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love on the battlefield.

Summary:

just drabbles from my tumblr @pokemagines

Chapter 1: battlefield confessions. (sonya x reader)

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   "Hey, Sonya, watch your back!” You cry, taking out an enemy with your lance, as you swoop down on your pegasus. She turns around, and sees the foe felled by your attack, and shoots a grin in your direction.

   “Thanks, darling.” She readies another attack against the terror, freshly spawned by the Cantor. The way she says darling makes your cheeks flush, and catches you off guard so much so that you miss your attack.

   “D-don’t call me that unless you actually mean it, Sonya.” You pout, hating it when she teased you like that, because you actually held strong feelings for her. You hear Sonya chuckle, both out of amusement and because she landed a critical hit.

   “And how do you know I don’t mean it, hmm?” She whips around, the two of you teaming up to take out the two remaining terrors, while the rest of the team worked on taking out the Cantors. “You are quite… interesting to me.”

   “What is that supposed to mean?” You yell, your pegasus grappling in the air with the terror. You use your steel lance to finish the creature off, and it disappears in a poof of smoke. Sonya shoots a bolt of excalibur at the terror.

   “Isn’t it obvious?” She dodges the terror’s sharp claws, sidestepping and shooting another bolt at it, felling the beast. “I like you, [name].” The forwardness of her confession almost makes you fall off your pegasus. 

   “No way,” you breathe out, landing and stepping off of your pegasus and look up at the beautiful purple-haired woman. “This must be a dream.”

   She chuckles, working a gloved hand through your slightly sweaty hair. “Of course it isn’t.” Her hand rests on your cheek, and you almost melt then and there, in the middle of the battle. “And when we get off the battlefield, I’m going to prove it to you.” Words fail you, and all you manage out is a weak ‘okay’. Your moment is interrupted by the cacophonous screeching of freshly summoned terrors.

   “Meet me at the market after the battle?” You ask, gripping your lance, jumping on your pegasus. “We can go to that little shop in town, if you want.”

   “Of course, doll.” She blows you a kiss, opening her Sagittae tome. “I’d love to.”

   Celica swears she’d never seen you and Sonya fight as hard as you did today. Sonya would laugh and tell her it’s because the both of you couldn’t wait for your date.

Chapter 2: don't go where i can't follow. (lukas x reader)

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   Wiping the sweat off your forehead, you take down another bow knight, trying to carve a path so the mages could get through to the armored units.

   That’s when you see Lukas, calling to Silque for her to come heal him. You know what your objective is, but you know that the mages on your team are strong enough to beat a few more bow knights, so you abandon your mission and rush over to help Lukas.

   “Lukas!” You yell, rushing to his side, narrowly missing a spell shot at you by a Cantor. “You okay?” He’s thrown off by your sudden appearance, using his steel lance to knock a terror out of the air. 

   “I’ve had better days,” he retorts, taking out another terror, trying to get closer to it’s maker. “Is Silque or Tatiana nearby? My armor isn’t strong against magic attacks, I don’t know why Faye hasn’t taken out the mages yet.” 

   “I hope so,” you grit your teeth, getting close to Lukas in case another magical attack came his way. “You look awful.”

   As he opens his mouth to reply, another Death attack comes his way. Knowing he couldn’t take another hit without being severely injured, you step in the way, taking the hit. 


 

   You hear him yell for Silque, though it sounds muddled, like you were underwater, before you succumb to the darkness.

   When you wake up again, you see Silque and Tatiana fervently working around you, one making some sort of salve and the other using her staff to try and revive you.

   “Oh, Mila be praised, it worked.” Silque’s voice is the first thing you clearly register. "Lukas, she’s awake!” Lukas, your heart skips a beat, hoping he was okay.

   “Oh gods,” you see him rush in, an he kneels by your side, gingerly taking your hand, and placing a tentative kiss on it. He handles you like you’re glass, and you notice his hand is a little shaky, which is unlike him. Lukas is always steady, the one that grounds you to the earth when your feelings overwhelm you. “I-I’m so-”, his voice catches in his throat as if he’s unsure of what to say next. Tatiana motions for Silque to follow her out the tent, and they make their leave.

   “Lukas, you’re okay.” You put your hand on his face, taking in every little detail. The few freckles that litter his face, the small white scar on his cheek, how exhausted he looks, all of it. “I’m so glad.” 

   “Yes, I’m fine.” He cuts off, smile falling, “you shouldn’t worry about me, that hit was meant for me. I should be the one in your place. What were you thinking, love?” 

   “I was thinking of your safety, I thought I could take the hit.” You protest weakly, shifting in the bed. “Guess I was wrong, but I would do it again because you would’ve died if you took it.”

   “You did die!” His voice rises, a mixture of anger and sadness in his tone. “Your heart stopped in my arms! I-I couldn’t think straight, I let my emotions take over me and I took out the dastard who killed you. It was scary to see that side of myself come out, but not as scary as losing you was.” His voice breaks, eyes closing as he nuzzles into your hand.

   “I died?” You say incredulously. “H-how am I here now then?” 

   “Me and Alm set out on a quest to one of Mila’s temples that had a fountain rumored to bring back the dead.” He strokes the back of your hand with his thumb, “I would’ve went if no one else was to join me, but Python, Clive, and Mathilda agreed to go with me.” Lukas lets out a sigh of relief. 

   “Lukas, you’re so brave for doing that,” you respond, wanting him to be closer, but knowing you ached to much to scoot over enough to let him lay beside you on the cot.

   “Hardly. If anything, I am weak for not being able to protect my love.” The way he says it makes your cheeks heat up, “I should be protecting you, not the other way around.”

   “Lukas, I can handle myself most of the time.” A tired smile grows on your lips, “we protect each other, that’s how a relationship works.”

   “Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean you are to take fatal blows for me.” He places a feather-light kiss to your forehead. “Promise me you won’t do it again? I couldn’t go on without you.” 

   “Only if you promise not to put yourself in that position again.” He lets out a short laugh.

   “It’s a promise.”

Chapter 3: let my change in heart occur. (lukas x reader)

Summary:

jsut... fluff

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   “Lukas?” You half-whisper, half-giggle as you make your way through the market. The marketplace was a center of life, and every so often a person would come up to the two of you, offering you what little money they had for freeing their small village from the bandits that controlled it. Of course, you had no need for their money, as the small amount of silver you both got for your pay was enough. “You feeling good today?”

   “What do you mean?” He quirks an eyebrow, leading you through the crowd of people.

   “You’re holding my hand, Lukas!” You beam up at him, “and we’re in public! You never hold my hand in public!” The tips of his ears turn pink at you bringing attention to it.

   “Hm. Maybe I just had a change in heart.” A small smile grows on his lips, “I just don’t want you to get separated from me, that’s all.” 

   “Or maybe it’s because you love me?” You tease, milling over the fresh produce in one of the stalls in the open market. 

   “Perhaps.” He answers with a light chuckle, and you drop the tomato you were looking at. Now it was your turn to be flustered, not used to Lukas being this forward in public. Usually, it appeared as if you were just acquaintances, as he liked to just silently follow you, talking only when you started the conversation. 

   “Gods, Lukas, you’re embarrassing me.” You mock pout, not liking the change in dynamic between the two of you. “It’s usually the other way around.”

   “I think a little change is needed every once in a while, don’t you?” The sickening sweet smile of his makes you roll your eyes.

   “…You asked Clive for advice, didn’t you?” You grin, glancing over your shoulder at him. He sighs audibly, wondering how you could possibly know that.

   “Must you always be so perceptive?”

Chapter 4: perfect's for the urgent, baby i want forever. (luthier x reader)

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   “What are you doing up this late, Lu?” You ask, seeing the candle still lit in his tent. He whips around quickly, knocking over a well of ink in the process. His cheeks grow pink, as he quickly picks it up, and you cross your arms, giving him a questioning look.

   “N-nothing, I’m merely-” He clears his throat and goes back into his usual mother mode, the only one in the army who could rival Lukas. “I could ask you the same thing, actually.”

   “I’m on patrol duty with Faye.” You fire back, “and what’s your excuse?”

   “I’m just cleaning up these books, about to head off to bed.” He pouts, suddenly a bit uncomfortable with being outsmarted by you. “Now if you’ll excuse me I’m-”

   “Oh please, you were not.” You sigh, pushing a strand of loose hair out of your eyes. “I heard you practicing. You were just getting started.” Luthier turns even more pink at your honesty, and he lets out a defeated laugh.

   “Well, if you already knew why did you ask?” His usual bluntness not as sharp as usual due to his voice breaking in the middle of the sentence. 

   “Hoped I was mistaken is all.” You move closer, and you can see him tense up, not as protected with his usual mage robes as he had changed out because of how suffocating they are. “Why are you practicing this late? Lu, we move out tomorrow, you need the rest.” 

   “I’m old enough to know my limits.” He bites back, “I don’t need you nagging me.”

   “Me nagging you? What world do we live in?” A light smile grows on your face, as you lay a tentative hand on his shoulder. “Any other day it would be the opposite. But you need to be in top form for Alm, do you not? Even if you can “handle” the loss of sleep, you won’t be at your best, and that could be disastrous.”

