Chapter Text
All things considered, today was a pretty nice day, in Idia’s opinion at least. Fun activity, delightful time with people he cares for, and great food. Nothing could possibly ruin it! Well, besides the seven foot tall warrior queen standing right at the entry of the dining hall. They’re just leaving dinner- how long did she ominously stand out here for?!
“Good evening, you all.” Sarabi smiled at them all so sweetly, which would be pretty cute if she didn’t have the power to snap Idia’s spine in half- how can she be so menacing yet sweet at the same time?! The gap moe around here is insane!
“Good evening.” Leona nodded curtly, “Do you need me?”
“No.” She ever so gently pushed Leona aside to point at him, a mere radish sprout in the presence of royalty, “I want to borrow your mate.”
All eyes turned to him at once, and Idia couldn’t help but squeak under the pressure, “M-Me?! What do you need me for, your highness?!”
“There’s something I want to show you.” She motioned him forward, “Come, Idia. We have much to discuss.”
“Hold on a minute.” Leona stepped into Sarabi’s way with a scowl, “My mate and I have plans, you can’t just take him on a whim.”
“I suppose I cannot.” Sarabi pushed him aside again, “But you can’t make him come with you if he decides to join me.” Sarabi extended her hand towards him, totally not threatening in the slightest at all (SHE IS), “Will you grace me with the honor of your company this evening, Idia? You may bring your friends along if you wish, it’s not something that the two of us have to do alone.”
“Can I please take everyone along?!” Idia gripped tightly onto his emotional support Ortho, he’s definitely going to die alone!
“Of course, I will not stop you from bringing along whoever you wish. The more the merrier.”
“T-Thank you!” Idia wasn’t sure if he should bow or not, but chose not to so that he wouldn’t make a fool of himself by falling over somehow while doing so, “M-May I ask what we’ll be doing..?”
“We’ll be participating in an important rite of passage.” Sarabi crossed her arms in thought, “Before I was engaged, Kifaji went through this ritual with me. Now, it is my honor to guide you through the same ritual before you are engaged to my dear brother, Leona.”
“A rite of passage?” Leona looked as confused as Idia felt, “We don’t have any right of passage traditions to getting engaged.”
“We do now, Kifaji and I made it up before my engagement.” Sarabi huffed, “It was so fun that it’d be a shame to leave Idia out.”
Fun? Idia really did not get how a rite of passage of all things could be fun, “What is it..? I don’t have to physically fight for Leona’s hand in marriage, do I?”
“If I told you now, it’d ruin the surprise.” Replied Sarabi, as cryptic about this whole ordeal as ever, “So, I will not tell you. It’s up to you whether or not you want to come.”
What kind of surprise is it?! Idia loved good surprises like gacha, but not bad surprises like surprise parties! He can’t handle this! He’s too little for this! His heart is going to explode from the mysterious timed event before him! It’s not fighting to have Leona’s hand, but it could still be a fight! Sarabi is a warrior for Seven’s sake! She’d find any kind of fight fun, probably!
“Um… Can I discuss this with everyone first?” Idia pointed behind him, “Privately in here while you stay out there?”
Sarabi raised an eyebrow at him, “I… suppose you can, yes. I won’t stop you.”
“Great!” Idia quickly slammed the dining room doors shut before looking at his group, “Chat am I cooked?!”
“I think you’re cooked, niisan.” His cute little brother saluted him, “It was nice knowing you, niisan.”
“That isn’t funny, Ortho! Your niisan doesn’t want to be cooked!”
“Dude, you’ll be fine!” Ruggie patted Idia’s back, “She looks scary, but she wouldn’t hurt you on purpose since you’re family! Right, Jack?”
On purpose? So, has she hurt people by accident?
“Right.” Jack nodded along, “Ruggie and I have hung out with the Queen before while Leona was busy, and the worst that had ever happened was a sprain when we went a little too far with Magift.”
