4-1 . Family.
"D-do you have any family members that live nearby, Leo?"
"My mother was dead long before I could remember much about her. It was a combination of malnourishment and giving birth to my sister that killed her, I think. As for my father..." Leo paused, grimacing as he thought back to his childhood. "He died of consumption, a breathing problem, we were told, but to be honest, he wasn't... right in the head towards the end. I'd... rather not talk about him, if possible."
"Oh. I-I'm sorry that I brought it up in the f-first place. What about siblings, then?"
"Well, I have three. I'm the third-born. We were inseparable when we were younger, but after both of our parents died... By the time we realized that we were drifting apart, it was too late to salvage our relationship completely. As soon as he was of recruitment age, my brother, the eldest of the four of us, joined the military. My older sister took care of the rest of us for a little while afterwards, but eventually she found her calling running an orphanage in a town about a week's ride away from here. My younger sister married the love of her life and they moved across the continent to a city by the coast." Leo glanced at Sakura sideways. "What about you? Is there anything you remember about your family?"
"I th-think that I have three siblings as well. I can see their faces, but I can't quite recall their n-names." Her face fell, eyes glassy. "Wherever they are, I h-hope that if we meet again, they can forgive m-me for disappearing on them."
Leo looked away uncomfortably. It certainly hadn't been his intention to make her upset. Suddenly, Sakura threw her arms around him and pressed her face against his shoulder. He could feel his shirt becoming damp where her tears had come into contact with it. A quiet sniffling sound was coming from her. Slowly, Leo wrapped his own arms tightly around the crying girl, and whispered into her ear.
"It would be hard for anyone to stay mad at you."
4-2 . Stars.
One clear night, after all of the day's work had been taken care of, Leo draped a cloak over Sakura's shoulders and wordlessly motioned outside. Not far from the pasture was a grassy hill that was the highest point on his property. The two sat in silence, staring up at the black ocean filled with shining pinpricks of light forming an endless array of shapes and figures.
"You know... s-sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be one of them," said Sakura quietly. "A star, I mean. Looking down over the world from so far away..." Her voice trailed off.
They remind me of you, Leo thought. Bright, amazing, beautiful things that I will never get sick of seeing.
He was in love with Sakura. It wasn't some shocking epiphany, like the ones written about in idyllic, romantic ballads. He came to the conclusion in a very calm and matter-of-fact manner. He looked away from the stars and glanced instead at the person beside him. What did he want to do?
He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
In that instant, Leo suddenly became so overcome with giddiness that he didn't notice the wistful expression on Sakura's face as she stared into the sparkling night sky.
4-3 . Proposal.
As the two of them taking the long walk from town one day, Leo noticed Sakura checking and rechecking the horse-drawn cart full of supplies they had bought earlier in the day.
"Did we forget something, Sakura?"
"Yes. No. Um..." Her face turned slightly pink. "I m-mean, I thought that you were buying some more books this month, that's all."
Leo found himself incredibly interested in his bootlaces. "Oh. I've been saving up for something else for a while now."
"Really? Wh-what are you planning on buying, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Nothing... too important."
There was an uneasy silence for the rest of the day, for two very different reasons.
It was Leo who broke it first. The sun had set, and and each was preparing to turn in for the night. Normally, he would avoid directly confronting his shy companion, but the tension in the air combined with a lack of unnecessary communication between the two was bothering him.
"Sakura." Leo placed a hand on her shoulder, and the woman turned around to face him. He found himself almost... annoyed by the distance from which she stood from him. The gap was large, as though they were just casual acquaintances. "Something has been troubling you since the afternoon. Care to tell me what's wrong?"
She fidgeted, not meeting him in the eyes. "Leo..." she started slowly. "Am I a bur-burden on you? F-financially, I mean?"
Leo was taken aback by her words. "What—"
Sakura continued, "I kn-know that I'm n-not as helpful with the horses as I could be, and I'm n-not contributing much either just by selling flowers." The rest of the words came out progressively faster. "And now you're trying to s-save money by not buying books, and I don't know why and I think that it's because I'm taking up r-resources that you could otherwise use for your studies." She caught her breath for a second, while Leo gaped at her wordlessly. "I-it's exactly as I s-said, isn't it. D-do you want me to leave you be, L-Leo?"
Hearing his name snapped Leo out of his shocked daze. "No, that is the last thing that I would want!" He paused, reaching into his pocket and taking his own deep breath. "This definitely isn't how I imagined doing this, but..."
He got down on one knee and opened a small square box in his left hand. "Sakura. I'm afraid that I've fallen deeply in love with you. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
It wasn't the hilltop surrounded by a glittering blanket of stars, nor was it the garden of flowers that Sakura had so carefully cared for. But Leo had gotten the words out correctly in one go, and that was good enough for him.
Sakura's maroon eyes widened in surprise, and then began to shine with happiness. "I— Y-yes. Yes, I will."
She timidly reached out with her left hand towards him, and Leo slipped the polished gold band onto her fourth finger.
In that moment, he had never before felt less alone.
Confessing your feelings and then immediately popping the question, feelsfireemblemman.