   “But if I don’t get in the extra practice, how am I supposed to keep up with the others?” The confession comes as a shock to you, as Luthier isn’t the most open person. Even to you, his lover, you have to pry information out of him at times. Perhaps it’s the nighttime, as it makes everyone spill their secrets, you think. 

   “Oh Luthier,” you use his full name, and it makes his heart skip a beat, you cup the side of his face with your gloved hand. “You’re fine just the way you are! In fact, you might possibly be one of the strongest in the army.”

   “But I’m not perfect like Alm, or even Delthea.” He sharply exhales, crossing his arms in the small wooden chair. “I’m just average.”

   “Perfect?” Your snort, “Alm is far from perfect, and you of all people know Delthea has her shortcomings.” You give him a quick kiss on the forehead, “and honestly, you could spend years comparing yourself to other people. The truth is, you’re not them, but that’s a good thing.” 

   “…I guess.” He replies after a moment of silence. “But I still need to be stronger.” His voice lowers in tone, “You deserve perfection.” You smile, radiant and sincere, down at him, feeling overwhelmed by emotion at his words. 

   “Perfect is for the urgent,” you grab his hands. “I want something that lasts forever.” Placing a kiss to each one, you let go, turning around and getting ready to go back on patrol. “I love you, don’t forget that. Now, get some sleep.” He looks properly flustered, and he sighs deeply.

   “I love you too.” You stop, and shoot him a lazy smile. “But you better not t-tell anyone about what happened tonight, okay?” You open the tent flap, lying through your teeth:

   “Wouldn’t even think of it, darling.”

Chapter 5: hold on, stay by my side, don't go. (xander x reader)

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   Normally, Xander wakes up earlier than you and slips out quietly, careful not to wake his sleeping princess as he goes in for morning training. It’s not normal for you to wake up before him, as you usually were half an hour later than him, not late, per say, but also not on time. (As you put it, a princess is never late, everyone else is simply early). 

   But this morning, you happen to wake before him, and observe him heavily sleeping beside you. His curly blonde hair strewn all over the pillow, looking more relaxed than he is when he’s awake. You smile and face the opposite direction, trying to get a little more sleep. After what feels like an hour (time seems to go slower in the morning), he stirs, and sits up in your shared bed, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. 

   “Oh gods,” you hear him mumble as he realizes how bright it is outside. “I’m late.” He tries to get up, but you’re quicker than he is. You reach out and grab his wrist.

   “Hold on,” you grumble, morning voice still apparent. “Stay by my side. You’re already late, what’s five minutes more?” He looks as if he’s in a war with his own mind as he turns to face you, looking at you with a soft smile.

   “I would love to, little princess.” He presses a gentle kiss to your forehead, “but I need to go, I have to set the example for the army. The general can’t be late.” You whine, nuzzling into his calloused hand. 

   “They have Ryoma.” You reason, “surely, the army won’t implode without you for one day.” He chuckles, an easy-going laugh that makes your heart skip a beat. “Just… don’t go?”

   “Fine,” he acquiesces, sliding back into the bed with you. “But just this once, I can’t have you getting too spoiled on me.” He wraps an arm around you, placing a quick kiss to the back of your neck.

   “How can I not when I have the best husband in the world?” Xander can’t help but smile.

   “Touché.” 

Chapter 6: clumsy. (chrom x reader)

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   “Hey, uh, [name], could you come help me with something real quick?” Cordelia asks, opening up the flap of your tent. You look up from your small desk, scattered with various tactic books and a map, detailing the layout of the area the army was going to next.

   “Of course, Cordelia, anything for you.” You yawn, stretching your tired limbs, “I need to take a break from this stuff anyways, what’s up?”

   “Well, I just need you to help fix a few things, is all.” She smiles gently up at you, “normally, I could do it all by myself, but I figured having company while doing it would make the job go by much faster.”


 

   “Okay, maybe there is a few more things to fix then I remembered.” The dark flier puts her hands on her hips upon inspecting the damage done to the weapons tent. Not only was it half-collapsed, but the weapons cart used to haul everything in the tent is broken as well. In all honesty, it look like a small tornado went through, and you knew only one person could be responsible for this.

   “Chrom did this, didn’t he?” You sigh, not even needing to hear Cordelia’s response to know the answer. “Dear gods, where is he? Why isn’t he helping fix this stuff?” 

   “Perceptive as always, [name].” She lets loose a nervous chuckle. “He was going to help, but there was a risen uprising close by, so him and Fredrick and a few others ran off to take care of that.” You note a slight blush on her cheeks as she talks of Chrom, “very noble of him, so I figured I clean up the wreckage while he’s off protecting villagers.” 

   “I’d hardly say it’s noble.” You snort, “but if we wait until he gets back, it’d be a while, so we might as well get started.”


 

   You don’t realize the small squadron gets back until it’s way into the night and you two finally finish sewing the final patches in the tent. If it hadn’t been for Cordelia’s voice, you would’ve laid back and fallen asleep on the grass inside the tent.

   “There are better places to sleep than on the ground, you know.” She extends her hands to you, and she pulls you up to her height. Normally, you would’ve laughed but you’re far past the giddy stage of exhaustion. “Get some sleep.”

   “You don’t have to tell me twice.” You bid her farewell, and you traipse back to you and Chrom’s shared tent. 

   “There you are,” he looks up from the cot, already changed into his sleep clothes. You shoot him a ‘I’d kill you but I’m too tired look’. Not even bothering to change, you merely kick off your boots and shed off your coat, before falling headfirst beside him on the makeshift bed. “Rough day, love?” He rubs small circles into your back, and you feel yourself drifting off.

   “Thanks to you.” You reply, lifting your head off the pillow and resting it on your arms crossed under your chin. Chrom shifts, crossing his legs, and using one hand to play with your hair, dissolving only a small portion of your anger. “Gods, Chrom can you not break something for once?” 

   “Oh, that, it slipped my mind.” He laughs nervously, “did you clean up that mess all by yourself? Wow, I am so sorry.” You would hit him, but your arms feel like jello.

   “No, Cordelia helped me, otherwise I would still be out there.” You groan, burying your face into your arms. “It’s fine, just try not to do it again? You’re a grown man, Chrom, how hard can it be not destroy an entire tent and everything inside?”

   “Harder than you think,” he pouts, “not everyone can be as graceful as you when you fight.” Chrom places a kiss to your hair, “I just get… very into training.”

   “That’s the understatement of the century.” You quip, turning your head to face him. “But that’s enough for tonight, we can discuss your gracefulness, er, lack thereof tomorrow.” 

   “Good idea.” He says, kissing you on the forehead goodnight, and blowing out the candle.

Chapter 7: reckless. (silque x reader)

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   “[name]!” Silque calls out, staying close to Lukas, who she was partnered with for this battle. “Come over here so I can heal you!” You grit your teeth, parrying an attack from a dread fighter.

   “Uh, just a second!” You yell back, using your full strength to push the enemy back a few feet, so you could charge and strike. “I’m occupied at the moment!” 

   “Please be more careful!” She sighs, using her recover tome to heal Lukas. She sends out a silent prayer for Mila for your safety. 

   “I’m always careful,” you jump off the ground and land a critical blow on the dread fighter, effectively felling it. Wiping the sweat of your forehead, you turn and shoot your girlfriend a weary smile. She would smile back, but she notices the bow knights in the distance.

   “Watch out!” She yells, panic creeping in at your distraction. “There are archers over there!” You whip around, eyeing the bow knights a few steps away, drawing back their bows. 

   “I’ll be right back, I swear!” You promise to her, before darting off to take care of the archers. Silque sees Kliff pair up with you to help, and the tension she felt upon seeing you try to face three enemies at once eases, though not completely. Instead of fretting, she focuses her attention on helping her teammate.


 

   “Silque!” Kliff yells, supporting you with a hand under your arms and around your shoulders. Silque turns around, Alm having seized the throne, signaling the battle was over. “[name] needs healing!” 

   Silque’s heart falls upon seeing you, cuts and scrapes all over your exposed arms, and an arrow sticking out of your shoulder. For a moment, she has an unnatural urge to scold you, but she pushes it to the side, focusing on healing her lover. She takes out her healing tome and strides up to you.

   “Must you always be this reckless?” She huffs, motioning for you to sit down, and with a little help from herself and Kliff, you do as such. Silque kneels down, gingerly clipping off the front and back of the arrow, making it easier to pull it out. “Okay, this is going to hurt a little, but the more still you are the easier it will be.” 

   “I think you’re expecting a little too much from me,” you laugh weakly, wincing from the pain. “I can never sit still.”

   “Which is why I can never heal you properly with long-range tomes.” She stills your shoulder with one hand, and grips the arrow tightly with the other. Without a warning, she pulls it out quickly, leaving you to hiss in pain, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. “You okay?” She asks, and opens her healing tome to close up the wound.

   “Fine.” You manage to say through gritted teeth. It only hurts for a second, before she starts to recite the spell that closes all the cuts on your arms, and the large gash in your shoulder. You thank your girlfriend, but now that the pain’s subsided, you realize just how exhausted you are. “You got any of those for exhaustion?” 

   She stands up, you still sitting on the dry grass. After a moment, you slowly stand up, still a bit weak.

