Berry Tart, part 02

A mini sequel to the one shot Berry Tart (Chapter 4). Leon and Frey are not dating and Frey has a crush on Dylas and I believe that all the background needed for new readers.

Frey yawned as she walked to the airship. Discovering the seasonal fields seemed like a boon, but checking up on them took all morning. Her eyes widened when she saw Leon lazily gazing at the sunrise from the stern of the ship. "Good morning Leon."

He glanced at her for a second before returning his gaze to the sky. "Good mor- no, let's go with bad night instead."

Frey grimaced. "I guess that's why you're up early."

His chuckle filled the awkward silence that followed. "Well, I'll be off. Can't be interfering with official royal business, can I?"

Every single muscle in her shoulder ached in agony. By time she tended the three fields at home and the four seasonal fields she was ready to collapse. Not only that, she felt dirty, both from the soil and the sweat that drenched her body. Nothing felt better than a bath after the morning chores.

"Ah, Leon," she called as she approached the baths, waving.

His smile never seemed like a real smile, much like when he looked at her or spoke with her she felt like he could see through to her innermost secrets. He stopped and waited for her to approach. "Fancy a bath after a hard day's work?"

She rolled her shoulder, "Yeah. I'm really sore after it all."

"Hmm," he mused as he opened the door, "I know a good way of getting rid of soreness. Meet me in my room after your bath."

Her eyes widened.

Leon laughed, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Not quite like that, but I'll keep it in mind for future purposes."

"Morning you two," Lin Fa greeted. "Come for a bath?"

"Yes, it seems our princess is rather dirty today."

She laughed. "So our Princess is dirty?"

"From farming," Frey interrupted.

Lin Fa blinked. "What else would make you dirty?"

Leon smirked. "Yes, tell us, what else would make you dirty?"

Blood rushed to her face. She closed her eyes and held out her money. "I'm here to take a bath!"

A warm hand covered hers and pushed it back to her chest. "I'll pay for her," Leon volunteered, "I owe her one."

As they walked up the stairs, Dylas came down. Frey's heart stopped. "Hi Dylas," she greeted as their paths crossed.

He glanced at her, then at Leon with skeptical eyes, and said "Hey."

Before she could say anything else, he walked off. Leon's tail twitched. "So you're fond of stubborn horses."

Her jaw dropped as her face turned beet red. Leon laughed and patted her head. "I'd say go cool off, but it's a hot bath, isn't it? Try not to work yourself up even more in that case."

"Leon!"

His tail swayed to and fro as he sauntered into the male's side of the bath, laughing all the while.

She crouched down and sighed. Was it that obvious? Wouldn't he be able to tell if it was that obvious?

"Imagine that."

The deep voice sent a jolt down her spine. "Leon?"

"Having a late lunch too?" He smiled as his tail twitched behind him.

Though he seemed friendly, something in his smile held a bit of the mischief he was fond of. She nodded and took a drink of the complimentary water.

"So how was the bath? Manage to cool down? Or did it only stoke the fires?"

She grimaced. "You!"

He laughed. "I adore that face of yours."

Dylas cleared his throat. "Are you two going to order or are you wasting my time?"

Frey yelped. "Dylas! W-when did you get here?"

His eyes narrowed. "I've been here the entire time."

"You have," she replied meekly.

Leon burst into a loud laugh. "Be nice to the lady. She seems to be suffering from some hot flashes."

"Leon," she squealed.

"See how red her face is?"

Frey buried her face in her hands. "Stop, stop!"

He laughed, "Isn't she adorable? You agree, right, Dylas?"

Frey peeked through her fingers at Dylas. Their eyes met. Her heart skipped a beat. He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

His words stabbed her heart. She couldn't stop the instant tears that formed. She closed the gaps of her fingers and focused on banishing her tears.

"Hey," Leon growled, "Get us two preludes to love, a salted lampshade squid, and a piece of cake."

Dylas scoffed and walked off. Leon rubbed his foot against hers under the table. "You okay?"

She nodded and removed her hands. "I knew he would say that, but still, it hurts."

"Sorry. I set him up for that. But I wasn't teasing you. You are truly the cutest thing I've ever seen."

She gave him a weak smile. "Thanks Leon."

Dylas came back with the food and unceremoniously dumped it in front of them before walking off without a single word. Frey frowned. "He's mad at me, isn't he?"

Leon glanced at Dylas and back at her. "I wouldn't say that, exactly." He grabbed his fork and cut off a piece of cake. "Here, aaah."

