I can't picture myself falling for anyone else but you, Maru...

Y'know, I love you. I'm pretty sure you feel the same way about me. But if I've got it all wrong, just tell me straight. It'll hurt, sure, but I'd rather know the truth. I respect your feelings, even if they're not what I hoped for. I don't want you to feel like loving me is a burden.

'Cause, honestly, loving you has never been a burden. I cherish every bit of it. Loving you has always been a joy, never a burden.

I'm here for you, no matter what.

— Tsukinaga Leo, ch. Listen to me. “Loving someone other than you.”

From the moment they encountered each other right before The War Era and Checkmate, it took them almost eight years to establish a romantic relationship.

When Maru was 17, she started having romantic feelings for Leo, although initially, she thought of them as admiration for her idol. Over time, she accepted that she truly loved him. Leo sensed Maru's feelings but wanted confirmation before jumping to conclusions. As they spent more time together, Leo's feelings for Maru also grew, and he admitted his love for her when he was 22. He realized that he had been in love with her for a long time, although he didn't know exactly when those feelings began to develop.

The relationship had its ups and downs, including a phase of mutual longing and misunderstandings, which lasted until they sorted things out and officially began dating at ages 24 and 22.

During the time (pre-timeskip era) before a significant event (timeskip era), Maru was in a phase of mutual longing with Leo. However, she needed time to sort out her emotions due to past experiences that haunted her. She worried that expressing her feelings might restrict Leo's freedom as he was a free-spirited person. She learned from past mistakes that overwhelming feelings and selfishness could burden others. This made her hesitant to acknowledge her romantic interest in Leo.

Maru's way of showing love was by letting Leo go and allowing him to be free without her, even though she didn't realize this was also leading to a subtle selfishness, as it denied Leo the chance to reciprocate.

Leo, though, was more aware of Maru's feelings and was confident in her love for him. However, he was cautious not to act recklessly or it would ruin whatever they had already, he thought. He was relieved when they finally resolved their misunderstandings.

Leo, he was aware of Maru's thoughts of possibly leaving his side.

"To be brave is to love someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return."

He understood that he shouldn't pressure Maru to stay with him or to reciprocate his feelings, as a supportive guy, but he couldn't ignore the strong desire he felt. He couldn't imagine himself loving anyone else but Maru. He couldn’t even see another guy being the one who is by her side as well.

Leo believed it was fine not to confess his feelings, assuming Maru would always be there for him. However, when Maru mentioned resigning from her job, he realized he couldn't hold onto her forever.

He faced the truth that she wouldn't always be by his side.

Leo usually approaches situations with a logical mindset, but that doesn't mean he lacks a romantic side. He can appear quite expressive, but when it comes to emotional matters, especially those he struggles to communicate, he tends to create some space first to gather his thoughts.

While Leo was certain that Maru reciprocated his feelings, she often kept her concerns to herself, not wanting to burden the person she cared about.

Their misunderstandings often arose because Leo used sarcasm or humor to express himself, sometimes coming off as rude. This made him avoid listening at times, as a way to hide his own emotions. When he felt hurt that Maru didn't open up to him, he wondered if she had closed her heart to him.

<aside> <img src="/icons/stars_gray.svg" alt="/icons/stars_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Maru felt that her feelings might burden Leo since they were both popular idols and an ordinary person, and she wanted to shield her heart from potential hurt by not letting others respond to her feelings—an action she believed was the right thing to do.

On the other hand, Leo struggled with the dilemma of not being able to express his feelings for Maru, fearing rejection and being unable to handle that. When he heard about Maru's resignation plan, he wanted to keep her close but he also wrestled with the idea of not restricting others because of his own—something he believed as—selfish desires.

Past pains and errors might come back around. What truly matters is if, faced with them again, you can overcome them with more strength and wisdom than before.

</aside>

They avoided telling each other about their feelings for a while. Both loved each other but thought it was only one-sided. They sensed the other might feel the same, but not confessing caused confusion and doubt about their mutual feelings.

Leo and Maru took a long time before they finally accepted their feelings and took action.

I'm sorry... I'm sorry. I lied. I'd be lying if I said I could watch you fall in love with someone else.

I lied if I said I was capable of falling in love with someone else...

…other than you, Leo-kun.

— Hidaka Amaru.