   “Sleep?” She suggests, a small smile gracing her delicate features.

   “Mother, there’s nothing I’d like more right now.”

Chapter 8: i ain't no hero. (gaius x reader)

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   “Gods, what was that back there, Gaius?” You grit your teeth, chastising him after everyone else had left the war planning tent. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed out there.” 

   He rolls his eyes, as if uncaring about his behavior on the battlefield a few moments before. Not even his scolding by Frederick has seemed to phase him.

   “Bubbles, please stop.” He crosses his arms, leaning against the table, various maps and books splayed across. “I’ve had enough people nagging me today.”

   “Nagging?” You narrow your eyes at him, angry that he saw you and your teammates concern as such. “Since when is me and our friends being concerned about you nagging? Gaius, you almost died trying to thieve a few petty jewels! If it wouldn’t have been for me and Sumia you would be-” You choke up, unable to think of what would’ve happened if you guys hadn’t been in the area. It was a sudden ambush, you didn’t blame him for not seeing that, but he shouldn’t have been in that area in the first place. 

   “Crivens, I understand that.” He sighs, feeling a little bad for making you upset. “I should’ve followed orders, but I ain’t no hero, Bubbles, you’re wasting your faith on me.”

   “No I’m not,” you say, stepping closer, realizing it’s futile to yell at him. “You’re a good man, stop trying to get me to think otherwise, because it’s not working.” You put a hand on his cheek, and he diverts his gaze away, blushing. 

   “That faith is gonna kill you one day,” he can’t help the small smile that tugs at the corner of his lips at your words, though. Your hand drops down to your side, and you grin at him.

   “Counting on it!” You joke, “Oh! I never asked you. What were you stealing those jewels for? We’re up to budget already so, what gives?” Gaius thinks up a quick lie, something he’s exceptional at doing, because the real answer he couldn’t let you know.

   “Candy money, duh.”

Chapter 9: if i don't got you, i got nothing. (lukas x reader)

Summary:

PLAIN F L U F F

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   “Lukas!” You smile, sauntering towards him, wiping off his face after a sparring session with Gray. “Working hard or hardly working?” A small smile graces his face and he turns to face you.

   “Oh, hello,” he uses his sleeve to wipe off the excess sweat off his forehead. “You finally coming to training?” You lightly punch him in his chest plate, knowing his cheeky comments didn’t intend harm.

   “What do you mean finally?” You say, “I already did my training today, me and Clair always practice early, so it’s not hot.” Your mouth curls up mischievously. “Work smarter not harder, after all.” Lukas seems unaffected by your jabs, and he merely shrugs his shoulders.

   “Perhaps you’re right,” he answers, propping his lance against his shoulder. “But I should get back to training.” 

   “Oh, of course,” you lean up and peck him on the cheek, making his cheeks flush red and earning a few wolf whistles from Gray and Tobin, watching the two of you from the fence near the training yard.

   “What was that for?” He replies, holding his hand on the spot you just kissed him. He’s a little taken aback, as usually you aren’t this forward - at least, in public, anyways. 

   “Because I love you!” You beam up at him, “If I don’t got you, I got nothing, I just wanted you to know, that’s all.” Lukas doesn’t know how to respond, still not used to affection being shown. He doesn’t respond, but it’s okay, you don’t need his words to assure you on how he feels.

   He musters a smile back, and you just know.

Chapter 10: bad ideas. (lucina x reader)

Summary:

reader and lucina steal one of tharja's ouija boards.
- that was mistake #1

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   “Are you sure this is safe?” Lucina whispers, as she sneaks into your tent well past curfew. “I mean, stealing one of Tharja’s Ouija boards is one thing, but if Frederick finds out we were in each other’s tents past curfew.” She almost shudders at the thought. Risen she could handle, but an angry Frederick was another thing entirely.

   “We’ll be fine as long as we’re quiet!” You wink at her, closing the tent flap behind you. Inside your tent, the Ouija board was set up, with a few dim candles surrounding it. Lucina gives you a nervous look, but still joins you.

   “What should we ask it first?” You say in a low voice, Lucina sitting beside you, so close that the two of you are touching. She merely shrugs, and you think for a minute, before putting your hands on the planchette. “Oh! We should probably ask if anyone’s here first. Lucina puts two fingers on the planchette, and you both move it in circles around the board. “Are there any spirits here?” You glance over at Lucina, who looks oddly concentrated on the board.

   “I don’t think there’s anything-” You can feel her physically freeze up beside you, as the planchette moves to ‘yes’ on the board. You look at her, skeptical, but know Lucina isn’t a good enough actress to play it off that well.

   Right?

   “C’mon, Luci, don’t be like that.” You laugh nervously hoping that she was playing with you. 

   “I’m not, I swear to Naga.” She makes a crossing motion over her heart with her free hand. “I was going to ask you the same thing.

   “Well, okay, let’s just ask another question.” You shake your head in shock. This time it’s Lucina who speaks up:

   “If there is a spirit here, what is your name?” She says, voice an octave higher than normal. She’s sweating a bit, and you just wished you could put an arm around her but-

   The planchette moves again. This time it moves slowly across the alphabet section of the board, spelling out the name ‘Naamah’. You lean over, still holding onto the planchette and whisper: “That sounds like a demon name, doesn’t it?” She bites her lip, and focuses back on the Ouija board.

   “Are you an evil spirit? Yes or no?” Lucina asks, and the planchette creeps towards ‘yes’. You hold back a scream, and halfheartedly say “goodbye”, moving the planchette to that same word on the board. Lucina looks at you, trying to maintain her facade of bravery, but failing when the words come out shakily.

   “We’re giving this back to Tharja tonight, consequences be damned.” You nod enthusiastically, taking her hand, and creeping across the camp, Ouija board tucked under your arm.


 

   “I was waiting for you two to get here.” Tharja deadpans, flipping through an old-looking tome at her desk. “You think you can steal something from me and get away with it?”

   “I’m sorry, Mrs. Tharja... i-it won’t happen again.” Lucina apologizes, to which Tharja lets out a satisfied hum.

   “I hope you two learned your lesson.” Tharja turn to face you at her desk. “I would’ve given you a harsher punishment but... seeing as you helped her... I’ll let it slide..” She grins, biting her nail and cackling under her breath. You squeeze Lucina’s hand, giving her a horrified look.

   “So I suppose you cursed the board to act up?” You ask Tharja, and her facial expression drops.

   “No, nothing of the sort. It was supposed to not work at all so you would get bored and come back to my tent...” She looks straight at you, “why, did something happen?” You feel your blood run cold.

   “...Call Libra, Luci. We need the holy water.”

Chapter 11: life's no fun without a good scare. (inigo x reader)

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   “Haven’t we had enough horror for one lifetime, love?” Inigo suggests, arm looped through [name]’s. Knowing the tactician as he did, he just knew they couldn’t keep their nose out of a good mystery, which is why he tried to keep Owain’s ghost stories out of their ears as much as possible. But, with Owain being the loudmouth he is, that’s almost impossible. So, of course they heard his favorite story to tell: the one about him going to the graveyard at 3 A.M. near where they were camped, getting possessed and having to fight off the demon tormenting him with only his sheer will.

   Of course, Inigo knew this story was fake, but the way [name] looked at him when asking if they could explore, how could he say no?

   “Pfft. I think you’re just scared, Inigo!” You tease, reaching for his hand to hold. “It’s okay, you can hold onto me if anything happens.” Inigo sighs audibly, face contorting into a pout.

   “That’s supposed to be my job.” He mutters, as you both enter the graveyard. Is it irresponsible for the chief tactician to be slacking off when the group was supposed to move tomorrow? Definitely, but with all your hard work, you felt as if you needed to do something fun for once.

   “...I just realized I have no idea how to contact ghosts.” You whisper to him, slipping your hand out of his and kneeling in front of a grave, reading the name on it. “What did Owain say he did to get them to possess him?”

   “Well, first of all, he made that entire story up,” he rolls his eyes, finding it hard to believe that such a rational person as you would believe anything that came out of Owain’s mouth. “But if you want to summon them Owain’s way, I suppose a dramatic monologue about your aching blood would suffice.” You stand up, looking around for anything.

   “Very funny.” You narrow your eyes, “wait, what’s that?” You point in the distance at a black shadow. Inigo turns to look at where you’re pointing, furrowing his eyebrows.

   “What are you talking about?” He whispers back, unconsciously grabbing onto your arm. “I don’t see anything.”

   “Oh my gods...” You trail off, “isn’t that by the grave Owain was talking about? The one where the witch who was burned at the stake was buried?” Inigo doesn’t know if you’re telling the truth or if you’re just trying to scare him, but the atmosphere does feel a bit eerie.

   “Darling, don’t joke about these things!” He turns to scold you, and you point again, noting that it keeps appearing whenever his back is turned.

   “I’m not!” You gasp, remembering a piece of the story, “wait, doesn’t it hate men? Because they’re the ones who killed her? So what if it’s only revealing itself to me.”

   “Don’t be absurd! Owain obviously saw it!” His voice comes out higher than he wanted it to be, and he finds himself clutching onto your arm tighter.

   “No, Owain said it only possessed him, he didn’t actually see it.” You reply, leading him closer, “we have to check it out closer.”

