As the days flew by, Leon and Violet grew closer and closer together. For most of the week, they would regularly go on walks together when it was particularly sunny out, read together, and even sometimes when Violet was having a nightmare, sleep in the same room together. And as they spent more and more of their time together, Violet was awakened to the possibility that there may be different forms of love. Especially, a form that would explain the feelings she was experiencing at that moment.

    Yes, even though she hated to admit it, just seeing Leon’s confident smile, or his beautiful blue eyes, or feeling his warmth and security, made her heart race. She was indeed in love. And although she wasn’t sure how to go about it, she deemed it too embarrassing to just outright tell him. So when the final day of her stay arrived and they got the notice that the trains were back up and running, Violet found herself in a dilemma. Should she tell Leon how she felt or not?

    “Are you all ready Violet?” Leon asked, dragging Violet out of her thoughts. The doll glanced up at the smiling boy with a little worry showing through her expressionless face. “Yes I am Leon,” she replied simply and grabbed her luggage. Leon could see that she was uncertain about something as they both headed out the door. “Violet, is something wrong?” he asked, a little concerned. Violet stiffened slightly. She could feel her heart jump a little as she pondered over what to say.

    “Nothing is wrong,” she answered. A cloud drifted over them as she said, hiding the sun’s rays from shining on her. The wind picked up. “I’m just a little concerned over how many requests I have received over this week that I have failed to complete.” hopefully that lie was believable.

    A silence fell upon them for a second. Leon stood there, a little bewildered at the explanation. “Well it isn’t your fault for since you had a valid reason right?” he said. Violet could feel her heart pounding. “I guess so,” she agreed. Leon smiled and nodded. “If anything it’s my fault for hiring you. After all none of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t done that.”

    The cloud covering the sun began to move away, allowing it to shine down on the two once more. Leon glanced down at Violet’s emerald brooch, noticing how the colors inside it danced in a way that made him feel a little lost in its color. Suddenly Violet spoke up, “Don’t say that.”
    “Huh?”
    Violet looked down. “Don’t say that it’s your fault that this happened,” she repeated. “After all if it weren’t for you hiring me, I would’ve never…” her voice trailed off as she stopped herself from finishing the sentence. From saying what she wanted to say. That I would’ve never fallen in love with you.

    “That you would’ve never what?” Leon asked. Embarrassed, Violet turned away and clutched her brooch with one hand while tightly holding onto the handle of her suitcase. “It’s nothing,” she lied. Leon cocked his head. He could tell that she wanted to say something, but for some odd reason, couldn’t. Still, he didn’t want to be rude and pressure her so he let it go and the two were on their way.

/

    On the way to the train station, Violet couldn’t help but stop every so often to admire the flowers sprinkled around the side of the road. And Leon couldn’t help but smile upon seeing a happy expression on her face as she crouched down and looked at them.

    Although the flowers were beautiful and exquisite, especially under the bright sunlight, he didn’t really care for them. All he cared about was staring at the girl in front of him, taking in her beautiful features that were seemingly amplified by the morning sun.

    Without even really thinking about it, Leon sat down beside Violet and pushed some hair in front of her eyes out of the way. Violet stopped what she was doing as soon as she felt his soft touch and could feel a light blush creeping up her cheeks. Slowly, she turned her head to face him. 

    Suddenly, upon realizing what he did, Leon felt his whole face heat up. Embarrassed, he looked down at the flowers that Violet had been admiring. “Sorry,” he uttered. “It’s just that it was blocking your eyes.”

    He then stood up and held his hand out for Violet, who grabbed onto it and stood up as well. Then the two went on their way. Not realizing that they were still holding onto each other’s hands. But even if they did realize, neither would want to let go.

/

    When Violet and Leon reached the train station, they noticed that unlike the last time, there were a crowd of people, most of them conversing happy amongst themselves. Violet overheard some of the men talking happily about the sunny weather, and how it was surprising. Violet herself couldn’t help but look up into the bright sky herself and take in how warm the sun felt on her pale skin. 

    The train wasn’t to arrive for a little while longer, so they both sat on a bench right outside the building. Leon glanced over at Violet, who was watching a couple kids chase each other around the station. She didn’t know why, but part of her wished she had been able to run around as freely as those children were when she was their age. Softly, the doll put her hand to her brooch as she remembered the times she had with the Major. And how he’d treated her as though she was one of the children running around in front of her.