So she has definitely hurt someone by accident! And saying that she’s a warrior, on purpose too! Is he going to hang out with Sarabi and die somehow due to a freak accident?
Idia slowly turned to Leona, “Has she hurt you too, Leona?”
“Obviously.” Replied Leona without missing a beat, “You’d think that throwing water balloons doesn’t hurt, but wait until she throws one at you full strength.”
Oh Sevens, he’s definitely going to die. Still, death or not, she seems genuinely eager to bring him along, and he really wants to get along with his future in-laws…
“You’ll be ok, Unca Idia!” Cheka held onto his hand very tightly, “Mama is clumsy sometimes, but she’s very gentle! She’s never hurt me once ever!”
Well, when Cheka says it like that so earnestly he just has to go now…
“Thanks for telling me, everyone.” He patted Cheka’s head gently, because why not at this point, “I think I’ll go, do you all want to come along?”
After a little bit of debate in the group, everyone decided to come along, even Leona for some reason! His dear kitty-cat looked as if he didn’t want to go at all, but is still coming to support him! How sweet! So, all that was left was to give their verdict to Sarabi, and allow her to lead all of them away to her little secret location where they’ll be participating in some elusive rite of passage.
The questions kept building up one after another as they walked and engaged in idle chatter, increasing by the second as they entered the library and walked towards a large table seemingly full of books. Is this a battle of intelligence? Will they pit their brains against one another to see if Idia is worthy of marrying a prince and (possibly?) serving the Sunset Savanna as his husband? If so, he might be in trouble. He only knew the inner workings of STYX, not the laws of Leona’s land or-
Idia’s brain halted to a stop as he read ‘Leona’s baby pictures, Vol.3’ on one of the books. This is… This really isn’t anything close to what he was expecting.
“Leona is right when he says you’re brilliant, Idia.” Sarabi’s sweet smile seemed almost invisible in comparison to the bright glint of something mischievous in her eyes, “You look like you’ve figured it all out, haven't you?”
Well, Idia certainly had a feeling, but he wasn’t sure if he was right, “Does the rite of passage include Leona’s baby photos by any chance?”
“Yes!” Cheered Sarabi, “Back before I was wed, Kifaji went through Farena’s baby pictures with me! As your future sister-in-law, it would be my honor to-”
“Sarabi!” Leona slammed his hands on the table, a very heavy blush adorning his cheeks, “Can we not-?!”
“Call me oneesama. And, say please.”
“Please, oneesama,” Leona looked close to begging on his hands and knees, “Can we not show my mate all of these pictures tonight?”
“No.” Sarabi shot him down quickly, “Your oneesama requires some bonding time with your mate. Now, sit down.”
Leona sat down quickly with his kitty ears flopped cutely against his head, only turning slightly to scowl at Ruggie, who’s having a good laugh over all of this. Honestly, Idia kind of wanted to laugh too, but Leona also just look so adorable that he wanted to kiss him. It’s not often he gets to see his cute kitty-cat look embarrassed! It’s a real treat!
Idia nearly jumped out of his seat as someone slammed some books right next to him because Sevens! He’s going to get a heart attack! That’s scary, man! He slowly cranked his head to the side, seeing Farena smile brightly at him, while Kifaji looked indifferent about the whole situation unfolding before him.
“Great.” Grumbled Leona as he looked at the two new members to their little party, “Is everyone here to get in on this baby picture viewing?”
“Yes! We wouldn’t dare to miss out on going down memory lane with our newest family member!” Farena looked lovingly at his wife, “Right, dear?”
“Of course, my love. I’m glad you were more open about sharing than Leona is right now.” She looked back at him with just so much love, “I suppose it’s easier for us to share, though, since we practically grew up together, thus we have nothing embarrassing to hide unlike our dear little Leona.”
“I don't have anything to hide.” Snarled Leona with more bark than bite, “I just don't think Idia needs to see these.”