   “I’d rather not.” He retorts, feeling suddenly ten degrees colder, “b-but if I must go to protect you, I will.” The closer the two of you get to the accursed grave, the more vice-like Inigo’s grip on your arm gets. 

   “Woah,” you whisper, kneeling in front of the headstone, brushing your fingers along its cool surface. “It’s like... I’m hearing her talk to me.” Inigo glaces around, suddenly paranoid and hyperaware of all the shadows in his view. Of course, they weren’t ghosts, but somewhere in his mind he wondered ‘what if they were?’. 

   “Real funny,” he says, crossing his arms, “we should probably go now, it’s way past curfew, you know.”

   “Shhh, she’s trying to tell me something.” Your voice is cold, devoid of emotion. Inigo feels a chill run down his spine.

   “P-pardon?” He puts a hand on your shoulder, shaking you a bit. 

   “She’s telling me...” you break off, smiling a bit to yourself, “TO KILL YOU!” You yell, jumping at Inigo at the same time, and he stumbles back three feet, screaming, tripping on another small headstone, falling flat on his butt. You burst into laughter, and Inigo glares at you.

   “Seriously?” He tries to play it off, but his heart is racing too fast, “you’re- you’re the worst!” You wipe a tear from your eye, still laughing at the mental picture of his face when scared.

   “I’m sorry! I had too!” You smile down at him, extending a hand to help pick him up, and instead of accepting your help, he pulls you down with him, and you land in his lap, still giggling. “Hey! I was trying to help you!”

   “Yeah, whatever.” He pouts, and you get up off of him, dusting yourself off, and he gets up a moment afterwards. “I can’t believe you would do that to your loving boyfriend.”

   “It’s payback for all the flirting you do with other girls,” you nudge him with your elbow, kissing his cheek. His expression quickly changes from being angry to being flustered. “Gotcha.” He only sighs.

   “Touche.”

Chapter 12: let 'em talk. (modern au!kliff x reader)

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   In hindsight, you probably shouldn’t have worn a short-sleeve Halloween costume, knowing that it was going to be below fifty degrees by the time you started going door-to-door to get candy. 

   You pout, rubbing your arms to create warmth. Why did girl mages have to have such revealing costumes? The guy mages were just fine, but of course you of all people got stuck as dressing up as the one costume that didn’t have long sleeves. You silently curse Alm for picking your group’s costumes this year.

   Kliff seems to take notice of you trembling as you get back on the golf cart that Alm convinced Claire to let them borrow, considering she was the only one rich enough to be able to afford one. He sighs, probably louder than he meant to and take off his mage’s cloak, dropping it onto your shoulders. You look up at him, a light blush on your cheeks, but he’s even more flustered than you are.

   “Thank you, Kliff!” You smile, and he flusters even more. To make matters even worse for the blonde boy, Tobin and Gray seem to notice what’s happening, as they’re sitting in the trailer that’s hooked up to the golf cart, so that all of you could go together.

   “Aww, Kliff’s got a crush!” Gray teases first, and Kliff hurls a few tootsie rolls out of his bag at the two of them. 

   “I d-don’t have a crush I just didn’t want her to be cold!” He yells defensively, “I was getting hot in the cape, anyways!” Of course, he’s lying about both of those things, but he didn’t want to be teased anymore than usual by those two idiots.

   “Still,” you say, ignoring Gray and Tobin, “that was very nice of you!” You lean up and kiss him on the cheek, and you swear it looks like Kliff’s soul leaves his body. 

Chapter 13: fireflies. (conrad x reader)

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   "darling, come look outside!’ you hear familiar childish voice call. you sit up, stretching your arms above your head. it was past curfew, but it was conrad’s turn to take guard duty, and you were supposed to be asleep, ready to march tomorrow. though, he knew how much you loved to stay up reading, so thankfully for him, you were still awake.

   "is something wrong?“ you ask, slipping on your overcoat so you didn’t have to walk outside in just your nightwear. 

   "nope!” he says, his back against the tent flap. “just trust me and come outside!”

   "alright, alright!” you say, hurriedly putting on your boots. you hear him stick his lance in the dirt, before walking off. opening the tent flap, you walk out, pulling your jacket over your frame seeing as it was a bit nippy outside. then, you notice the reason why he wanted you to come out, and your face lights up.

   flitting around the sky are hundreds of lightning bugs, their greenish-yellow glow illuminating the dark. conrad notices you came outside, and he turns to you, grinning, holding out his hand where one is resting on his finger.

   “aren’t they beautiful?” he asks, voice full of awe. you nod in agreement, catching one in your hand and studying it, it’s soft light flickering before flying off.

   “i’ve never seen so many before…” you trail off, shifting your focus from the fireflies to conrad. “this has to be a good luck sign.” conrad blinks, seeing that you look cold in such a thin coat and pulls your back against his chest, his head resting on your shoulder, arms circled around your waist. 

   “i think you’re right.” he whispers, kissing your cheek. “tomorrow will be a better day.”

Chapter 14: entwined. (niles x reader)

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   it’s not the first time you wake up before he does, nor will it be the last.

   "an old habit,“ he always says, "from sleeping late after being gone all night from my old thieving days.” normally, you’d wake him up, seeing as it was time for breakfast, but he looks so peaceful, a word you would never use to talk about niles were he awake. 

   you mark it as him being finally comfortable around you after slowly wearing him down until he was open enough with his feelings to marry you.

   your thoughts are interrupted by him burying himself further into your neck, his hot breath tickling your neck. you let out a quiet laugh, now this is something niles would do when he’s awake, some things never change. 

   you entwine your hands into his white hair, it still mussed up from last night’s events. he stirs, groaning before pulling you into his arms.

   "niles!“ you whisper harshly, "we should get up soon, i have to meet with xander this morning!”

   "screw ‘im,“ he mumbles, cradling your head against his chest. you roll your eyes, pulling out of his grip and sitting up, the coldness of your room suddenly hitting you. your sheer nightgown offers little protection, so you reach to pick up your armor, discarded hastily on the floor. 

   "five more minutes?” you hear him ask, wrapping his fingers around your wrist. “i’ll make it worth your while.” you huff, a light blush tinting your cheeks. despite every ounce of nohrian in you telling you to stick to your duty and get dressed, the bit of your husband that’s rubbed off on you wins, and you slide back in bed.

   you definitely missed breakfast that morning.

Chapter 15: fingertips. (yukimura x reader)

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   he’s always been quiet. even now, once you’re the most comfortable with him, he enters silently. you talked to him at one point about him becoming a ninja, but he just laughed it off.

   he was far too kind to be as cutthroat as one, you realized.

   his silence lingers, comfortable, open, normal, as he sits down beside you on your bed. a small smile graces your lips as he picks up your hand, smooth but scarred compared to his own which was rough and calloused from handling bows all his life. softly, he kisses your fingertips, then the back of your hand, before pulling you into his chest, kissing your forehead. this nighttime ritual of yours doesn’t need words, it just needs the two of you there, enjoying each others presence. 

   yukimura smiles, silently thanking the gods that you both lived to see another day as he continues to hold you against his chest, rubbing the small of your back absentmindedly with his thumb.

   you close your eyes, blocking out all worries of what tomorrow would bring, because right now, you are okay. the soft rise and fall of his chest and the steady beat of his heart lull you to sleep.

   all was well.

Chapter 16: mistletoe. (soleil x reader)

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   “Oh, [name], didn’t expect you to be here!” Soleil says, mocking surprise. You quirk an eyebrow, knowing something is up because of the red dusting her cheeks. 

   “What do you mean, Soleil.” You deadpan, looking around to see if she was planning anything. You don’t see anything out of the ordinary, so you look back at her. “This is my room, what do you mean you didn’t expect me to be here?”

   “Oh, duh.” She giggles nervously, tapping her forehead in a ‘way to go’ motion. The pink-haired girl takes a deep breath, before looking more confident than ever. Okay, now you knew something was up. “Can you come outside for a sec? I have to show you something.”

   “Well, it’s almost past curfew, I don’t think I can-”

   “Please!” She pleads, her eyes lighting up because she knows you can’t resist her puppy eyes. You sigh, gripping the door in thought, before giving in and stepping out onto the small porch that surrounded your treehouse room. Before you can get out, though, she stops you by grabbing your arms and grinning. You’re a mere inches away from her, and you realize you’ve never been this close to Soleil before. Before, you knew she was beautiful, but closer and lit by only the moonlight, she’s ethereal. The pink strands of her hair fall delicately in between her eyes, hiding a small scar that she got from sparring with Ophelia. 

   “Hey,” she whispers, smiling at you, and motions for you to look up. A small piece of mistletoe is stuck to the top of the outside of your door. How did you not see that before? “You know what that is, right?” Your cheeks flush pink.

   “Uh, mistletoe, I’m guessing.” You swallow, “we don’t have too, but… I want to if you do.” She rolls her eyes.

   “Oh, c’mon, why else would I have put it up there?” Soleil laughs airily, closing the gap between the two of you. Her kiss is almost unbearably sweet,  as she runs her hand through your hair to bring you closer to her. You put a hand on both sides of her face, softly stroking her cheeks with your thumb. You pull back after a few seconds, face still close to hers, and laugh softly, praying that this wasn’t just a dream.

