Work Text:
A deep sigh drifted across the room, drawing Leo’s attention away from the documents spread before him. He lifted his eyes from the budget report he’d been reviewing—one of the several programs he and Kamui had been managing together—and looked instead at his wife.
Kamui sat across the desk, lips pressed into a small pout, chin propped in her palm, vermilion eyes narrowed at the mountain of paperwork as though it had personally offended her. For a heartbeat, she didn’t look like the queen who had crossed worlds and wars. She looked like a girl told she couldn’t go outside to play.
“Is everything alright?” Leo asked, failing to keep the faint amusement out of his voice.
“Yes, yes... I was just wondering if this ever ends.” Kamui waved her free hand at the sea of documents swallowing the desk. “I swear, every time we finish one thing, another appears,” she murmured, her expression endearingly dramatic.
Leo studied her more carefully. The tightness in her shoulders, the weary slump of posture… she was exhausted, and he didn't like seeing her that way. Kamui’s commitment to built stability in Valla was admirable, but she so often forgot that she, too, had limits.
“You know you’re allowed to take a break, right?” he reminded her gently. “Most of these reports aren’t due until next week anyway.”
“No, I’m fine,” she assured, straightening in her seat again with sudden resolve. “I said I’d be super productive today so I can be free tomorrow.” Her expression brightened into a warm, radiant smile. “We have to celebrate your birthday properly, after all.”
“As you say,” Leo murmured, turning back to his documents to hide the warmth creeping up his neck. He wasn’t particularly fond of celebrations, but he knew trying to change whatever Kamui had planned for his birthday was a lost cause. And honestly, as long as he got to spend time with her, he couldn’t complain.
Kamui hummed softly and returned her attention to her own work.
Or, at least, that was what Leo expected.
It didn’t take long before he noticed her glancing at him every few seconds. Curious looks at first, then lingering, then wholly unapologetic. He tried to ignore it. He truly did. It was nothing he couldn’t handle. He told himself that acknowledging it would only make it worse, so he kept his eyes on the report, his quill moving, his expression composed.
But it didn’t help. He was painfully aware of every second her eyes stayed on him. Eventually, he lifted his gaze, just for a moment. Kamui had stopped pretending to read altogether. Now she simply watched him, smiling softly, as though memorizing every detail, as though he were the greatest treasure in her life.
It wasn’t unpleasant. Just... unexpected in a way that made his chest feel strangely warm.
And it was absolutely dangerous to productivity. Once he gave in and met her gaze, restraint became a lost cause.
Kamui’s vermilion eyes were striking, nearly the same shade as the gem set into the ring he had given her long ago, a promise sealed in crystal and metal that he intended to keep for eternity. Those eyes were filled with warmth, with devotion, with a tenderness that always threatened to unravel him when she looked at him like that. And then there was everything else: the soft curve of her smile, the pale silver of her hair catching the afternoon light, the faint pink blooming across her cheeks, the gentle tilt of her head...
She was beautiful in ways that still caught him off guard, even now. Especially now.
He shook his head lightly, forcing the thoughts aside before they carried him too far. He knew he needed to focus on work again. He really did. But with her so close and watching him like that, it was becoming an increasingly impossible task. He had to do something.
“Kamui,” he said, “if you keep distracting me like this, I’m afraid we won’t make any progress at all.”
Kamui blinked, genuinely puzzled. “I’m distracting you? But all I did was look at you!” she said innocently.
Gods. Did she truly believe that was all she’d been doing these past few minutes? Had she still not realized the effect her presence alone had on him?
“It’s the way you’re looking at me,” he clarified, frowning slightly when a sudden, dreadful thought struck him. “My shirt isn’t on backwards again, is it?” He glanced down at himself with mild panic.
Kamui laughed, soft and affectionate, shaking her head. “No. You’re perfectly dressed, Leo.”
“Then what is it?”
“Sorry,” she said, still smiling. “Sometimes it’s hard to concentrate when you’re here.”
That only made him more confused.
“What do you mean? We were working just fine a few minutes ago,“ he said, looking at her inquisitively.
Kamui looked away, murmuring something under her breath. Leo didn’t catch all of it, but he was fairly certain the word ‘cute’ had been involved, which did absolutely nothing to clarify the situation.
“What was that?”
“N-nothing,” Kamui began shuffling through her notes with exaggerated focus, and before Leo could press her for an answer, she changed the subject. “Um—why don’t you tell me about the budget draft? That was next on my to-do list anyway.”
Leo was still a little puzzled, but decided, for the sake of peace, to let it go. He handed her the documents he’d been reading and began explaining the tax revisions, his proposed allocations, and how they could ease the concerns of certain advisors.
He assumed Kamui was listening attentively. And realized halfway through that her interest was no longer on the documents. Once again, she was staring at him. He stopped speaking, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. They really weren’t going to get much work done, were they?
“Kamui,” he called, frowning slightly.
“What?” she asked. Her tone was innocent enough, but the glimmer of amusement in her eyes and the tiny smile tugging at her lips betrayed her. She knew exactly what she’d been doing.
“Didn’t you say you were going to be super productive today?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Kamui let out another soft laugh as she pushed the piles of papers aside and folded her arms on the desk. “I was just thinking.”
“About what, exactly?” Leo raised an eyebrow, curious.
“About how much I love you,” she said simply, catching Leo completely off guard. “I’m so lucky to have you by my side, Leo. I’d truly be lost without you.”
For a moment, Leo stared at her, completely forgetting how to speak. His mind, usually so precise, failed to produce a single coherent response.
Kamui seemed to realize she’d said too much. She rose abruptly, as though embarrassed by her own honesty, silver hair shifting over her shoulders. “You know what?” she said quickly. “I think I could relax for a bit... but only if you come with me. We’ve been trapped here working for hours. We deserve a break.”
Leo glanced at the not-so-pleasant stack of documents still waiting for them.
Then he looked at his wife.
The decision was effortless.
“You’ve convinced me.” Leo stood and crossed the small distance between them. He took her hands and, unable to resist, leaned down to kiss her softly. “And I love you too,” he murmured against her lips. “You just caught me off guard.”
“I know,” she whispered, her cheeks tinted a light pink and her eyes bright with pure affection.
Leo smiled, unable to stop it, and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. He wondered, not for the first time, how she had become the place his thoughts always returned to.