Her cheeks flushed, "What are you doing?"

He smiled, "That flustered face of yours is the best." He turned the fork around and handed it to her. "Eat up, it's my treat."

Frey walked around the town. What an odd day. With Leon everything ordinary turned to extraordinary. His teasing drove her mad, but he was also very sweet about it. It wasn't out of malice. She sighed. He was really cute too. Whenever he was about to cause mischief his smile would change and his tail would twitch. "I wonder if I he would flush if I told him that?" She smiled to herself. "He's really a great guy."

She walked up the stairs to the observatory. Maybe a nice view would help clear her mind. As she opened the door, a certain blue-haired man came into view. Her heart skipped a beat. She swallowed and clutched her chest. Where did that come from?

"Hi Leon," she greeted. "I guess we meet again."

Leon turned around with a smile. "By the way.."

"Yeah?"

"You've been following me all day, haven't you?"

Her eyes widened. "Uh, well…"

"You just wanted to be with me, I'm sure. You could have simply said so, though. Here, would you like hands as we walk?"

"Wait, what," she squealed as he grabbed her hand and held it tight. He dragged her down the stairwell. Her heart beat as though they ran. "L-Leon?" She tried to wrench her hand away, but he held tight. As they walked, her heartbeat wouldn't slow. She bit her lip and looked down. Her body felt on fire, and the hand holding his seemed like she called up a lightening spell. There seemed to be an electricity that buzzed between them.

"Is lunchtime still bothering you?"

She blinked, "Huh?"

He smiled down at her, "Guess not. Where do you want to go?"

"I-I don't know. I mean, I guess wherever you're going."

"Oh, in that case I'm going back to my room." She stopped in her tracks. When his arm tugged he turned around. Her expression made him laugh. "So many times in one day. You're spoiling me." He walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Here, let me give you a reward." He leaned forward.

Her face turned beet red. Was he going to take her first kiss? "L-Leon!"

His face stopped an inch from hers. "That flustered face of yours is my favorite," he said, pushing away. "I'll let you recover for a bit. I'm sure I'll see you later today at the rate things are going."

She watched him walk away, heart still beating a thousand beats per minute. She clutched her chest and took a deep breath. "I'm not falling for him, am I?"

"Ah, the horse," Leon muttered as he approached the lakeside. He stood next to him and threw his line into the water.

"…Hmm? Oh, Leon. It's you."

"You seem bored."

Dylas shrugged. "Not especially."

"Don't try to hide it. You have nothing to do right now, do you?"

"I think you're the bored one here, man."

Leon squatted down and loosely held his pole. "What do you think of our princess?"

Dylas glanced down at him with skeptical eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means what it says."

Dylas sighed in disgust. "I don't have to answer that to you."

Leon's ears perked up. He cocked his head to the side and studied Dylas' face. He half laughed. "You know, you're going to lose with that attitude."

"Lose what," he snapped. "I don't lose in anything!"

"The things that are precious to you should be kept close, that's all. If they're not, they'll be snatched away before you know it."

Dylas arched an eyebrow. "You're weirding me out, man."

Leon shrugged. "Just giving some friendly advice. I am a priest, after all."

"I didn't ask for your advice!"

A sigh left him. "You're not quite as fun as I imagined you'd be. Maybe I should state it clearly – Frey will be mine."

Dylas dropped his fishing pole. He stared down at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Leon smirked, "So that gets a reaction, does it? I mean what I say. You're not the only one fond of our Princess."

Dylas growled and stomped off. Leon stood and dusted his hands off, and followed him.

Frey wiped her brow and leaned against the window of her shop. What a day, what a day. Between Dylas and Leon her heart seemed like it would die of over stimulation.

"Hey," Dylas yelled as ran to her.

Frey looked up, confused. He seemed upset about something. "Umm, hi?"

"I'm not going to lose," he proclaimed, then ran off.

She watched his back disappear into the sunset. "What was that about?"

Leon laughed from afar. He may lose this war, but so long as she was happy, he too, would be happy. Of course, that didn't mean he would surrender without a fight. "Look what we have here," he greeted, sauntering over to the adorable princess.

A/N: I have some good (personal) news to share~ One of my original novels is going to be published! Uwaa, I'm so excited! And I've taken so long to update because I'm working on three at once orz

Here's #1 of the 2 that are finished. The second is called Lemon Zest and is rated M, so search for it if you're curious~ ;D