   “…We can still do this without mistletoe, right?” She says after a moment of silence.

   “I would want nothing more.”

Chapter 17: i know. (chrom x reader)

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   “you really need to go to sleep, [name].” chrom’s voice snaps you out of your half-asleep state, and you stretch your sore arms, wiping the tiredness out of your eyes.

   “i know,” you smile lazily, turning to look at him. your hands are stained by with ink, having been drawing up routes all day. “what are you doing here?”

   “coming to see my tactician.” he puts a hand on your chair, looking down at all the work you’ve done. “who looks like they’re overachieving once again.”

   “well, when you’ve got lives at stake you have to be that way.” you let out a yawn, brushing a strand of loose hair behind your ear. “but i’ll go to bed soon, i just gotta finish drawing this up.” 

   “alright.” he sighs, knowing he couldn’t force you to do anything. once you had your mind set on something, there was no changing it. “but know i’m holding you to that.” you let out a short laugh, patting his hand that rested on your chair.

   “don’t worry about me,” you say, turning back to your papers. “i’ll be fine. you need sleep, captain. people need you, you know.” 

   “and i need you.” your heart races at his words, though you don’t know why. perhaps it was because it felt good to be needed? “take care of yourself.”

   “i will.” you look back and see him staring at you with a look of disbelief, probably because you’d said the same thing and stayed up all night many times before. you sigh, putting your hand over his. “promise.” he doesn’t answer, instead, he pats your back, leaving you alone in the study tent. 

   “now, where was i…” you whisper to yourself.


   when you wake up, your thick tactician’s coat is on your shoulders, which is odd, because you swore you left it in your room last night. you furrow your eyebrows, yawning, as you slowly realize you fell asleep at your desk. a pot of tea and a teacup sit beside you, the war plans missing from under your arms.

   someone must have took them when you were sleeping. you must’ve been in a deep sleep to not feel it. the only paper left on the desk was a short note, scrawled in messy handwriting.

   ‘i told frederick you weren’t feeling well so feel free to skip training today and get some sleep in a real bed. oh! and don’t worry, i didn’t make the tea, i had maribelle brew it for you. 
   p.s.- don’t even think about thanking me for this. go to sleep. that’s an order’. 

   you smile, putting the note in your pocket. chrom is such a sweetheart, and you would definitely thank him – after your nap of course. 

   if you knew any better, you would think he loved you. 

Chapter 18: ashes. (kaden x reader)

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   “does it hurt,” you ask, the tips of your pointed ears quirking up out of curiosity, “when you turn into a kitsune?” kaden grins, looking up at you from his spot on your lap.

   “not really,” he answers honestly. “the first time, yeah, but that’s because i was confused.” he focuses on you, “i could ask you the same thing, dragon girl/boy.”

   “a little bit.” you sigh, running your hands idly through his smooth hair, he seems to enjoy it, eyes closing slowly. “the first time i thought i was dying.” his ears cock back in worry. “i remember trying to kill azura and my siblings and i don’t know why.” you shake your head, frustratingly making small little braids in his hair. you remember standing tall over the ashes of the hoshidan square, attacking everything in sight. you don’t know why the creature that was an extension of yourself was so violent.

   “it was because you didn’t know how to control it yet.” he grabs one of your hands, holding it up to the light coming through the windows of your treehouse room. “it’s like, when you’re a baby you might pull your mom’s hair and hurt her, but you don’t know any better. except the baby is a huge, scary dragon. it doesn’t say anything about you as a person. you wouldn’t hurt a fly if you could help it, sweetheart.” 

   “you know, when you’re not driving me crazy you are quite nice, kaden.” a smug grin grows on his face.

   “duly noted.”

Chapter 19: needle. (henry x reader)

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   "it’s just a scratch henry!“ you yell, trying to get him and that needle away from you. "i’m not bleeding out or anything!”

   "it’s bleeding quite a lot, though!“ his creepy smile returns, him making grabby hands out at you. "why don'tcha let me fix you up?” you scoff, kicking at dirt. injuries in training weren’t uncommon for you, as you tended to pick the strongest people in camp to spar against to better yourself. 

   "no way is that thing getting near me.“ you loved henry, but his obsession with all things gory and occult crossed the line at times. “if i wanted to get this sewn up, i’d get lissa or libra to do it.” henry pouts.

   “yeah, but what if i wanted to be a healer, babe!” putting the needle away somewhere on his person, he slings an arm around your neck, kissing your cheek. you exhale sharply, staring at the ground. despite his oddities, henry was still a sweetheart, even if he did like to embarrass you in public with his affection.

   “i don’t think chrom would find the idea of you being a healer very appropriate.” you deadpan, shrugging his arm off your shoulder and continuing to walk to your tent. henry lets out his signature laugh, following you.

   “oh, but imagine the look on his face!” you turn on your heel, an idea popping into your head. 

   “you’re right.” you tap a finger on your lip, the gears in your head spinning. “after all, i do need to get payback on that one time he walked in on me in the bath… we’d just need to get you some priest robes!”

   “ooh i’m in!” henry exclaims, a certain part of your statement finally sinking in. “wait, he did what?” henry’s eyes grow dark, and you think that maybe you shouldn’t have let that slip.

   “uhh, nothing. i mean, he didn’t mean to–” you say, but your words fall on deaf ears. 

   “chrom is gonna need a healer once i’m done with him!” he says, beelining in the opposite direction. you groan, chasing after him.

   “HENRY NO!”

Chapter 20: breathe. (ephraim x reader)

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   trying to find your way back to your tent was usually the easiest part of the day. after hard battles, however, it wasn’t so simple. every muscle in your body was screaming at you, and you just wanted to collapse onto the ground and melt. the emotional exhaustion took a toll on you as well: knowing all the lives you’d destroyed.

   all the futures you’ve ruined.

   you try to blink back tears, steadying your breathing. just a few more steps, you think, but then you hear a voice call you.

   ephraim, you realize, clenching your teeth, the last person you wanted to see right now. he was the army’s leader, always so aloof when you talked to him, though you two did get along fairly well. you would usually be excited about getting to be around him, but you weren’t in the best headspace right now. you turn around, trying to calm yourself, ignoring the loud thumping in your chest.

   “yessir?” it comes out quickly, but he doesn’t seem to notice. he merely continues towards you, something in his hand.

   “i think you, uh, dropped this,” he sticks out his hand, and in it is your good luck charm, a small trinket that you picked out in a village after a hard battle, to help you remember that everything was going to be okay. seeing it now, you can hardly hold back your tears. you take it into your hand, turning it over a few times, and take a deep breath.

   you were okay. your friends were okay. you were–

   “er, are you okay, [name]?” ephraim asks, feeling a bit awkward. “did something happen in the last battle?”

   “no, i just,” you shift your weight to your other foot. “i’m fine, just a bit tired is all. thank you for worrying, prince ephraim.” you smile warmly at him, and the tips of his ears grow pink. 

   “it’s nothing,” he clears his throat, “i-i was just wondering what that thing is for. eirika mentioned it was special to you.” the words seemed forced, and you almost wonder if eirika had put him up to this.

   “it’s just a reminder to myself that everything is going to be alright.” you answer, “i’m glad you found it. i don’t know what i would’ve done if i lost it.”

   “i see-” he glances around, trying to think of something to say, not much of a conversationalist. “well, i’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing.” he nods, and you curtsy, glad you talked to him despite your exhaustion. 

   “goodnight, prince ephraim.” you whisper, and he wished you the same, turning to go back to his sister. 

   you go to sleep that night, completely spent after letting out your grief, but looking forward to the next day.


   “did you give it back?” eirika asks her big brother, despite knowing the answer. ephraim stops straightening the weapons rack, giving his sister a quizzical look. 

   “yes, but,” he answers, “i don’t understand why you couldn’t do it yourself. you are their friend, after all.” eirika lets out a hum, pretending to be cleaning her sword.

   “i just think you need more friends,” she continues to focus on her sword, “especially cute ones.” she adds the last part under her breath.

   “i’m sorry what?” he knew his sister was always trying to better him and vice versa, but he thought that applied to the battlefield, not to his personal affairs. he can feel his cheeks grow warm.

   “you heard me,” she chirps, sheathing her now overly clean sword. “i think you two suit each other, but that’s just me.” she winks, strolling out of the weapons tent, leaving ephraim alone.

   “wait just a moment!”

Chapter 21: red. (kamui x reader)

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  left, right, block, parry. 

   kamui expertly dodges your attacks, deftly smacking you in the butt with the side of his wooden sword. you fall down, pouting, having lost to him in another sparring match. you lay out dramatically on the grass, back of your hand against your forehead, playing dead.

   “hey, i didn’t hit you that hard,” he rolls his eyes, lightly tapping you with his boot. you don’t move, and instead continue to make “dead person” noises. “get up!”

   “okay, okay.” you groan, shielding you eyes from the sun’s rays. “can we stop sparring with swords and move to my specialty now?” you hear him snort, before helping pull you up. realizing you’re so close to his chest and in public, you take a step back, clearing your throat, your cheeks flushing pink.

