Leona clicked her tongue quietly, irritation curling tight in her chest.
She didn't even know when it started.
That feeling.
The faint, unreasonable annoyance that crept in whenever Leo spoke about Rin with that tone—as if he stood on some invisible step above the rest of them.
I know him better.
I was there first.
You wouldn't understand.
That's how it sounded to her, no matter how calmly he said it.
"Don't look so smug," Leona said suddenly.
Everyone blinked.
Leo frowned. "I'm not."
"Yes, you are," she shot back, arms crossed. "You keep saying 'it's his business' and 'you wouldn't get it' like that somehow makes you special."
"That's not what I meant," Leo replied, a bit sharper now. "You're reading too much into it."
"Am I?" She took a step closer. "Because it really sounds like you're saying you're closer to Rin than the rest of us."
The air tightened.
