Azrael… didn't have words at all.

Really!

She didn't have a single word when he presented the drink he made, stepping closer with a dazzling smile... his eyes sparkling, as if asking her… to choose him!

The moment lingered, the world pausing, all noise fading except the hopeful thud of his heart.

Leo might not have realised.... pretending to be curious about how the boy made the drink, fiddling with his sleeve, playing it cool. But deep down… he was really annoyed. A strange, sharp jealousy bit at him when Azrael's gaze drifted to the other boy… even if it was just for a few seconds.

Maybe?

Maybe not?

But even a heartbeat was enough for Leo to leap into action, eager to reclaim her attention, to draw her eyes back and show... no, prove, that he outshone anyone else who dared stand beside her.

So cute~

So innocent~

So lovely~

So… romantic~

He was unconsciously trying to pull her gaze, to anchor her to him and him alone.

Even though he acted as if he didn't want her... pretending he didn't want to hurt his girlfriends for her, somewhere, tangled in the shadows of his heart, Azrael could feel it… She'd slipped inside, found a place, and nestled quietly.

Her hands trembled ever so slightly as she accepted the glass, the drink glittering with a faint shimmer.

As she lifted it to her lips and sipped with a graceful tilt of her wrist, a hush swept over the room.

For a second, everyone seemed to forget how to breathe. Azrael's elegance, her poise, the way her fingers curved around the glass, matched perfectly with the confidence Leo had just revealed.

When she sipped… her pupils dilated, catching the light.

A rush of memories, vivid and overwhelming, stormed through her mind: a sunlit field, laughter echoing, a red-haired child's smile brighter than magic itself.

"Who is the cutie~ Who is the cutie~?" she heard herself coo in the echo of her own memory.

"Abooo haha~BBooobboooo!" The child's giggles bubbled up, sweet and wild.

"Look, Master! He's answering me! Ahaha, so cute~ I LOVE HIM SO MUCHHHH~ CAN I EAT HIM? HE LOOKS CUTE~!!!"

For a second, her eyes grew misty, glassy with longing, as if she could hear that child's laughter ringing just beside her ear.

Then reality snapped back... She licked her lips, savouring the taste, then glanced at Leo. His eyes were fixed on her.

He didn't need to hear her answer; he already knew. She felt it... he truly, deeply knew.

He smiled as he turned to the boy who was supposed to be the bartender. "And that's how you do it," Leo said, his voice laced with mischief and pride.

The boy's eyes widened. He nodded, flustered, clearly having no idea what kind of magic had just unfolded in front of him.

The girls who had been cheering for the other boy a moment ago now gaped at Leo, starry-eyed, hands clasped to their chests.

They knew he'd done something incredible, but none of them could find their voices; it was as if the words were trapped behind their teeth, locked by awe and a strange, delicious shock.

Except for the people sitting further away, who broke the stunned silence with applause. Their faces shone with surprise, their hands clapping wildly. For a student, just as the boy… Leo was astonishingly good… no, he was the best.

Leo bowed his head as if he had just performed something special.

Leo turned to Azrael, who was still staring at him, her eyes searching, unreadable. He asked, with a half-smirk,

"What? Was it that good? Did I take your breath away?"

Azrael didn't answer. She just stared, lips parted, her silence so heavy it vibrated in the air between them. Leo, feeling awkward, snapped his fingers in front of her face, hoping to jolt her back.

Azrael didn't flinch. She only blinked, slow and thoughtful, then dropped her gaze to the drink she held, watching the shimmering surface as if searching for answers. When she finally looked up, her voice was so quiet Leo almost didn't catch it.

"Shall we leave?"

Leo was surprised... thrown off by her tone. It wasn't naughty, it wasn't proud or playful. It was soft.

Vulnerable. Maybe… even broken?

He didn't know what to say. So he just nodded and hopped over the table's edge, quietly returning to the café's side.

Azrael paid the bill, even for the drink and glass she still clutched, fingers curled tightly around the glass.

They walked out together, silent. But inside, the girls erupted.

"OH MY GOD!! DID YOU SEE THAT!!"

"Yay! He's so cooooolllll~!"

"He totally stole the show! Did you see his face when he smiled? so lovely!! I think I'm going to faint!"

"Is he our school?"

"Looks like he was wearing our school clothes!"

Their voices bubbled over, echoing down the corridor, a chorus of squeals and laughter, but Leo and Azrael moved through the noise.

They wandered down the corridor in silence. Leo's mind spun with questions.

What just happened?

Why had she turned so quiet, so suddenly?

Her hand still cradled the drink like it was precious, her other arm brushing against his sleeve.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, Leo glanced at her, worry etched into his face. "Was it… not good?" he asked, "Did I mess up?"

