Leon's idea was a good compromise. It let them show a happy family picture to others without having to do something they felt silly about, like wearing a fake tail.
Rossweise felt it was a bit ridiculous, but given the situation, there was no better choice. She slowly lifted her tail and bent the tip into a half-heart shape, bringing it to the space between them. Leon also stretched out his hand, bending his fingers slightly, using his thumb to form the other half of the heart.
The hand gesture and the "tail gesture" were both fine, but they both hesitated. They seemed shy about touching each other.
Well, thinking about it, that was pretty normal. Neither of them had any experience with romance. If you ignored all the complicated stuff, they had only held hands once by accident.
It was very pure~.
Rossweise glared at Leon and said in a low voice, "Be serious. Don't mess around."
"I'm not messing around. It's your tail that won't cooperate."
"My tail is very nimble. It's not like you, always so cowardly."
Leon was not happy to hear that. He then used his other hand to grab Rossweise's tail and pressed it against his hand to form the heart shape. Only then did they finally get the pose right.
Rossweise secretly pinched Leon's thigh. She said through gritted teeth, "Don't touch my tail."
"Good, good, good~ This is the pose. Don't move, don't move~"
Selena lifted her camera and aimed it at the group of four. "Smile! The couple, smile! That's right~ Little princesses, you can pose however you like too~ Well done~."
Click—Click—
The white flash went off a few times. Selena took many photos, planning to pick the best one later.
"Alright, thank you all for your help. Now, we will take Princess Noah's school application photo."
Muen, being a good girl, heard it was her sister's school photo and jumped down from the seat. She ran to the side and waited patiently.
Selena had Noah change into a more formal dragon-style dress. Family portraits could be warm, but school photos should be more serious. After changing, Noah stood between Leon and Rossweise, ready for the picture.
St. Heath Academy had very strict rules for judging families. So besides the student, the parents also needed to be in the application photo. The unlucky couple and the icy dragon girl all stood up very straight, not daring to breathe too heavily. Three pairs of eyes stared directly at the camera. Their faces had no expression.
Selena looked at the three faces in her camera and felt something was wrong. They were serious, yes, but too serious. It didn't look like a school photo. If you cut out their faces individually and made the picture black and white, you could hang them at a funeral a hundred years from now.
"All three of you, it's good to be serious, but try to relax a little. Otherwise, it looks too stiff," Selena suggested.
Click! Click!
Rossweise let out a quiet sigh of relief. She turned her head to look at Muen beside her, about to call her little daughter to leave together. But when she looked at Muen, the little dragon girl was sitting there obediently, looking at them with eyes full of longing.
Rossweise's heart felt a pang. Just as she was about to speak and ask Muen to join the photo, she heard Leon say, "Muen, do you want to take a picture with Mom and Dad too?"
Muen's eyes lit up. "Yes!"
Rossweise glanced at Leon. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she chose to look away. Muen stood between the couple. This time, it wasn't a family portrait or a school photo, so all three of them were very relaxed.
Leon lifted Muen right up. She actively stuck out her little tail, copying her mother's earlier move, wanting to make a heart with Leon. Of course, Leon didn't say no.
After that, Noah also came over, and they took many warm, happy photos. There were no strict rules; they just posed however they wanted.
"Sister, do you want to make a heart with Dad? It's so much fun~."
Noah hesitated for a moment,then shook her head and refused. "No."
"Hehe~ Sister, you're something else. Then I'll make a heart with Sister~."
Noah finally agreed. "Okay."
The two little dragon girls also took many pictures by themselves.
Selena's job after that became much easier. Leon and Rossweise sat down to the side. They didn't talk. They just silently watched their daughters having their pictures taken.
Rossweise felt the same as Leon. She sat with her legs crossed, one hand supporting her chin, a faint, content smile on her face as she watched her two daughters. So, a pretty strange scene happened during the photoshoot:
On one side, where the photos were being taken, it was lively and happy. The two dragon daughters tried all kinds of poses. Selena was also having fun taking pictures.
On the resting side, the "loving" couple who had just made a heart with a tail and a hand didn't say a word to each other. It didn't look like they came to take photos. It looked more like they were at the government office filing for divorce.
Maybe realizing this mood wasn't good for family "harmony," Rossweise looked straight ahead and said casually,
"Why don't you start a conversation to pass the time? Noah and the others will be taking pictures for a while."
"What is there to talk about? How about we just go outside and have a fight? By the time we're done, they'll be finished taking pictures."
Anyway, every time they tried to make small talk, they would start arguing within three sentences.
.
.
.
After arguing for about half an hour, Noah and Muen had taken enough photos.
"So,with this many photos, I probably can't develop them until tonight. Would you like to stay in Sky City longer and pick them up, or come back tomorrow?"
"We'll come back tonight to pick them up. Thank you for your hard work, Selena."
"You're welcome. I wish Your Majesty, the Prince, and the two little princesses a pleasant time in Sky City."
After thanking her, the family of four left the photo studio. Selena watched them until they disappeared around the street corner. Then she looked down at a photo she had just taken with her camera.
It wasn't the family portrait, and it wasn't a photo of the two little dragon sisters.
It was…
Even though their bodies were leaning away from each other, their eyes were connected in the picture of the silver-haired beauty and the young man.
The bright sunlight came through the photo studio window and fell generously on their shoulders. Tiny specks of dust danced like little fairies in the light, floating around the two of them.
Their eyes were locked together, full of unspoken feeling. It wasn't overly romantic or unclear, and it didn't have too much softness. But in their eyes, there was a beautiful, simple affection, like water in a cup that was almost full and ready to spill over.
"They really do look like a couple," Selena said to herself.