal victory to be on the other side of such an embarrassing gesture for once. “Will you ever learn to take care of yourself? You can’t face the Hoshidan court like this.”