Azrael turned to him with a small, gentle smile... so warm and real it made Leo's heart stutter. He'd never seen her look like that before.

"It's the best," Azrael murmured, trembling with emotion he'd never heard from her before. She seemed… vulnerable.

No assertiveness, no sly secrets. Just a lovely, lost woman, adrift in memories he couldn't see.

Leo parted his lips, ready to reply, but nothing came out. Words seemed pointless, too small for this moment. He found himself simply following her, not needing her to pull or tease or demand.... just letting her lead, just wanting to be close.

They walked on, calm and quiet.

Then, as they rounded a corner, a group of girls passed by, huddled close, whispering with giggles bubbling at their lips.

"Did you hear that?" one girl whispered, leaning in conspiratorially.

"What?"

"There's a rumor… If you confess your love on the school roof, you can, you know, do the deed~" she sing-songed, waggling her eyebrows.

"What the—?"

"Are you serious?" The group burst into snickers.

"Haha, I'm totally serious! Class 11 girls and boys were talking about it all last week, guys—believe me!!"

Leo blinked, thrown by their conversation, and glanced at them with a bewildered look as they passed by. "Who the hell spreads something like that?" he muttered to himself.

"Do the deed? Are they actually talking about… that?"

He was utterly shocked to hear something so bold... especially coming from girls!

Who the hell confesses love and then… immediately fucks you?

Are they insane?

If so, they're so fucked in their lives.

"What's wrong with these students nowadays? All about 'that thing'…" Leo sighed, shaking his head in real disappointment. "There's more to life than just flesh."

He turned to follow Azrael... only to see her staring at the group of girls with a look of pure shock on her face. But then… a deep, wicked grin slowly curled on her lips.

In that fucking moment, Leo knew exactly what was about to happen.

"Azrael, do not even think that—"

Before he could finish, she caught his hand and dragged him toward the stairs.

Of course, the roof had been closed after those wild rumours; the teachers even put out strict warnings: nobody goes up there anymore.

But Azrael just raised her leg, showing off impossible flexibility, almost a perfect 180-degree angle.

Leo's eyes bulged in horror. "Azrael?" He looked like he was being traumatised right there—before he knew it, she brought her heel down hard. The sexy, sharp heel of her shoe crashed onto the lock with a metallic crack.

Not even a scratch on the heel... The lock? Obliterated!

Leo just stared, horrified and awestruck all at once, 'The fuck did I just see?' he thought. For him, it would take tools... For her? Just a single, impossibly elegant heel.

The fuck?

He was so shocked as Azrael immediately dragged him up to the roof. She kicked the door shut behind them, then spun and slammed him up against the wall—one hand on the wall right beside his head, the other still holding her drink, eyes glittering.

Leo's worried, "Azrael… I'm sure those girls were just spreading fake rumours… There's no way anyone—man or woman—would do that sort of thing on the roof," he stammered, still trying to process the last thirty seconds.

Azrael smiled, warm and dangerous. "I know that…"

"Then?" Leo pointed, a little desperate, trying to figure out why she was holding him there, pressed and breathless.

Azrael shrugged, swirling her drink lazily. "It's just… I wondered. What if… what if it's possible?"

Leo shook his head, pushing out a nervous laugh. "No… it's not possib—"

"WHAT IF!!" Her voice jumped suddenly, sharp and bright, almost making Leo jump out of his skin. He stared.

Even Azrael seemed surprised by herself, her eyes wide before she gave a sheepish, awkward smile. "Sorry…" She shook her head, more softly. "What I'm trying to say is… what if?"

Leo took a steadying breath, then said calmly, "What if someone proposes and… they fuck each other up here? That's so fucked, and no one would do that literally, that's only in fiction and stories!" He was so blunt, but he knew being direct was the only way to reach her.

Azrael shook her head, a little to the side, a little upward... so much that she looked almost lost. Leo frowned, seeing her confusion mirrored on her face. "Are you alright?"

"I mean… from what they said, it seems like they become a couple—whether they fuck each other or not?"

Leo parted his lips, understanding finally dawning.... Okay?

Azrael suddenly tilted her head back and downed the rest of her drink in one motion, the glass making a soft clink as she tossed it away, letting it roll off into the shadows.

She met Leo's eyes, intense and sparkling, and said,

"I love you, and I want you to be part of my life for eternity."

Leo's lips parted in mild shock, his heart tripping over itself, his face caught somewhere between confusion and awe.

He knew, just from her eyes, that Azrael was dead serious. Even though he'd rejected her only days ago, here she was, asking again... laying herself bare with those trembling words.

He stared into her eyes, struggling to find his voice. "I told you befo—"

Azrael shook her head, her smile small, almost broken. "Don't say that… I need an answer directly now, from your mouth. Simple. Yes or no."

"…"

Leo fell silent.