   “now we’re gonna work on my skills right, kamui?” he merely shrugs.

   “one more round then we can switch.” you roll your eyes.

   “you just want to win again!” he doesn’t deny it.


   parry, right, left–

   you hardly feel the sword when it first pierces your side, your brain hardly registering the blow as adrenaline courses through you. your vision blurs as you collapse, gasping and heaving for air. your back collides with the icy ground and you inhale sharply.

   above you, the boss raises his sword ready to finish you off. tears well in your eyes, this couldn’t be how it ends, you think, you had so much left to do! you hadn’t even told kamui you loved him!

   kamui, just hearing that name draws what little strength you have left to roll over, dodging the enemy’s attack. you hear someone yelling, then a loud thud, someone kneeling at your side. they roll you over onto your back, where you can finally see who it was. maybe mila truly was the kind being everyone said she was, she let you see the one person you wanted to see before you–

   “[name],” he whispers, trying to apply pressure to your wound. you grit your teeth, more tears flowing. it hurts so bad, all you want to do is sleep. “stay with me; i’ll get genny, and you’ll be okay.” there was so much red, a deep dark ugly crimson that stained his hands and your clothes.

   “there’s no use kamui, i’m-” you sniffle, looking him in the eyes, “a goner.” 

   “gods,” he curses under his breath, “just hold on, i’ll get you to her.” you feel your body shift, but it’s a weak feeling, and your vision vignettes. 

   “kamui, i-i,” you cough, blood dripping down your chin, “thank you.” you whisper, voice small. even when you were about to die, you couldn’t work up the courage to say it.

   so you close your eyes, hoping, praying to mila that you would wake up so you wouldn’t die with regrets.

Chapter 22: run. (f!corrin x reader)

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   you had one thing on your mind, and that was finishing this battle. you quickly dodge an enemy’s attack, countering with one of your own, before finishing him off. it’s not easy, no matter how many times you take a life. you have to force yourself to not think about soldiers as human beings but brainwashed dogs sent by garon to destroy you and your friends. you hoped that some day you would be forgiven (as would all of you), but you just weren’t sure.

   the sound of distant roaring breaks your concentration, causing you to stumble forward, an enemy’s blade cutting through your clothes and leaving an open gash in your arm. corrin, you think, blindly cutting down the risen in front of you. it sounds like she’s in pain, and before you even realize what you’re doing, your feet are running as fast as you can towards the sound.

   “[name]!” ryoma calls, using rajinto to fell a puppeteer before sprinting after you. “what’s going on?”

   “i don’t know!” you’re out of breath, lungs burning with every word managed out, “i heard, gods, i-i heard corrin screaming.” you scan the battlefield, trying to find out where your lover was. in the sea of chaos you can make out corrin, in her dragon form, mowing down enemies left and right. something isn’t right, you think, corrin usually isn’t that ruthless. either someone pissed her off or–

   “HELP!” you hear sakura yell, cowering in fear as corrin nears her, and that’s when your horror is realized, her dragonstone broke. you look around, and see that ryoma notices the same thing as you, and he opens his mouth to presumably bark out orders, but you’re gone before he can speak. you’re running so fast you can hardly feel your calves, stepping over bodies and discarded weapons until you finally reach her. takumi is already there, shielding sakura and trying his hardest to bring corrin down.

   “corrin!” you yell, voice hoarse, “please calm down!” takumi shouts after you, grabbing you roughly by the shoulder and yanking you back. he looks frantic, and almost scared, as he pulls you and sakura behind a broken pillar, his teeth gritted and looking from you to the dragon.

   “are you insane? do you want to die?” he scolds, as he sees ryoma catching up the the three of you. “we need azura to calm her down, or she’s going to be stuck like that forever!” you feel hot tears of frustration prick at the corner of your eyes. 

   “you three need to get out of here.” ryoma commands, sheathing rajinto. “i’ll take care of this.” you stand your ground, ripping out of takumi’s grasp.

   “no!” you bark, “i’m not leaving until she’s back to normal.” as if corrin is still conscious inside the beast, it roars. 

   “takumi, take her.” he deadpans, “i’ll get azura to see if she can calm her down. if-if not then–” tears flow freely now, and you wipe them on your sleeve.

   this is just a bad dream! i’m going to wake up and corrin’s going to be right beside me to comfort me and her dragonstone isn’t broken and–

   “[name]!” ryoma snaps, his face stern, “you need to pull yourself together and get out of here. i’m not going to say it again!” 

   “i’m not leaving without corrin!” you put your foot down, and ryoma shoots takumi and sakura a pleading look. takumi straps fujin yumi to his back, and then throws you over his shoulder, carrying you away from the battlefield, sakura in tow, silently crying.

   “takumi! put me down you dastard! i need to help save corrin!” you flail and kick, trying to get out of takumi’s grasp. takumi barks back at you, instructing you that the only thing you can do is wait for azura to calm corrin down, and that you being there would only make things more dangerous. 

   you tune out everything else, as you see azura sing her song to calm corrin down.

   you pray with every ounce of strength left in you that it works, and that when you open your eyes you’ll no longer see the beast, but your lover.

   so when you open your eyes and see ryoma unsheathing rajinto, azura having been thrown to the side, you’re hysterical.

Chapter 23: lipstick track marks. (sonya x reader)

Chapter Text

   "hold still!“ sonya scolds, as she tries to bandage your arm up from where you cut it during training. this isn’t the first time this has happened, in fact, it’s not even the tenth time. try more like twenty. 

   of course your girlfriend sonya is never amused, as you tend to come in late with lots of burns and cuts from sparring with mae and boey, both of which also take training way too far.

   "ouch, babe, you’re tightening it too much!” you squirm, trying to get her to stop fussing over you, but, despite your pleas, she continues to wrap the white bandage around your arm. “please, i’m fine. no need to waste medical supplies on me!” sonya huffs, tightening the bandage tighter to where you wince, then loosening it.

   “i can’t have you bleeding all over the place, can i?” she scolds, voice raising once she sees celica leave the tent. you swallow audibly, your only saving grace having just left the premises. “if you don’t stay still, i’ll make you.” a challenge, huh? you were never one to back down from those, so you look up, a small smirk on your face.

   “and just how are you gonna do that?” you say it confidently, but as soon as she starts getting close to your face, every ounce of assurance in your body drains. 

   sonya kisses the side of your mouth first, narrowly avoiding where you want her to kiss just to tease you. your breath hitches in your throat and she kisses your jawline next, ghosting her lips over your flushed skin. someone could walk in at any time, you think, and yet against your better judgement, you close your eyes and let sonya continue to leave feather-light kisses down your neck, until she gets to your collarbone, where she lingers, sucking lightly to leave a rosy bruise there. you open your eyes, looking flushed, and sonya stands back as if admiring her artwork.

   “like that.” she says, smug, and you look down and see your arm is wrapped in the bandage. how did she do that? she turns on a heel, and exits the tent, leaving you sitting there, staring in awe.


   “hey, [name], there you a– woah, sonya really marked you up, didn’t she?” mae nervously chuckles. your cheeks heat up, as you throw the nearest item at her, which just so happened to be the roll of bandages.

   “shut up!”

Chapter 24: trace. (alfonse x reader)

Chapter Text

   "alfonse!“ you call, "we’ve been looking for you for a while! what are you doing out here?” he doesn’t answer, in fact, it’s as if he doesn’t even hear you. 

   ‘that’s odd,’ you think, calling his name once more. you reckon he must be deep in thought.

   sure enough, he seems to be, as he turns around slowly, looking tired and stressed out, but quickly he puts up a blank facade.

   "oh, sorry.“ he says, stepping off the summoning gate pedestal and walking closer to you. "i didn’t hear you.” you look at him, confused. it’s not as if you were quiet, you were pretty loud, in fact.

   "you okay alfonse?“ you say, noticing how pale he is. "you don’t look so good.” 

   “just fine… don’t worry too much about me. you have more important things to occupy your thoughts.” he seems uncomfortable, eyes shifting from your face to the ground.

   “oh please, don’t be like that alfonse.” you laugh humorlessly, “everyone is important, and to me, you’re–” you trail off, not really knowing where you and alfonse stood. you had heard from sharena that he liked you, but sharena had been trying to get you and alfonse together since you first met, so you didn’t know what to believe. “–important to this army, and to me. now, tell me what’s wrong.” he seems to be debating with himself whether to tell you or not.

   “today is zacharias’s birthday.” he sighs, and you suddenly feel guilty for pressing him. you knew about how sensitive he was about his old friend, who now was an enemy.  “i just was thinking about the years we celebrated his birthday before… he seemed so happy.” he shakes his head, looking back into the summoning gate. “do you think he’s happy now?”

   “i-i–” you don’t know how to answer his question, “i’m not sure, alfonse. i hope he is.” his facade slips, and he looks sad for a moment.

   “yeah, me too.” back when there was no trace of zacharias, he was more optimistic, knowing that somehow his friend was alive. but now that he knew what had become of him, he just seemed lost. you put a hand on his shoulder, trying to get across to him that you’re there for him. his shoulders start shaking, and he breaks down. 

   you pull him into a hug, and he nestles into your neck, trying to hide his face. he’s ashamed, he shouldn’t be crying in front of you of all people, he should be the strong one.