    Leon could sense this. And he smiled while looking up at the nearly cloudless sky. “I guess you weren’t able to do what those children are doing when you were younger were you,” he said as he focused his gaze on her. Violet turned to face him. She gave him an expressionless gaze before smiling slightly and turning back to watch the children. “No I wasn’t,” she replied. “And I’m assuming it’s because of that, that I’m… feeling a little envious of those children.”

    Leon looked down. Even though he didn’t have it as rough as her during his childhood, he did understand where she was coming from. “In some ways, I can relate to that feeling,” he said. “After all, after my mother ran away to find my father, I spent most of my childhood working at the observatory. I never had any time to play.” Violet once again turned to face him, a little awe on her face. Leon noticed this and chuckled slightly. “What are you giving me that look for?” he asked with a smirk.

    Violet snapped out of it and immediately shook her head. “It’s nothing,” she answered. “Just that, you and I are more similar than I'd thought.” At that remark, Leon found himself feeling a bit flustered. Quickly he looked down, a little embarrassed at his racing heart. Violet saw his flustered state and giggled ever so slightly. She couldn’t help it, after all she found Leon being flustered to be adorable. Suddenly, a train in the distance whistled, and a man behind the ticket counter shouted something.

    Violet and Leon stood up, just as the train came into full view. It whistled once more and the crowd who had been eagerly anticipating its arrival cheered and clapped. As the train slowed to stop at the station and hissed, Violet found herself feeling a bit nervous. Her heart was racing and her mind was filled with what she’d been pondering that whole day, should she tell Leon how she felt?

    Leon smiled and turned his whole body to face Violet. He took a deep breath in and out as he found himself having some much needed confidence. It was now or never. He was going to tell Violet what he wished he told her when they were at the observatory. As the train doors opened and people began pouring in and out of it, he started to open his mouth to say what he had been holding in for a long time. But before he could, Violet spoke.

    “Leon,” she began, “remember when I was about to say what I would never have found out if you had never hired me?” It took a second for Leon to remember the conversation they had earlier. And when he did, he nodded. Violet, ignoring her racing heart, took a deep breath in and turned her body to face him. “What I would have never found out…” her voice trailed off as a sincere smile formed across her face and she gently caressed her brooch. The wind once again began to pick up and the sun shined down on them more than ever as Violet Evergarden confessed her feelings. “Is that I was in love with you.”

    And as she said that, the wind died down. Her dress stopped flowing elegantly, and the sun stopped shining its rays as a cloud covered it. Leon felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. That Violet was… in love with him? Violet smiled once more before bowing and grabbing her suitcase. She didn’t care anymore if Leon didn’t accept her feelings. All that mattered was that she got them out.

    She started towards the train, which was still waiting for more passengers. Even though her heart hurt ever so slightly, she knew that she could not stay any longer. After all, she had a job to fulfill. Just as she was about to walk into the train, tears forming in her eyes, a hand grabbed onto hers. And her tears dissipated as Leon turned her around and pulled her into a gentle, yet passionate kiss.

    For a second, it seemed as though time had slowed down for Violet Evergarden. Her lips felt as warm as her beating heart and she stared into the beautiful blue eyes in front of her. She could not move, nor did she want to, as she embraced the kiss. 

    When they pulled apart, the few people that were still milling around the station clapped in a congratulatory tone. Even though Leon was a blushing mess on the inside, he smiled confidently to the girl in front him. Violet, whose mind was racing, also smiled before walking back inside the train. “Thank you, Leon,” she said as the doors began to shut. Leon nodded and tears started to form in his eyes. “I love you,” he replied. When he’d said that, Violet could feel the tears she had been holding back start to flow and she began to cry.

    The doors fully shut, separating the two and the train began to move. And there still at the door, Violet stood, wiping tears from her eyes. And as she wiped them, she began to smile, as her feelings were accepted. But, she didn’t know how long it would be until she could see Leon again. With tears still in her eyes, Violet walked over to an empty seat and sat down. She didn’t know how or why…

    But she had a feeling the two of them would cross paths once more.

/

GAH!!! You bet as I was writing this, I was fangirling my way to heaven! 
Next chapter should be up by next week! Hope you enjoyed!