Yes or no…

Yes… or… no…

Two little words. So simple—yet carrying the weight of worlds. Words with the power to break or bind, to decide futures no one could predict.

Leo could say it.

He could say it without hesitation, without even thinking—just open his mouth and say fucking No!

But no words came out.

It was as if something unseen, deep inside him, held him back. He didn't know why.

In this moment, Azrael seemed so different, so lovely, but trembling too.

It was as if his answer would decide everything... her future, maybe her very soul.

As if this choice was more than just words, more than a love confession.

As if she was confirming herself about something... something about her choice!

What was really going on here?

What was he supposed to choose?

What was she choosing?

He didn't know anything... Not really!

Why was he feeling this? Why did his chest ache with fear and hope, tangled up so tight it hurt to breathe?

He didn't understand… He never really understood himself.

He always just flowed along with life, never daring to ask the hard questions, never expecting anything from anyone. Because whenever he did, he always lost something... something precious.

He'd learned that lesson the hard way.

So now, he just tried to live, just tried to survive, moving through each day as best he could.

Leo swallowed hard, feeling the dryness in his throat. "A-Are you… going to leave me?" he managed to whisper.

Azrael smiled gently, leaning in close and touching his cheek with warm, trembling fingers.

"Leave you? I never thought of that… dear."

"Then… why are you suddenly…?" His voice wavered, the fear in it real. "You know nothing could change in these seven days, right?"

Azrael smiled again, but there was something fragile in it, her head shaking softly.

"I… I don't know. I thought maybe I was making a mistake… I mean, our ages and all… I thought, maybe I'm crossing a boundary I shouldn't. I didn't want to get hurt in the process, and I don't want you to hurt and cry when you remember… something. I mean… I mean—" she faltered, unable to tell him everything, her heart caught in hesitation.

"Are you worried that if I got my memories back… our relationship would change?" Leo asked softly, his voice gentle, trying to guess.

Azrael smiled weakly, her lips twitching with a sad humour. "Am I that readable?"

Leo shook his head gently… When Azrael first told him about their past, about moments as strange and embarrassing as her pinching his pee pee and him running to his mom, he'd sensed her confusion about what kind of relationship they really shared.

What if the previous Leo had only seen her… as a big sister?

Or worse… a mother?

He'd thought about it honestly... it felt unsettling, even a little frightening to imagine.

But for this Leo, Azrael was a woman... Nothing else!

Just like Raphael, Azrael was simply a woman in his eyes... a woman a man wanted to be with, to love.

And for Azrael, it seemed, she was only now realising what she truly was to him… It seemed like she had seen him as a man from the very first moment they'd met, whether she could admit it or not.

Now, she needed to confirm something... something that would make her heart calm, steady, and unafraid.

But asking him for an answer so directly… felt so strange,

"I mean… It's different now—" Leo tried to explain, voice soft.

"Simple. Yes or no," Azrael interrupted, her face suddenly serious, all the playfulness gone.

Leo sighed inwardly. She was pushing him to the edge… "Can we talk about this later?" he pleaded, hoping to buy himself time.

Azrael shook her head,

"I don't know what's going to happen today… Unlike Raphael, I'm a direct, practical woman. I believe both success and failure always have a fifty-fifty chance. Before I regret anything, I need to know… I just need to know it, Leo," she whispered, her hands cupping his face so warmly as she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.

"I need to know, My s- My Leo… where am I standing… and where should I go?" Her eyes were misty, trembling, almost painfully vulnerable.

Why was she like this?

So vulnerable?

Why?

This wasn't the Azrael he knew—she was always so strong, always so sure. Seeing her like this… it hurt.

Leo bit his lip, heart searching for the words he already knew… but couldn't bring to the surface.

Azrael smiled gently, brushing his cheek with her thumb. "Nothing could have changed in barely seven days, you say? But if things were the same, then my Leo would have given me the same answer—without hesitation, without trembling. Why the sudden change?" Her voice was soft, but it cut deep.

Leo blinked, startled by his own realisation… She was right.

He would have answered before, quick and sure.

So why was he so unsure now?

His hands clenched at his sides. He closed his eyes and took a slow breath, willing himself to calm down... to stop letting emotions run wild. He needed to think, needed to give her the answer she deserved.

She was the woman who'd stripped herself bare before him, vulnerable, and was now asking again for the truth.

Yes or no…No matter what, even if it hurt, she needed to hear it.

She needed to hear the answer from his lips... so it could reach her heart.

Azrael's heart hammered in her chest, the moment teetering between hope and heartbreak. This answer would decide everything she'd built would decide whether she could move forward as his lover… or as something else.

As he opened his eyes, Azrael held her breath, seeing a final, determined look in his eyes. His lips parted, and her heart thudded even faster, trembling on the edge of the unknown.

"N—"

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