   “shhh, it’s okay.” you coo, running your hands through his hair, “let it out.”

   “i’m sorry,” he pulls back, wiping his eyes, cheeks flushed. “i’m so sorry i don’t know what came over me.” 

   “it’s okay, alfonse.” you smile up at him, putting a hand on his cheek, brushing it with your thumb. “crying is good for you. i do it all the time.” you make a lighthearted joke at your expense to cheer him up. it works, and he chuckles, wiping away the last stray tear. 

   you always knew how to cheer him up, he realizes, looking down at how radiant you look; beaming up at him. his heart thumps in his chest rapidly, and he could feel it beating. gods, he loved you, and he hoped you felt the same, but he would wait until he was in a better mindset to let you know. you deserved him at his best, for you deserved the best. 

   and so he waits. 

Chapter 25: nowhere. (gerome x reader)

Chapter Text

   "where are you going?“ you freeze upon hearing the young man’s voice, mentally cursing yourself for not being more quiet. of course, the one person to catch you sneaking off had to be the one you cared for the most. 

   "nowhere.” you lie, lowering the small candle in your hand to see him more clearly. he sighs, coming closer. though it was dark, the illumination from his torch made him visible to you.

   "if you were going nowhere, you wouldn’t be out of your tent at night.“ his voice seems more on edge than normal, perhaps because it was late. 

   “always the observer.” you laugh tiredly, extinguishing your candle because his light source was sufficient. “sorry, i just… couldn’t sleep is all.” gerome pauses for a second, and you can almost see the gears turning as he tries to think of something to say.

   “well… you should at least try.” he replies, “you don’t want to end up an insomniac like me.” 

   “it’s too late for that,” you sigh, pulling insecurely at the sleeves of your cloak. you wish you could know what he was feeling, but his stupid mask covers his eyes, making his expressions hard to read. “every time i try to sleep it’s just… the same nightmares.” you clear your throat trying not to think too hard about your wicked dreams, not wanting to cry in front of someone you had feelings for.

   “have you tried asking one of the healers for help?” he tries his best to give  advice, but feels awkward, not really knowing what to say. he wished he had the eloquence of his mother, someone who seemed to always know exactly the right words in every situation.

   “no, i just-” you shake you head, wishing you hadn’t said anything. “never mind, you were right, i should try to go back to sleep.”

   “wait.” he tries to sound commanding, but it comes out more nervous than he wanted it to. “are you, uhh, sure you’ll be fine?” you blink, completely stupefied that gerome would even ask that. it wasn’t too long ago that he completely ignored you, brushing off any attempts you made at talking to him. you’re tempted to smile, seeing how much you must’ve grown on him for him to be worried about you.

   “i’m sure.” you say quietly, “i’ll probably just recheck the routes until morning, anyways.” a small smile pulls at the corner of his mouth, but it disappears quickly.

   “we need you to be rested.” he replies, “you’re the tactician after all.” you roll your eyes, stepping closer to him. you stand on your tiptoes, one hand on his jawline, and give him a quick peck on his cheek. almost immediately he turns bright red, flustered at the seemingly romantic gesture.

   “thanks for worrying.” you say, pulling back, “but i think i’ll be fine. i’ve ran on much less sleep, trust me.” you start backpedaling slowly, wanting to see his reaction. then, you turn around and head back to your tent.

   gerome stands in shock for a minute, then it sinks in.

   dear gods, he loved you.

Chapter 26: overprotective (alfonse x reader)

Chapter Text

   war meetings are always hectic, to say the least. for the most part, they consisted of certain members (mainly berkut and valter) yelling their opinions while the more level-headed ones, such as titania and frederick, try to get everyone to shut up so anna can speak. 

   but, they are eventful, and it was fun to watch berkut get knocked out by titania.

   after the meeting is dismissed, you see alfonse looking particularly stressed while talking to xander, and decide to approach the two best boys in your life. you had hoped xander would be chill about you dating the askran prince, but seeing the looks on both of their faces, you could tell nothing could be further from the truth.

   “hey alfonse,” you say cheerily, trying to butt yourself in to the conversation. alfonse gives you a weak smile, but xander’s eyes never leave alfonse, they remain - piercing and sizing up the poor boy. “what are the two of you talking about?” 

   “just about how if he hurts a single hair on your head that he’ll lose his life.” he says it as if he’s describing the weather, eerily nonchalant about making such a threat. alfonse audibly gulps, before puffing out his chest a bit and standing his ground. it’s about this time you see camilla, leo, elise, and corrin notice you talking and decide to join the conversation. they, too, have a word to say to alfonse about your relationship.

   “i promise to you that i won’t.” he says, eyes gleaming with sincerity, not breaking eye contact with xander. leo lets out a snort; you’ve seen men twice alfonse’s size cower under the nohrian prince’s gaze, but it seems your boyfriend truly does love you. you feel a swell of pride rush through your chest. “and if i do, i give you my word that you can do just that.” a bemused smile graces his lips for a split second, before his usual stoic expression returns.

   “yeah! don’t break her heart or you’ll face my wrath!” elise chimes in, though you can tell it’s an empty threat, as she laughs after she says it.

   “like i’ve said, you’ve nothing to worry about.” alfonse answers, before camilla quickly comes around behind you, wrapping her arms around your midsection.

   “i’ve learned not to trust the words of men,” camills says, the words falling from her lips sounding sweet, but you know there is a strong venom behind them. “don’t you dare even think about hurting her.” camilla threads her hands through your hair.

   you roll your eyes, knowing how overprotective your family can be. “guys, he’s not going to break my heart. if he does, i can take care of him myself.” you shoot alfonse a wink, and he blushes slightly.

   “yeah, but that doesn’t mean we can’t torture him a little first,” leo clicks his tongue, idly flipping through his brynhildr tome. “there’s some pretty nasty spells in here that i haven’t tried yet.” 

   “aw guys, don’t you think you’re going a bit too far,” corrin, the most logical of your family, says. “i mean, alfonse is a good guy-”

   you both look at corrin, and thank her in unison.

   “-but “good guys” can do stupid things sometimes, i agree with everything that’s been said.” she finishes it with a smug smile, crossing her arms. 

   if you could melt into the floor, you would.


   “and i thought sharena was bad when i told her,” he put his head in his hands, and you rub his back soothingly. “but all she did was tease us endlessly, you’re siblings are something else.”

   “in their defense, that is their version of teasing.” he looks up at you, an incredulous look on his face. “nohrian humor is very… morbid, to say the least.”

   he lets out a short laugh, “now i can see where you got it.” 

   “i’m not near as bad as they are,” you push him lightly, “but to your credit, i think i saw xander smile at you, which he never does to people he’s confronting, so i think that’s a good sign.”

   “that was a smile?”

Chapter 27: future child. (sharena x reader)

Chapter Text

   sharena flops down on her bed, sighing. today’s battle against laegjarn and her allies had been somewhat of a phyrric victory. sure, you ended up catching laegjarn, but the allies that fought beside sharena had been gravely injured. had it not been for elise, she doesn’t want to think of what would have happened to her friends.

   she holds her hand above her head, examining the newly formed calluses from gripping her lance so tight. letting out a groan, she makes a mental note to ask fjorm how she keeps her hands so soft.

   a quiet knock snaps her out of her thoughts, and she sits up, wondering who it would be. her first thought is that she hopes it’s you, but she quickly pushes that thought aside, going to open the door. swinging the door open, she spies a teenage girl, wearing a similar cloak as you do, with curly blonde hair with strawberry highlights, her [your eye color] eyes eyeing her up familiarly.

   “ah, mother!” the girl beams, “there you are!”

   sharena freezes, looking down at the girl. did she just call her mother? surely there had to be some sort of confusion. but then again, the child did look like the spitting image of herself. surely…

   “i’m sorry, i have no idea who you are, darling.” sharena eyes the kid sympathetically, the child letting out a goofy laugh. sharena’s heart skips a beat, that laugh sounds so much like someone else’s she knew…

   “sure, okay,” the girl rolls her eyes, pushing past her and into her room. “leave the pranks to me, mother.” sharena is tempted to laugh out of confusion, but instead she says:

   “i wish i could say this was a prank, but i really don’t know who you are.” she puts a finger to her lips, puzzled. she remembers robin telling her something about how her future children came back and how it was very weird at first to have a child only a few years her junior, but lucina and morgan were so lovely she didn’t mind. there would be no reason to lie about this, she just feels it’s odd for her own daughter to be a stranger to her.

   “are you serious? you don’t recognize me? juliet… you know, your favorite child and all?” she teases, sitting on top of the chest beside sharena’s bed. “did you hit your head in the last battle? do i need to call elise?” she opens her mouth to speak, but as she does, another knock is heard, this time it was you knocking on the open door.

   “uh, hi…” you say awkwardly, waving. “i just came to return your cape! gerome just finished stitching it up so…” you hold it out to her, shooting a nervous smile.

   “well it’s about time,” juliet grins, “mother was just saying she didn’t remember me, i think we need to get her to a healer.” sharena gives you a confused look, and you flush pink. ‘daughter?’, you think, ‘what was she talking about?’

