Chapter 1625 - 228 - On The Frontline (1)
Alice’s POV
I woke up to a strange feeling beside me, almost as if someone was lying close enough that I could feel their presence even before I opened my eyes, and when I finally looked over, I found a person sleeping peacefully next to me with his arm underneath my head, practically serving as my pillow.
The moment I realized who was beside me, I immediately felt my face getting hot.
Leon and I had sex, didn’t we? Like, literally had intercourse.
Just thinking about what had happened made my heart beat a little faster, although the experience itself had been somewhat different from what I had originally imagined it would be like.
It was painful at first, but... after that initial pain, it became really good.
Even so, we really had done it, and somehow, despite everything that had happened between us before this moment, I felt incredibly happy about it.
For some reason, it felt like my feelings for him had finally come back to me.
Actually, that wasn’t quite the right way to describe it.
My feelings for Leon had never really disappeared in the first place.
They had always been somewhere inside me, even during the times when I tried to convince myself that I had moved on or that the distance between us had changed how I felt about him.
I had simply been unable to acknowledge those feelings properly until now, and this was the first time in a long while that I felt as though something between us had finally been re-established.
It felt familiar, but at the same time, it was also different from before.
For the first time in what felt like forever, I simply wanted to stay like this beside him.
I didn’t want to get up yet, and I certainly didn’t want to start thinking about everything waiting for us outside this room.
I just wanted to remain here beside him for a little while longer, enjoying the quiet moment before reality inevitably came knocking again.
Looking at Leon’s face while he slept, I noticed that he seemed unusually peaceful compared to how he normally looked.
Some of the color that had been missing from his face seemed to have returned as well, and seeing that made me feel genuinely relieved.
At least he looked better now.
That alone was enough to make me feel a little happier.
While I was thinking about it, I suddenly felt like doing something rather childish, so I reached over and gently bumped the tip of his nose with my finger.
He really did look cute while he was sleeping.
It was honestly difficult to believe that the same person could look this peaceful while asleep and then turn into such an irritating idiot the moment he opened his mouth.
Maybe that was simply part of Leon’s charm.
Or perhaps I was just being too forgiving toward him because I was happy right now.
Either way, I didn’t really mind.
"Mmm..." Leon murmured as he slowly began waking up beside me.
His eyelids gradually opened, revealing those familiar crimson eyes that I had grown so accustomed to seeing.
He stared at me for a few seconds with a sleepy expression before finally speaking.
"Good morning," he said quietly. "Did you sleep well?"
When he asked me that, I couldn’t help smiling back at him.
"I did," I replied before giving him a slightly teasing look. "More than that, though, how about you?"
The whole reason I had done this in the first place was so that he could finally relax himself.
After everything he had gone through, I wanted him to have at least one moment where he could forget about all the things weighing on him and simply rest without having to worry about what might happen next.
I was pretty sure that he had managed to relax while we were holding each other earlier, and honestly, seeing him sleep this peacefully made me feel like my efforts had actually been worth something.
"Well, so-so, I guess."
The moment he said that, I immediately looked at him in surprise.
"R-Really?" I asked, unable to hide the concern that suddenly appeared on my face.
"I’m joking," he replied with a small grin. "I slept like a baby. It’s probably the first time I’ve slept that well in a really long while."
For a second, I simply stared at him.
I was seriously considering punching him for making such a stupid joke immediately after I had asked him a serious question, but I somehow managed to hold myself back and instead released a quiet sigh of relief.
Seriously, this guy really knew how to worry me over absolutely nothing.
"Thank you," Leon suddenly said.
For a moment, I had no idea what he was thanking me for, so I simply looked at him with a confused expression.
Then I realized what he meant.
He was thanking me because I had somehow managed to help him relax, even if it had only been for a little while.
Hearing that made my chest feel strangely warm.
"If you want to relax..." I started to say before stopping myself halfway through.
Leon immediately turned his attention toward me.
"What?" he asked, looking at me as though he were deliberately trying to get me to finish what I had started.
"N-Nothing, idiot," I quickly replied.
I was far too embarrassed to continue because I suddenly realized what I had been about to suggest, and the more I thought about saying it out loud, the more ridiculous and embarrassing the whole thing seemed.
"Why don’t you tell me?" Leon asked with an amused expression.
"Ugh, you really are irritating sometimes," I muttered before suddenly realizing something else. "Ah, where exactly are you touching?"
I hadn’t even noticed when his hand had moved, but somehow, it had already found its way to my breasts without me realizing it.
His grip was considerably firmer than before, and I could also feel his member pressed against me.