Warning: Bad writing and fluff ahead

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Later that night, after Leon had gone to bed, he once again heard Violet having nightmares. Though this time, it was full on cries of pain and sorrow. So instead of waiting like he did the previous night, as soon as they started, he got up and went to her side to comfort her. And just like he did the previous night, he held her hand and gently squeezed it, as though to tell her it would be alright. But, this time, it didn’t help as much as it did before.

    Although her expression changed and she looked slightly more at peace, her hand still grasped onto Leon’s tightly while she whimpered at memories and nightmares infesting her mind. And although he wasn’t the one who had to go through such a horrendous experience, somehow, he could still feel her pain, nearly to a point that it brought him to tears.

    So Leon stayed there, holding her hand, trying to comfort the doll in front of him in any way he could. And before he knew it, his eyelids started to grow heavy, and soon, his futile attempts to stay awake were rendered meaningless as darkness welcomed him and he fell into a deep slumber.

/

    When Violet felt the soft touches of the morning sun on her face, she slowly opened her eyes and yawned, which was a bit odd for her, she noted. But that thought soon left her mind as she realized that her right hand felt a bit… heavier. Curious, she sat up and glanced down to find another hand intertwined in her own. She raised an eyebrow as she looked at who it belonged to.

    And when she saw Leon sleeping peacefully at her bedside, she couldn’t help but notice that her heart rate sped up as she wondered why he was there. And she also couldn’t help but stare at him in awe, admiring how peaceful and lovely his face looked in the morning light. 

    Violet didn’t know what she was doing, but she raised her left hand and slowly brought it to his face, swiping some hair off to the side that was covering it. And as she gazed at him, admiring how ethereal he looked as he slept, she found herself feeling a bit warmer. And how much she wanted to bask in that heart pounding feeling for as long as possible.

    Suddenly, Leon’s hand twitched, and Violet stiffened as his eyelids opened, revealing his sparkling eyes. He slowly sat up, stretched, and yawned, completely oblivious for a second to Violet. But as soon as he realized he wasn’t in his room, he glanced over to find the girl, a light pink dusting her cheeks, staring at him.

    It took him a moment to come to the realization of what was happening. And when he did, he felt heat rush to his cheeks and as he ripped his hand from Violet’s as fast as he could, embarrassed and flustered

/

    The entire morning was silent between the two as they readied breakfast. Violet could feel the tension in the room while she cracked a few eggs into a bowl, which, thankfully, she learned how to do while scribing for Oscar Webster. She worked efficiently, and soon had the eggs frying on a pan for an omelet. Meanwhile Leon was busy chopping up some onions and meat to add to the dish.

    Both of them felt miserable in the awkward silence that plagued the room while they worked. And both wanted to say something but didn’t want to be the first one to break the silence. So, they stayed quiet, and tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible.

    When breakfast was on the table and both of them were seated though, Leon finally had the courage to speak up. “I’m sorry,” he said while staring at his food. Violet looked up at him and stopped removing her gloves. She cocked to head to one side and asked him what he was sorry for. That question made the boy blush a deep shade of red. “F-For falling asleep in your room,” he replied, a slight stutter in his voice. When he said that, Violet could feel heat rushing to her cheeks as she remembered that morning.

    “The thing is, you were crying… in your sleep last night,” Leon continued. “And I didn’t know what to do, but I w-wanted to help you, you know?” upon hearing that, Violet subconsciously grabbed her brooch. Silence once again fell upon them as the doll tried to say something, but for some odd reason couldn’t find her voice. Finally though, she spoke.

    “I have faint memories of the Major doing the exact same thing,” she whispered before looking up at Leon, who in turn stared at her as she stood up. She walked towards him, a slight smile visible on her face, and ignoring all of the feelings that she was experiencing, gently put her hands on Leon’s shoulders and hugged him. Tears welled up in her eyes while she remembered sometimes waking up to the Major holding her hand, or sometimes holding her tightly while telling it would be alright. Her smile slowly faded. Oh how her heart ached as she longed for him.

    Somehow, Leon could feel that very heartache in his own. And therefore, he wrapped his arms around Violet and returned the hug. Upon feeling his arms around her, Violet couldn’t hold back the tears, and started to cry, letting out all of the pain inside of her heart at that moment. And although she was a little embarrassed that she once again let Leon see her so emotional, she ignored that embarrassment and stayed like that, in his arms, for as long as her tears stained her face.

/

    Finally, after her tears had dried, Violet and Leon finished their breakfast and headed into the living. And not surprisingly, it was raining so they couldn’t go outside. So they sat on the couch together and Leon grabbed some old manuscripts from the coffee table that they could look through. While he flipped through a manuscript that explained the constellations, Violet scooted a bit closer to him so that their shoulders were touching.

    And although Leon didn’t notice, she stayed leaned against him ever so slightly, enjoying his warmth for as long as she could. “Here, this constellation is called Orion,” Leon piped up, dragging Violet out of her thoughts. She glanced down at where Leon’s hand was. It was pointing at a picture of a constellation. 

    Leon smiled and went on to explain the details of the constellation. “It is named after the hunter Orion, who was struck by the bow of Artemis and elevated into the heavens.”
    “Artemis?” Violet looked down at the yellowed page, a little intrigued. Leon nodded. “She was the Goddess of the moon.”
    “Oh I see,” Violet replied. “You know a lot about the constellations, don’t you Leon?”

    A moment of silence entered the room after she’d said that. Leon could feel his heart racing as he tried to process what he’d just heard. Violet cocked her head. “Did I… say something wrong?” she asked, a hint of concern in her voice. Leon looked at her and shook his head. “No, nothing is wrong,” he replied. “It’s just… you called me by my first name. You haven’t done that since you first arrived.”

    As soon as he said that, Violet could feel her heart started to race. A little embarrassed, she scooted away from him and looked down. “I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t realize that I said it,” she apologized. Why was she feeling so flustered? 

    “You don’t have to apologize!” Leon exclaimed, a little loudly. Then under his breath he added, “Besides, I kind of liked it…” 
    It was loud enough for Violet to hear. And when she heard that, she could feel heat rush to her face. Nervously, she glanced up at him. “If you liked it, then I guess…” her voice trailed off. Leon felt his face grow warmer as he realized she heard that last bit.
    “I’ll call you by your name instead of Sir… Leon.”

    Outside, the rain poured down from the heavens louder than ever, concealing the noise of their racing hearts. And Violet, who was once so cold and stoic, was starting to understand what the feelings she was experiencing were. 

    And she didn’t know if she liked it or not.

/

I'm sorry this is so short, I had writers block and it was really effecting my work ;-;

Also I got the sketch for the cover done! I'll more details before I go in with lineart and color of course but this is a rough sketch of what I want!

Sorry if the lighting is bad, I took the photo from my bed lol