It's true that Idia probably does not need to see them, since Idia hasn't shared his own baby photos or anything so it's fair, but he really did want to see them…
“C'mon boss, Idia does need to see these!” Ruggie went to rummage through the books, pulling out a photo album labeled with the number 43, “Remember that one summer where you, Jack and I went boating? And a crab snipped your ass?”
Leona growled at Ruggie, “You wouldn't.”
“Oh, I would, and you can't even stop me because your big sister would kick your ass!” Ruggie held up the photo book for Jack to look at, “Do you remember, Jack? You were way smaller back then, and pretty adorable too in your cactus sunglasses!”
Jack crossed his arms with a huff, “You mean cool, right?”
“Yeah, cool! The coolest, bro!” He slammed the book in front of Idia, pointing towards a picture of a panicked Leona with a crab stuck to his ass, “I know her majesty brought you here to tell you Leona stories, but ya gotta let me tell you this one first!”
-🍩 ”It was some summer long ago…”-
Once again summer has rolled around in the Sunset Savanna, meaning that Leona is more eager than ever to escape the clutches of the palace (and his newest nephew to boot this year, what a surprise!). With Jack around for the summer, it was the perfect time for the three of them to meet up before Jack went back to his home in the Shaftlands. In hopes of preventing Jack from getting heatstroke (again), Leona decided it’d be a nice idea to go boating at the beach. Apparently there’s a nice breeze over the sea today, and the endless, bountiful blue of the sea is something that Leona seemed to take comfort in these days. It’s a win-win for all of them!
Before they could go out to sea, they had to do a couple of things. The boat is already docked, and he and Jack loaded up the food and drinks for the afternoon, so all that’s left is for the two of them to wait around in the shade as Leona made sure there weren’t any concerns or damages that might ruin their trip. Honestly, Ruggie didn’t get the fuss. If it floats it works, right? He doesn’t need to worry about anything else like chipped paint jobs like royals do!
Jack turned towards him, and it’s a bit hard to tell whenever or not Jack was looking at him through those cactus shaped sunglasses he was wearing, “How much longer do you think it’ll take Leona to check the boat?”
“Dunno.” Replied Ruggie with a shrug, “Hopefully not long. It looks like he just needs to check out the back of the boat before we head off.”
They kept standing there, watching as Leona kneeled around the ship. It’s kind of boring, but Ruggie gets that Leona wanted their trip out to sea to be-
“Fuck!” Leona leapt out of the water, “Something fucking bit me!”
Ruggie and Jack exchanged worried glances before hurrying over, hoping that something awful and poisonous hadn't bit Leona. If the thing that took a bite at Leona swam away, they’d have no choice but go back to the palace to make sure Leona is fine. Thankfully, the culprit stuck around, holding on tightly to…
“Holy crabs!” Ruggie pointed at the grab that has a claw hanging on tightly to Leona’s ass, “There’s a crab on your ass, man! A whole crab!”
“Take it off!” Snarled Leona at them, “I swear, when we get this damn crab I’m going to roast- Ow!” Leona yelped as Jack gave the crab a tug, “Stop that! This crab is going to pull off a chunk of my ass if you keep pulling!”
-🍩 ”It was hilarious, shishishi!”-
“It really is a shame that I can’t remember how Jack managed to pry that crab off of Leona’s ass.” Ruggie wiped a tear from his eye, “I was too busy taking pictures and laughing my ass off.”
The story is undoubtedly funny, and Idia found himself laughing along with Ruggie as Leona sulked away. A crab! Can you believe it?! A crab grabbed Leona’s ass! What in the name of the Seven would possess a crab to take a pinch at Leona’s ass?! The odd creature is probably gone by now, but if it were still here he’d give it a high five (or a high claw?). If he were a crab, he’d probably grab Leona’s ass too. His boyfriend has a very nice butt, and he can appreciate others who realize such a fact, crabs included.
Leona looked pretty much ready to get out of here as he spoke, “Are y'all done lookin’ at all of this yet?”
