Work Text:
🤎
Y/n marched into the botanical gardens, notebook tucked securely under his arm, and determination set on his face. The sun filtered through the large glass windows, giving each plant just the right amount of light.
Y/n scanned the gardens, searching for a particular lion beastman. He spotted a familiar tuft of brown hair nestled under a tree. The male sighed and approached the resting Housewarden.
He crossed his arms. “I knew I’d find you here,” he greeted.
Leona was sprawled out like a lazy king, arms crossed behind his head, resting over textbooks. Those textbooks, Y/n noticed, were the ones needed for a group project the two were paired for.
The one due tomorrow. The one that had virtually nothing completed.
Y/n acquitted beside his napping boyfriend, poking his cheek a few times. “You know, there are way better ways to be spending your time,” he suggested. Leona’s ear twitched, and he grabbed Y/n’s wrist, effectively stopping his poking. “And I’m deciding not to waste it on homework,” he retaliated, mumbling his reply, keeping his eyes closed in hopes of going back to sleep.
Y/n wasn’t going to let that happen. “Deadlines aren’t suggestions, you know,” he hounded. Leona merely yawned. “And yet, I’m still here. Alive. Thriving.”
“Soon you won’t be if we don’t get this project done,” he chastised. Leona let go of Y/n’s wrist to stretch, cracking an eye open to peer up at the other. Green eyes met an expectant expression, and Leona yawned again. “That's just a letter,” he brushed off.
Y/n’s eye twitched. “I'm going to write your part of the presentation as a dramatic one-man play titled “How I slept through my academic responsibilities.”” He threatened.
Y/n saw a smirk tugging at Leona’s lips. “Will I get to perform it lying down?” He asked smugly, closing his eyes once more.
Y/n glared at the lion beastman, but the look came out more affectionate than frustrated. He poked Leona’s chest accusingly before standing. “One more nap, Kingscholar,” The male said, turning away from his lazy boyfriend. “That’s all I’ll give you.” And with that, Y/n sauntered away, out of the gardens and to his next class.
A low chuckle rumbled at the base of Leona’s throat. He shifted, tail twitching in his lap as his smirk shifted to a fond smile. “Bossy little herbivore,” he whispered tenderly, another snicker escaping his lips as he drifted back into slumber.
🤎
The day was over, and Night Raven was basked in moonlit light, magically-enhanced lanterns glowing like flickering embers. The majority of students were in their respective dorms, either sleeping or studying. Some lingered around campus, hanging out with friends or raiding the cafeteria.
Y/n was one of those students outside of his dorm, though he wasn’t causing mischief or rummaging through cupboards. No, he was sitting in the library, hunched over a table surrounded by papers and textbooks. He was scribbling furiously, eyes solely focused on his work. Nearby firelight accentuated his tired yet determined features.
It wasn’t until a familiar tail swiped under his chin, forcing him to look up from his scribbling, that he was knocked out of his stupor. He blinked as Leona pulled up a chair, lounging into it.
Y/n stared at the Housewarden, confused, before that confusion morphed into suspicion. “Am I dreaming, or are you actually here right now?” Leona didn’t answer his question, only kicking his feet up on the table and saying, “You look one step past it,” he mused. Leona grabbed one of the loose papers, reading it.
“During the Age of the Great Seven, their reign of influence brought insight to the people. For example,” Leona stopped there, silently reading the rest of the intro Y/n managed to conjure up. “You’re overthinking this,” he commented. Y/n kept writing as he shrugged, replying, “Feel free to change it.”
Leona contemplated the offer before sighing, removing his legs from the table, and grabbing a pen. He moved closer to Y/n—their shoulders barely brushed—crossing out sentences and rewriting bland phrases. Y/n watched him work from the corner of his eye, pleased to find the changes being made were quite helpful and refined.
Time passed, the two wrote in general silence—Y/n creating the ideas and information, Leona improving the wording and paragraph pacing. Students would filter in and out of the library, but after a while, that diminished, and the only people left were Y/n and Leona.
Y/n felt himself yawn, and his writing started to blur together from his weariness. He tried to blink away his exhaustion, but it only made it worse. Y/n yawned again as he leaned against Leona, letting his head rest against the other’s shoulder.
