Berry Tart

A/N: This is a short drabble of a piece. Leon and Frey are not dating yet. There is also implied Doug/Dylas and Dylas/Frey as well.

In the beginning, his foul attitude drove everyone away. She spoke to him out of a sense of duty as the Princess, but as the days went by, she realized his attitude wasn't due to his personality being foul, rather, he was both shy and introverted. Misunderstood, rather. And little by little, she began treasuring her short conversations with him and felt herself falling for him.

Aside from one thing.

The only other person to get a rise out of him was Doug. At first it seemed like a hostile rivalry, but as she watched them there was a sense of camaraderie between them. Like Pico said, it seemed like only the truest of friends would talk to each other like that.

But to her eyes, there seemed to be something that wasn't a true friendship. Nearly every other topic was about Doug. Even when she tried to change it, he would bring it back to the fiery dwarf.

Almost like they loved each other.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her head smacking into a hard object. She yelped as she fell backwards, but she never hit the ground. "Whoa," the deep voice of Leon exclaimed, "Are you okay?" She rubbed her forehead and nodded. Leon released his hold and ruffled her hair. "Geez."

"Leon," she sighed, "Sorry."

"No problem. You seemed lost in thought."

She shrugged. "Yeah, a bit."

He smiled, "So let's take a walk together."

She blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Think of me as your seeing eye dog. I can't have you ruining that cute forehead with a nasty bump."

She shook her head, chuckling softly. He was such a flirt. "Alright." They walked in silence around the town, and when he lead her outside the castle walls to the plains, she said nothing in protest. If anything, being outside the walls cleared her mind. "Hey Leon," she began.

His ears flicked back and forth. "Yes?"

"Umm," she paused. Would it be weird to ask him directly? He didn't seem like the type to shy away from replying though, at least, of the entire town, she could probably count on him to say it bluntly. "What do you think of Doug and Dylas?"

"Hmm," he replied, slightly waving his peacock fan, "In what manner?"

Her cheeks flushed, "Well, you know, do you think they're..."

"In denial of their true feelings?" She nodded, face hot with embarrassment. He said nothing in reply and poked her arm with a folded fan. "Come on, let's go this way."

They stopped at the lake south of town. Leon sat at the edge of the shore and dangled his feet in the water. He patted the ground next to him and Frey did the same. "So our little Princess is either in love with Dylas or Doug, but she thinks they're both in love with each other. Is that correct?"

Her jaw dropped. Was it that obvious?

He laughed and poked her cheek. "Hit the nail on the head, did I?"

She buried her face in her hands. Yes, Leon would answer her question, but he would also tease her about it. The man was frustrating to deal with! A soft tingle traveled down her spine as he teased her hair. She looked at him through her fingers and saw a gentle smile. For a split second, her heart stopped. His eyes met hers and he stopped playing with her hair and returned to his usual mischievous grin.

"Gonna come out of hiding so I can finish answering your question?"

She nodded and slowly removed her hands. "You think so too, don't you?"

He shrugged and looked at the clouds. "What I can tell you, is starting a relationship with someone and holding doubt in your heart will cast a shadow on the relationship and doom it with heavy storms."

Those were surprisingly deep words from a man she wrote off as a jokester. Her brows furrowed in thought. Perhaps it would be wise to put away those feelings before they blossomed into something.

Cold water hit her face. She gasped. Leon laughed. "That cute forehead of yours is going to get wrinkles if you keep that face for too long."

"Leon," she cried, then kicked water on him as retaliation.

He smirked, "So you want to play that game, do you?" He ran his foot along the water and kicked up a huge splash in her face. She tried to dodge, but it managed to get most of her torso wet. She growled and leaned down to cup a splash, but he nudged her with his foot face first into the water.

"Leon!"

His laugh echoed in the small space. "Here, here," he replied, holding out his hand, "Come on, I'll take you back to dry off."

She took it, and in a smooth movement, pulled him down into the water with her. He coughed and glared at her playfully. "You realize what trouble you're in, right?" Frey smiled sweetly and splashed water in his face. He chuckled, "You're in for it now."

He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her underwater. As she came back up, she splashed her arms wildly, creating a torrent of water streams, and once he was distracted, lunged her body forward, tackling him into the water.

Swiftly, he lifted her up and tossed her into the far water. As she came back, he trudged to the shore, weighed down by his water logged clothes. She snatched his ankle and tugged, bringing him back to the water. He pushed her away, but she tackled him and they rolled over the shoreline until she triumphantly pinned him down.

His cerulean blue eyes sparkled, "So this is the way you like it? Can't say I'm going to complain."

"Leon," she sighed and gave into a resigned laugh. "You're such a brat."

He reached up and tapped her forehead with his index finger. "Forget about him."

"Huh," she replied in confusion.

He chuckled and gently pushed their bodies apart. "We should head back. Unless you like being wet, in which case I'll happily take care of it."

"Huh?"

"That's the face I like," he replied with a warm smile.

Her lips pursed, "You're a flirt."

He half laughed, "Am I? Or maybe I'm the most honest person here."

For a moment, she could swear his eyes seemed serious and not his usual carefree playful, but before she could decide either which way it was gone.

As they walked back into town, their clothes left a wet trail and made a loud noise with each step. Frey giggled. Hopefully no one would be in the square and see the town's Princess and the Dragon Priest walk in like a couple of wet dogs on a sunny day.

"P-Princess," Vishnal stuttered as they walked through the gate, "What happened?"

"Did you know at Keeno Lake there's a giant squid? We tried to catch it but it got the better of us, as you can see. Perhaps a butler like yourself can handle the problem," Leon said without skipping a beat.

Vishnal's eyes gleamed with determination. "You're right! As a super butler in training, I should be able to handle the problems my Princess cannot! Don't worry Princess, I'll take care of the squid for you!"

"Be... careful," Frey said to the cloud of dust Vishnal left behind. She shot a playful glare at Leon and softly laughed. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "Being with you is the best way to kill time."

"Huh?"

"Let's go for a walk again sometime," he replied, waving his hand goodbye as he sauntered off.

All at once confusing, frustrating, and maddening, yet behind his façade was a kind man with wise words. A part of her wanted to become closer to the playful priest. Maybe tomorrow he would go on another walk with her.