Lief and jasmine- a short deltora quest fanfiction

Part Five

//ITS BEEN TWO YEARS YALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS??????//
//No but genuinely the fact that y'all still read this like every few years is insane, like for context I wrote the first chapter to this in Year 7, a few weeks after my 12th birthday and now I'm graduating from UNIVERSITY soon.//
//usual disclaimer applies, I'll see y'all in a few years, also I still haven't reread the books since year seven so I'm just winging it from what I vaguely remember so pls forgive me//

Jasmine always figured that when the time came she'd be a good dancer. She was naturally as elegant and graceful as the birds that she had grown up around and easily flittered from place to place in her home in the forest.
Jasmine however, forgot to account for one thing.
Being this close to Leif.
Had she been dancing with any of the other young lords she may have charmed them with her foreign skills and enthusiasm for twirling,
but with Lief, chest to chest,
Eyes staring into her soul,
Painfully aware of his hand on her lower back,
Jasmine might as well have been a newborn deer.

As if Leif could read her mind he leant forward to her ear.
"If- if you want I'll take the lead..."
Jasmine wasn't normally one to follow someone else's lead, but this time she nodded quickly.
"Thank you."

Leif's heart was pounding in his chest so hard he was sure she could feel it.
"Get it together!" He yelled at himself in his mind. "You're the king of Deltora but you can't dance with one of your best friends?!"
Friends.
Beat friends.
Who were they kidding?
Leif knew he had to properly admit it to himself first.
He was in love with Jasmine.
Of course they had already kissed once, the day they returned with the Belt of Deltora, but that was a few years ago now, and Lief always assumed it was more victorious than romantic.
And of course they'd had their discussion in the courtyard about Jasmine's anxieties about expectations. If there was something there, he couldn't scare her off.
Leif suddenly stopped dancing and Jasmine banged straight into his chest.
"Why did you stop? Is everything okay?"

Jasmine suddenly found herself being pulled out of the party, up some stairs and out onto the balcony that overlooked the entire city of Del.
Overhead the velvet canopy of the night sky was pinpricked with what felt like millions of stars, shining down around her.
"Leif what is it?"
Leif ran a hand through his hair, he was dressed every part the King of Deltora, sturdy velvet suit, perfectly shined shoes, the Belt hanging on his hips. Even when they were dancing Jasmine had noticed some facial hair growing in.
"I need.... I need to...."
He swallowed hard.
"I need to talk to you about us."
Jasmine frowned.
"Us?"
"Jasmine I-"
Leif swore under his breath, something Jasmine had never heard him do, and shook his hands.
"Jasmine, I'm the king of Deltora, I have the world on my back, I have defeated countless foes, I am strong, I am confident and you dad does not scare me!"
Jasmine blinked a few times.
"I mean....... Yes?-"
Leif shook his head again.
"No wait that's not what I wanted to say! I'm just- trying to remind myself- ugh this is impossible!"
"Just tell me-"
"I can't just drag you out of a party-"
"Leif just say-"
"I am such an idiot-"
"Leif please!"
Jasmine grabbed him by the shoulders and looked at him deep in his eyes.
"Just tell me what you want to say!"
Leif snapped out of his self depreciation monologue instantly.
"Jasmine I- I feel... I- am... Jasmine would you please let me kiss you?"
Jasmine resorted to blinking once again.
"Leif is this what this is about? We've kissed before-"
"Not like how I want to now. Before was silly it was barely a peck, I want to give you a real kiss."
Jasmine's heart beat in her chest.
All her previous theses were being confirmed, the Lief she knew was different now, she knew the boy, this was the man. And it brought forward the strangest cocktail of fear, excitement and love.
She finally nodded.
Leif looked down at her and put a hand to her chin, before carefully leaning down and capturing her lips.
At first Jasmine was confused, from what she remembered this was the same as the other kiss- oh. No okay... maybe it was different.
Jasmine felt Leif's hand sneak around her back and pull her closer to him, she felt her own hands snake around his neck and pull at his hair, almost against her own volition.
When they finally broke apart, they were both breathing heavy and blushing a deep crimson.
Leif attempted to start a sentence.
"Jasmine I-"
"Leif, I love you!"
Jasmine wasn't usually the best at putting her feelings into words.
But this time, she knew exactly what to say.

//lmao why am I kind of obsessed with them????? Might fuck around reread Deltora quest.
The big thing is though like they're 16 in this and I haven't been 16 in four years so like I don't really remember what that was like you know???? Anyways pls like comment etc etc and if you do crave another update please let me know bc I actually had a lot of fun writing this.//
// love y'all!! Bye!!//