Poison

Chapter 4: Take It Like A Grown Up!

The country was safe, the person who killed the king was already dead, and (as far the public was concerned) there was no mystery left. In the palace, on the other hand, was absolute chaos. Most of the important people were dead and half of the ones alive were already arrested for helping with the coup d'etat. But the people left were trustworthy and strong. And after seeing how Ruggie single-handedly dealt with everything on the next day, now they were showing great respect to both Ruggie and Leona.

The couple themself, on the other hand, returned to Leona's room as they were free. Well, they weren't. Cheka wouldn't leave his room and refused to eat, and it wasn't like Leona had much appetite either. They climbed on the bed and Leona held Ruggie in his arms for hours. Not moving, not talking, he seemed to just want to stay close. As for Ruggie... he didn't know how to feel. He was never found of Leona's parents and both Frena and his spouse seemed too distant for him. Maybe he could've considered them family if they had spent more time together. But for now, he just felt sad for Leona and Cheka. Leona was always unstable when he was upset. He would growl and yell at anyone who'd dare to disturb him. But now he was just quiet. He did everything Ruggie told him and even now that they were alone he was just staring at the wall. He reminded Ruggie of the time he had nightmares of his mom's dead body; he would be too scared and too ashamed to go to his grandmother and open up to her. He would just stay in bed until sleep win over his eyes.

'I guess it's the same.'

"Hey, Ruggie." Leona finally said, his voice almost cracked. "Do you wanna go somewhere? Anywhere? I'll take you." Ruggie tried to turn and face Leona but gave up when Leona held him tighter. "If you wanna run away just be honest. Though for the first time running away doesn't seem to be the option." Leona chuckled. It sounded even more bitter than his insults. "I heard Jack was here. Did you make him work?"

"Oh yeah! You have no idea how scared the little puppy was after seeing the palace like this." Ruggie's attempt at humor was successful. Leona wasn't someone to run away from traumatizing stuff, you just had to make it easier for him to face it. "The said puppy is four times your size! But yeah, I think there was a little too much blood for him to handle." They both laughed. Ruggie finally turned away to face Leona, surprised to see his eyes wet with tears. Even though his voice didn't give it away. "Do we have to be mean to every single person that is close to us?" He put his left hand on Leona's cheek, tracing the tear falling. "I don't know. But it's fun." And he finally let go. He stopped smirking, closed his eyes, and cried. Ruggie just stayed silent for a while, admiring the sad lion. He liked the vulnerable parts of Leona the most, the parts only he could see.

"Remember when we made Azul cry?" Leona laughed in between his tears. "Yeah... I had no idea he could get that frustrated." Ruggie's smile widened. He brought his hand up and started massaging Leona's ears, making him purr. "He legit started crying! I wonder if we go there and remind him how he was screaming gIVe mE POwEr he'd start crying again. Actually never mind. Floyd-Kun is scary."

"He is..." Leona whispered, Ruggie noticed that he had stopped crying. "How's the brat?" 'See? He's slowly getting back up.' Ruggie thought. Although, he wouldn't mind Leona resting and dealing with his feelings a little while longer. He probably needed it. "The same as you! None of you ate anything ever since... and it's making everyone worried. You're a selfish cat but he's a small child, I don't know how long he can keep this up." Ruggie was right. Cheka was certainly spoiled, and it was partly Leona's fault as well, and it's not like he has ever had to deal with these sorts of situations. He should go and be beside him. "... Ten more minutes."

"I give you twenty, now close your eyes." Leona nodded and buried his nose in Ruggie's hair. His hair smelt expensive, he probably didn't have the time to go back home and wash all the blood.

Leona always wondered what would've happened if he had gone too far in NRC? How would he live if he hadn't met Ruggie? The boy who ate everything that wouldn't poison him, the boy who casually stole from people like it wasn't a big deal. The boy who could kill someone if given the chance. Too bad they couldn't have their vacation, he wanted to buy Ruggie different stuff from everywhere and show him every famous restaurant that had a delicious meal.

Ruggie's voice disrupted his train of thoughts. "Leona-san, I feel like I need to say this right now. Though, I'm mostly saying it to myself. Our life will be very different from now on, but I'm not planning on running away. And I want you to face it like a grown-up too. We're not students anymore, you can't just do something and expect everything to be back to normal the next day. Please, if we can make a difference, let's do it properly.

**********

It didn't take much to cheer Cheka up, he cried as soon as he saw Leona and was back on his feet the next day. Though, sometimes he'd stare at a wall for a few minutes and talk to no one. With his eyes empty and face expressionless.

One thing Ruggie didn't like about the old people in the console was how they always did things for something other than the purpose they told people. Weddings, ceremonies, and even funerals always had another purpose. So maybe Ruggie was happy they died, now Leona and Cheka could mourn without it being a political show-off. The two of them were left alone at the end of the ceremony, while Ruggie snuck around to find out things he wasn't told.

"Prince Leona... It was my first time seeing him with that look in his eyes. So he really did care for the late king and his family." "Prince Cheka wouldn't leave his side, so it's true that they're close... I heard so many stupid rumors about them. Glad they were false now that the child only has his uncle left." "You know I'm also glad Leona-Sama had Ruggie-Kun with him. I've seen him around, he's a good kid. The children seem to like him too." "Wait... Does that mean now Leona-Sama is the new king?" "A lion king with a hyena spouse? Is that even okay? I'd love to see it, though."

There were a lot of talks. Mostly positive, surprisingly. Those who doubted Leona were shut down by people who knew Ruggie. (Ruggie never knew he was this popular!) But people were right to be anxious. Most of the people dealing with the country were dead and the ones left were too young or too inexperienced. But that might be a good thing.

He would never say it out loud, but he saw this as a good chance. He, no, they could really change stuff if they played their cards carefully. He didn't know how, but he bet Azul already had three contracts ready. "Meh, if Leona-San's the king, we'd have enough money." But what did Ruggie want? There wasn't a lot of problems they could solve in the short time before Cheka turning 18 and taking over the throne; unless... He had to call Lilia and ask him about rising a child. More specifically, a good king. Considering how good Malleus was doing.

"Ruggie!" Leona's voice echoed through the hall and Ruggie accepted it with a smile. "What's going on, Leona-San?" Leona hesitated a while before speaking. "Black looks good on you, but white looks better." "What?" Leona was blushing. Why was he blushing? White clothing? What????

Then it clicked.

"Leona-San, are you proposing?" Ruggie knew it would come sooner or later, now that he was going to be the king. "Like? Right now?"

"You know I can't deal with romantic shit. But if you say yes right now... My mind is gonna be more... um... at ease I guess." His ears were twitching. Wait, was that Cheka watching them from behind the wall? And white ears... When did Jack arrive?!

But like that, he couldn't refuse. He never thought about getting married. But Leona was the only one he'd like to spend the rest of his life with. And if it meant Leona would be calmer, if it meant that he could prevent others and himself from suffering more... Then why not?

"I mean, I thought it was a given. Yes! Of course!" He loved seeing Leona smile like that.