“Not yet, Leona.” Sarabi grabbed the book Ruggie was showing and put it aside, placing another one before him, “As a future member of our family, it's within his rights to see how cute you were as a small cub.” She pointed towards a photo of Leona as a child, smiling next to a telescope in a dimly lit observatory, and Idia couldn’t help but notice that this was taken at a time before Leona got his scar, “Before Leona got into ancient magic he was interested in the stars, often going up to the palace’s observatory at night. At the time I thought that Leona would make an excellent shaman since he was so attuned to the stars, and thus our ancestors and the spirits beyond. I see that all is not true now, but I’m sure this information would fascinate you nonetheless.”
That information does fascinate Idia, in fact. With how big of an advocate Leona is for advancing the Sunset Savanna and taking advantage of the bounty of the land that his people don’t dare to touch due to tradition, he never saw Leona as much of an outdoorsy kinda guy. In some sense he always assumed that Leona would prefer modernization over the appeal of natural land, but it makes sense… somewhat. His favorite nap spot is the botanical garden, after all. Some part of his heart clearly loves the traditions and the stories of his land… even if his unique magic may imply otherwise. Idia already knew that, to some extent, so how could he have forgotten and assumed that Leona would be shipping out tall blocks of gray? What kind of boyfriend is he?! The shame! He bet Leona could modernize the Sunset Savanna yet still keep its roots in tradition if he really wanted to, Idia couldn’t think of a more perfect person for the job.
Sarabi flipped a few pages over, pointing at another photo of Leona as a child, this time looking much more sad over a burnt looking lump of something, “This is the time when little Leona tried to bake Farena a cake for his birthday. It didn’t end up well, but Farena and I took a bite anyway, and it made Leona so happy.”
“I don’t get how you got away with eating that scot-free…” Grumbled Farena next to his wife, “I had a stomach ache for days!”
“It’s probably because I have a stomach of steel, dear.”
Wow, it really is kind of funny to see that Leona is a disaster in the kitchen from day one. He’s less of a disaster now that he’s taken that mandatory cooking class but still, how “Leona” of him to be a royal that doesn’t know how to cook shit.
“If he remade that cake for Farena in the present I bet he’d still burn it.” Idia couldn’t help but grin as he tossed his boyfriend under the bus, “Did you know that Leona didn’t know how to use a microwave until this year?”
Leona rightfully glared at him from his end of the table. Worth it.
-🦁💀-
There’s something so special and wholesome about being told tales about Leona’s childhood, even if they were only the good ones and not the bad ones. Idia knew they both had it tough growing up, and the two of them never really touched on the topic intimately. Neither of them had anything to hide, sure, but there’s something absolutely dreadful about unpacking, well- everything. Idia didn’t want to talk about how the death of his middle brother made him feel, and Leona didn’t want to talk about how growing up here with his scar felt. They both learned this information through each other’s overblots anyways, so did it even matter if they didn’t really unpack their traumas with one another?
Regardless, this all felt like a breath of fresh air to him. Leona had something tangible, something happy beyond the weight of the crown or the burden of his scar. Leona was just a kid once! A happy kid, just like him, before reality all started crashing down. Those innocent, carefree smiles from Leona’s childhood are long gone, but Idia sure did hope that he made Leona feel as happy (or happier) as he did in these photos and tales that Sarabi and Farena had to offer him. They’re going to have a happy future together one day, what’s the point if Idia can’t keep making his beloved kitty-cat happier than he’s ever been as a carefree child?
Speaking of his beloved kitty-cat, Idia couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Leona, who’s grouchy and cute as ever. Despite his outwardly grumpy theatrics, he truly isn’t upset about this all, right? If he were he’d easily have the power to shut this all down and drag Idia away, yet he has let him remain here, tale after tale. Is this his way of allowing Idia to selfishly learn more about the past of his boyfriend without having to speak of it to one another? Is it rude that he hasn’t offered the same back? It feels like it. Leona is offering so much of himself right now indirectly, so it’s only fair of him to return the favor somehow… perhaps someday in the future with his own parents?