“Five-minute break,” the male mumbled, his eyes drooping closed. Leona didn’t flinch, pausing in his writing to look down at Y/n’s sleepy face. He grabbed the paper the other was working on, looking it over before starting to finish what Y/n started.
“Take ten,” Leona said. He felt Y/n nod lightly, his hair brushing the side of the housewarden’s neck.
Leona continued to write like that, and Y/n linked his arm with the one Leona wasn’t using, his thumb brushing over the other’s knuckles. Leona breathed out a laugh. “I should hang out with you more when you’re tired if you’re gonna be this touchy.” He mused, lacing their fingers.
“Maybe you should,” Y/n replied sleepily. Leona laughed again, and the two basked in the silence that followed.
Time passed softly, and Y/n’s grip on Leona’s hand loosened when sleep overcame him fully. Leona didn’t let go, however, glancing down at Y/n, his gaze softening. The work was almost done—only a few paragraphs left—and he sighed noiselessly.
Leona leaned against Y/n slightly, just enough to rest his temple against the other’s. The world around them was a serenade of quietude as the two were surrounded by open books and silent truths.
🤎
It was the next day, and Leona had actually shown up on time to all his classes. The students and teachers gawked at his timeliness, especially Mr. Trein, when Leona presented himself to turn in his and Y/n’s shared project. The liberal arts teacher was exceptionally surprised to find the work done thoughtfully and completely, and ended up marking it relatively high.
Y/n closed the door to his dorm room, tossing his bag on a nearby chair and flopping face-first onto his bed. He sank into the sheets, groaning, “If I see one more textbook about the accomplishments of the Great Seven, I’m going to curse someone.” His voice was muffled in his bedding, and Leona chuckled from his dramaticism, pulling the curtains close. “Should I remove all textbooks from sight?” He offered.
Y/n groaned again. “Please do,” he begged. The male then sat up on his bed, hair messy and uniform disheveled. “I read your part of the project this morning,” he said, smirking. “Are you secretly starting to try now?” He raised an eyebrow at the beastman, voice light and teasing.
Leona grinned. “Don’t go spreading rumors like that,” he said, lazily collapsing beside Y/n on the bed. “I have a reputation to uphold.” He stretched and sighed like a satisfied lion under the sun. His tail swayed leisurely, and his ears twitched.
“Alright,” he said flatly, “you got your essay. You got your decent grade.”
“Riiight,” Y/n drawled out, looking down at Leona with slight confusion. The male in question grabbed a pillow and yanked it under his head. “Now I collect my reward.”
Y/n mock gasped. “I should’ve known. All that effort just to earn nap privileges?" He crossed his arms loosely over his chest, watching as Leona made himself at home.
“You say that like this isn’t the best deal either of us could’ve made.”
“And what if I told you no?” Y/n teased. He had no intent to take out his meaningless threat, only saying it to push the other’s buttons.
Leona cracked an eye open, his smirk lazy, dangerous—the whole embodiment of Leona, really. “Then I’ll just take it anyway. You love it regardless.” The Savanaclaw Housewarden wasn’t wrong in that aspect.
He reached over and grabbed Y/n’s wrist, tugging him closer with ease. Y/n let out a startled noise but didn’t resist. He head hot the pillow as Leona rested his chin atop Y/n’s head.
“You’re making yourself at home, huh?” Y/n yawned out as Leona’s tail trailed up his leg, eventually wrapping loosely around the limb.
Leona shifted, his hold on Y/n getting tighter. “You’re part of my territory, and I’m just getting comfortable.” Y/n huffed out a laugh, pressing his face into the crook of Leona’s neck, the latter throwing an arm around his waist, locking Y/n in place.
“Now shut up and sleep,” the beastman mumbled amusedly. “I earned this nap with interest.”
Y/n rolled his eyes and smirked against Leona’s shirt. “You’re such a brat,” he mused.
“And you’re stuck with me,” Leona countered.
Their limbs tangled further, and the two drifted off to sleep as the sun dipped below the horizon.
🤎