“Oi, radish sprout.” Leona pulled him away from his thoughts, “Were you even listenin’?”
“No, I was thinking.” There was no point in lying to his boyfriend, Leona always figured him out in one way or another, “I was thinking.”
“Think later, you’re missing out on my brother’s favorite photo.” He motioned his head towards Ortho and Jack, who were currently sharing a photo with hushed whispers, “I bet you’ll like it too.”
Idia scooted over slightly with a nod, peeking over his brother’s shoulder. Oh man was Leona right, the photo is super cute and he does like it too! It’s a picture of Farena and Sarabi as children, supposedly holding Leona as a baby together. That’s super cute! Kawaii! It’s so insane that Leona was so cute and squishy as a child, he’s truly the cutest kitty-cat in the world! There’s something special about older brothers with their younger brothers, it’s a truly irreplaceable bond like what he and Ortho have going on. Oh, wait, isn’t that a photo he could show right now to Leona to share a bit more about himself?!
“I kind of have a photo like this with Ortho… if anyone’s interested in seeing it, at least.”
After what seems like hours of disinterest, it’s nice to see Leona perk up from his little offer, “You have photos like that?”
“Seriously?!” Ruggie looked surprised, despite having no reason to be, “You’re the least photogenic person in the room! How do you have- ow!” Ruggie yelped as Leona jabbed him, “Rude!”
“You can’t say all that when you can’t even stand still for a paintin’ with me.”
“Paintings take hours, man! Not photos!”
As the two of them argued, Sarabi had wiggled her way over to Idia’s side, “I’d love to see that photo you mentioned if you haven’t changed your mind.”
“N-No! I haven’t changed my mind!” It’s kind of scary to be right next to an absolute girlboss, but Idia had to get used to her presence eventually to accomplish his mission of marrying into the royal family, “Let me- um- pull it up.”
The photo he has of him and Ortho as kids is, in all honesty, pretty damn awesome. It’s got the whole cool techy vibe going on, and it’s proof of his accomplishments as a big brother. What’s not to like about that? Plus his brother really was such a cutie patootie back then, even in his beginning stages. Everyone just has to know what a cute little kid Ortho once was!
Idia pulled up the photo on his phone, showing it off to Sarabi, “Tada! Doesn’t Ortho look so cute in this?”
Sarabi’s excited smile tampered off into something more confused, “Ortho does look cute! Doesn’t he, my love?”
Farena looked over, squinting at his phone, “Why… yes! He does! Where is his skin?”
Where is his skin? What an odd question! It’s obviously in development, that’s why there’s no skin on him! Back when Ortho was just a cute exoskeleton full of wires, Idia kept all of his artificial skin in a box! How was he supposed to say that out loud without it sounding like he actually skinned his cute baby brother during his development stages?
“I… piled it all in a box… with his teeth.”
Farena seemed to regret asking such a question as Sarabi spoke up, “How long did it take you to build your brother from scratch?”
“Well… 2 years.” Idia scratched the back of his head, “I had a lot going on, so it was… slower.”
“Interesting. The miracle of childbirth truly is different for everyone, isn’t it? Cheka took me nine months, and Ortho took you two years.”
Idia wouldn’t exactly call building Ortho ‘childbirth’, but yeah, it kind of was like giving birth to a newborn with all the work he put into it that a normal mother wouldn’t have to do manually. It’s worth it, at least, he couldn’t imagine what life would be like without his baby brother around.
“Other parents from my homeland definitely had an experience closer to yours, I’m just a bit of an outlier…” Idia passed his phone along, which was eagerly accepted by Cheka and Ortho, “I’m just glad that I was lucky enough to have the time and money to be building myself a brother.”
“I’m glad too.” Sarabi glanced behind him, probably at Cheka and Ortho, “Your cute little brother is a wonderful blessing in this world, and I’m glad he has become such close friends with my little cub.”
Glancing over his shoulder, Idia could see Cheka and Ortho staring at his phone, discussing the photo together before passing it on. They’re cute, and they really do seem like such close friends- Sevens, maybe they do consider one another best of friends, based on the friendship bracelet kit spread out before them.
“Me too,” Perhaps Idia should count himself as lucky that they get along so well, since they’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the future, “Ortho doesn’t really know many other kids around his age…”
“Ah, what a coincidence, neither does Cheka. We’re quite lucky that Leona brought us and them together to meet, aren’t we?”
“We sure are.”
-🦁💀-
By the time Idia’s phone finally came around the table to him, Leona had some idea on what he expected to see based on everyone else’s commentary. He’s supposed to see Idia as a teen, posed next to Ortho’s exoskeleton with a smile. Strange, sure, but he’s Idia’s boyfriend for seven’s sake, he has seen his radish sprout do much stranger things with his various little projects.
The photo itself is close to what he expected at first glance, but the longer he looked, the more something felt off. Maybe it’s the way that Idia’s smile seems incomplete, maybe it’s because of how darkness seems to seep beyond the dull glow of Ortho’s inserted eyes, maybe it’s because Idia just looked tired beyond belief in a way that reminded Leona of himself as a teen. Despite wanting to ask if they were once the same, Leona knew that he couldn’t do such a thing; they had agreed during the beginning of their relationship that they wouldn’t speak of what haunted them at night, so he had to respect that.
Still, even if they agreed to not speak about it, could he snoop around and find out himself? Everyone is busy having their own conversations, and he’s conveniently here alone with Idia’s phone, unsupervised. He could find other photos like this, and think about the other moments Idia captured about his past. It’d be so easy to do, but… he couldn’t do so with a clear mind behind his beloved’s back. He’s allowing Idia to see all of these photos because he loves him and wants him to know, but Idia may not feel the same way about his own photos…
Damn it, should he just ask? Ask to see more of Idia when he was younger? Ask to hold his once bleeding heart? He’s so curious, but he shouldn’t be pushy about it- and he probably shouldn't bring it up in a room full of people here. Neither of them are fond of sharing their secrets with a large group of people, that’s for sure. If he wanted to be privy to stories of Idia’s past, he’d have to ask when they’re alone. When would they ever get a chance alone, though? Idia is having a little too much fun right now to be getting up and leaving for whatever reason.
With no brilliant idea of how to pry his radish sprout away from his brother and sister-in-law, Leona stared Idia down as hard as he could. If he looked at his radish sprout for long enough, he’d surely look back, it’s a given. They’re staring at each other all the time, after all, he just knows Idia wouldn’t miss the chance to stare at him for a moment every now and then, mainly because he acts the same way with Idia.
All of his staring started to feel pathetically needy at one point (then again, when is he ever not greedy over Idia’s attention?), but it was all worth it once his radish sprout finally looked his way. With the crook of his finger he beckoned Idia over, and he thankfully complied, excusing himself from his conversation to move over to where Leona was seated.
“What’s up, kitty-cat? Are you feeling a little lonely without me?” Questioned Idia in a teasing tone, “You can always come over and sit by me!”
Leona would rather sit on Idia, but that wasn’t what he wanted to talk about right now, “Yeah, I was feeling lonely without you. Can I take you away from this photo party and sit with you somewhere else?”
It was nice seeing the tips of Idia’s hair turn pink as he sputtered back a response, “R-Really, kitty-cat? I mean- go, right now? Just us?”
“Yes, right now, just us. What d’ya say?”
“I mean, sure… The photos are fun and all, but my social battery is seriously drained. Can I say bye to everyone first?”
“Sure, but I bet they’d understand if I just whisked my pretty boyfriend away without letting him say goodbye.”
“They might, b-but I still want to be polite!”
Leona let Idia go give his farewells, relishing the moment that the two of them could finally leave the library hand in hand. Finally, a moment of peace with Idia; he had been waiting all night for a moment like this to finally arrive. After he asked his question they can spend the rest of the night together before the big day he has been planning for arrives. Wouldn’t that be nice? He led Idia far, far away from the library, past so many twists and turns until they made it back to his room and out to his balcony. The chess game they were playing out here some night long ago was still on the table, untouched from the moment they got distracted. It was easy enough to reset, and Idia was more than happy to sit across from him and indulge in a game, no questions asked.
“So, you brought me all the way out here to play chess?” Idia grinned at him as he fiddled with a piece, “I’m game. It really feels like we haven’t completed a round of chess in a while.”
Leona motioned for Idia to make the first move, “I don’t think we’ve finished a game ever since we started this vacation.”
“We haven’t at all, and that feels like so long ago, you know? It feels like it has been two years!”
“It has hardly been a week, radish sprout.”
“Well, yeah, but time just feels different, you know? It feels as if this has gone on for so long despite only being a few days…” Idia pushed a pawn forward with a sigh, “I wish this whole thing could last another year.”
“We could always go on other vacations like this, you know?” Leona moved one of his own pawns forward, “It can be another Animal Crossin’ thing.
“But it isn’t going to be the same as all of this, kitty-cat!”
“It’ll have the same people at least.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” Idia pushed another pawn forward, “Btw, do you still have my phone? Or like, did you leave it in the library?”
Right. Idia’s phone. Leona has it on him, and he could ask the question he’s been pondering about this whole time while passing it over…
Leona pulled Idia’s phone out of his pocket, gently sliding it across the table, “Can I ask ya a question?”
“About what? The photo?” Idia grabbed his phone and tucked it away, “Shoot, I’m an open book.”
“No, about your other photos.”
Idia paused, “Is this a serious type of question or a playful one.”
“Serious.”
“How come it feels like we’re having all of our serious conversations out here over chess..?”
“It’s just a coincidence.” Leona shrugged, he probably could’ve thought of a better location for all of this, but this is the place he felt was best to talk with Idia alone, “You can say no, y’know?”
“I won’t just say no outright but- what do you want with my other photos that’s so serious?”
What does he want? Leona isn’t quite sure himself. He has something crawling in his mind, brimming with curiosity, but he doesn't know how to phrase that feeling or bring it to light. He wants to know Idia- all of Idia. He wanted to see Idia when he was happy or sad, with company or alone- he wanted to see the vulnerability Idia has never shared, and return the favor by showing his own.
“I… want to know more about you… about your childhood.” Such a topic felt forbidden to ask, especially when Leona knew neither of them were particularly fond of the cards they'd been dealt, “I don’t think we’ve ever talked about it before.”
“We haven’t, yeah…” Idia looked down at his hands, “We never had a reason to…”
Yeah, they never had a reason to bring up such a question, and here he is ruining the meager comfort Idia had about safeguarding such a thing. Leona could see the way Idia looked aside and bit his lip, and he could smell the scent of fear clinging to his beloved boyfriend. He had to make this right.
Before Leona could get on his knees and beg for Idia's forgiveness his lover spoke quietly, “Sure. Okay.”
“You're sure..?” Leona could hardly speak any louder than a whisper in that moment, “Really.”
“Yeah, I trust you.” Idia cracked out a lopsided smile, as if to reassure him, “Where do you want to start, kitty-cat? My brother's death certificate? My first baby tooth that my father made into a 20-sided dice for some reason?”
As much as Leona wanted to know why Mr.Shroud made Idia's first lost tooth into a dice of all things, he had other plans in mind. He had to start somewhere, and that somewhere is with him. Why should he force Idia to show his hand first when he asked first?
“My medical report on my scar.” Leona grabbed Idia's hand, pulling him back inside, “I think I've told you a bit about it before, but not all the details.”
“Y-You’re showing me your medical information?!” Squeaked Idia, “Seriously?! Why?!”
“I want you to know all of me, just as I want to know all of you.”
“That's sensitive information! What's next, your social security number?! Wait, does the Sunset Savanna have social security numbers?!”
The two of them went off on their way, once again abandoning another game of chess.