   “mother? you mean sharena is your mother?” you sputter out.

   “…yes. seriously, you two are acting odd today.” she crosses her arms, the baggy cloak shifting and sliding off one of her shoulders. “did something happen when i was gone today? did someone slip something into you guys’ food?”

   “no, i just think you’re from a different time than us.” sharena gets closer, taking juliet’s hand into her own. “i mean, do i look as old as your mother does?” the child is silent for a minute, before answering:

   “…no, you do look very young. i just thought that you looked nicer today.” she lets out a snort, “your hands are just as callused as hers, though.” sharena laughs, turning to look at you. 

   “wait, sharena, do you really think this is your daughter from the future?” you run a hand through your hair, in shock and disbelief. “i mean, not to seem like a skeptic, she does look a lot like you, but this is weird, right?”

   “stranger things have happened.” she merely shrugs, “i just met her, but something about her is… familiar. call it women’s intuition but i know she’s telling the truth.” the room grows silent, and you let out a sigh, laughing quietly.

   “alright, juliet, if sharena believes you, then so do i.” you break the silence, and juliet lets out a ‘tut’ noise.

   “you always did take more convincing than mother.” she smiles wickedly, “which is why i love you.” 

   “wait, love me? am i–” you fluster, the pieces just now starting to fit together. both sharena and juliet give each other a look, and burst into laughter, sharena’s cheeks holding a light blush. truth be told, she was glad that you were her future spouse, there was no one she’d rather spend her life with. even if you two weren’t officially dating yet. 

   “gods, for a tactician you can be slow sometimes.”

Chapter 28: future child. (alfonse x reader)

Chapter Text

   the library was always yours and alfonse’s place. ever since you arrived in this world, you had been drawn to the old room – its peaceful atmosphere and scarce visitors was refreshing, as most of the other rooms in the palace are crowded and hectic. alfonse lets out a sigh of relief, sitting down in the corner of the room at the “askran officials only” table. there was a book left out, alfonse notices, meaning that you’d been in the library sometime last night. a small smile graces his lips, typical you, overworking yourself yet again.

   the rusty library door creaking open alerts him to someone else’s presence. he runs a hand through his hair, straightening himself up to get ready to greet you, but it takes longer than he expects. he hears the footsteps move slowly, as if whoever it is is looking for something: perhaps robin or soren, some of the only other people who use the library, came to get a book. deciding that they’d leave the library sooner if he helped them find what they wanted (not that soren would accept any help if it was him, but he could at least try), he peeks around the bookshelf, and sees someone staring intently at the shelf with the tactic books. 

   ‘that’s odd,’ he thinks, ‘their cloak doesn’t look like anyone’s we’ve summoned before… could it be another version of robin or a new hero entirely [name] has forgotten to tell me about?”

   “ah, hello there,” alfonse calls, clearing his throat. “anything you looking for?” the cloaked man (women? alfonse couldn’t tell) turns to face him, and upon getting a good look at him, pulls the hood from his head. 

   he could tell now it was a boy, with sparkling [your eye color] eyes, and a mop of curly blue hair (oddly enough with a few golden streaks in it). the teen smiles, striding uncomfortably close to him.

   “father!” he says, wrapping his arms around him. alfonse awkwardly pats his back, before what the child says sinks in. what? “there you are! i’ve been looking for you all day! azama told me he’d help me find you, but he ended up ranting to me about how pointless life is, and so i left and a nice lady named titania came and told me you were usually in the library! so here i am!” he beams, hands on his hips like he’s proud of himself, despite not really doing anything. 

   meanwhile, alfonse is still reeling from the fact this kid just called him father. chrom had told him about how shocked he was when his kids showed up from the future, and he had wondered how he would feel if the same thing were to happen to him. now that it was happening, he was completely in denial.

   “i’m sorry, what did you just call me?” he blinks incredulously, hardly able to make eye contact with the boy. the boy tilts his head in confusion, eyebrows knitting together. alfonse is tempted to laugh, because a certain someone he knows also has the same quirk-

   “alfonse! there you are!” speak (or, in this case, think) of the devil and she shall appear. you sigh, setting the heavy books you were carrying on the nearest table. “sorry i’m late, faye was talking about alm and you know how she-”

   “MOTHER!” the boy flings himself on you, nearly toppling you over. if alfonse was in denial at first, now he was short-circuiting. there’s no way this was his child, it had to be some cruel prank.

   and yet, he looked so much like the two of you it was almost uncanny.

   “i’m sorry little boy.” you pat his head, and he just pouts. “you must have me mistaken for someone else! i don’t have any kids!” 

   “c’mon,” the boy crosses his arms, “are you two playing a prank on me? if so, it’s not very funny.” you can almost see tears welling up in his eyes, and you have the sudden urge to comfort the kid.

   “no, i-i assure you i don’t know what you’re talking about.” you pull him into your arms, a hand on either one of his shoulders, looking him in the eyes. alfonse watches, face still flushed at the implication of what would happen if this was true. that mean you and him were married, or at least had a child together. it wasn’t a bad thought necessarily: it was no secret the askran prince had feelings for his summoner and vice versa but both were too painfully oblivious to realize the other’s feelings. “but, are you sure we’re your parents?” the boy sniffles, nodding quickly.

   “may i ask what year you’re from?” alfonse chimes in, ignoring your gaze and focusing on the child. “we could be in the same situation as chrom, where the kids come back from the future.” the boy answers, naming a year that’s almost sixteen years away. you shake your head, letting out a short laugh. of all the weird things that has happened to you since you arrived in askr (your arrival itself being an oddity), this took the cake.

   “oh, i forgot to show you this,” the boy says, flashing a ring in front of you two. “it’s got the crest i-if you needed proof.” your heart sinks, this poor child only wanting to see his parents and yet neither of them remembered him.

   “no, that’s quite alright, we believe you.” you smile softly, speaking for alfonse as well, “since we don’t know anything about you, how about we start learning, hm? how would you like that? could we start with your name?” the boy instantly perks up.

   “zacharias!” his face glows, and you see alfonse visibly stiffen. you shoot him a sympathetic glance as you pat zacharias on the back.

   “well little zacharias, how about you go sit at that table back there and me and your father will be there in a minute!” me and your father, the words echo in alfonse’s mind over and over. the boy seemed sweet, and with time, he was sure he would come to love him (just from this one encounter the boy was tugging at his heartstrings). “i gotta ask him a question about the battle plans.” your son seems to mull it over for no more than a second before saying:

   “alright! but i’ll be counting!” before bouncing off to the table. you watch him go, and then turn to alfonse, cheeks rosy and heart pounding.

   “this is-”

   “weird? yeah, i know but… i don’t know how to say it…” he pulls at his collar, cursing himself for his shyness. he always wished he could be as smooth as his sister.

   “it’s not inherently a bad thing.” you chuckle, hearing the boy counting loudly in the background. “i guess… if i was to have a child from the future, there’s no one i’d rather have him with.” if he was any more hot an bothered he might explode. all of his princely lessons fail, and all he can do is sputter out a pathetic:

   “m-me too.”

Chapter 29: misunderstandings. (sharena x reader)

Chapter Text

   “ah, summoner!” lucina says, breaking your concentration away from sharena, who asked you to watch and see how much stronger she’s gotten by twirling around her lance. you don’t see how that shows off her strength, but you weren’t one to deny a hero, especially your best friend, a request. “i had a question to ask you.” sharena, always the extrovert, stops her fancy lance techniques and bounces over to the two of you.

   “what is it?” you reply, eyeing sharena who’s wiggling her eyebrows at you. you have the urge to roll your eyes, but you know you’d do the exact same things if the roles were reversed, so you don’t.

   “i was wondering if you could take me to the training tower?” she nervously drums the hilt of falchion, “i mean, not just me, me, my father, and my mother? if that’s okay with you?” you tap a finger to your lips, thinking if you has anything planned later today. when you can think of nothing, you answer:

   “of course! just, later, right now i’m helping sharena.” lucina nods, looking from you to the other princess. “i can come get y’all once i’m done.” 

   “right. well, i’ll see you later, then.” with a small smile, she walks off. as soon as she’s out of earshot, sharena gives a whistle, grinning at you. 

   “i can’t believe you’re going on a date with luci with her parents!” she pats your shoulder, “chrom’s gonna kill you if robin doesn’t do it first!”

   “a… date? you think me and lucina are…?”

   “well, yeah, i see how you two are always together, you can’t hide it from me!” 

   “there’s nothing to hide, me and lucina are just friends, you think i can get a girl like her?” you snort, sharena frowning at your self-deprecating joke. “you’re cute.”

   “oh please, i think you’re pretty great.” she winks, and then quickly puts you on the spot, “then who do you like, if not luci, hm? you can tell me anything.” she shifts, absentmindedly tapping her lance. you pause for a moment, thinking about all the heroes who you thought were attractive. the grimas, reinhardt, azura, katarina, innes, but then you look up and see sharena, her eyes sparkling mischievously as she waits for an answer and it clicks.

   sharena was the one you liked.

   “um, wow, i think i just figured it out.” you shift nervously, “you, sharena.” it takes a moment for her to realize what you said, and at first, she opens her mouth to tease you, but then she smiles, tackling you in a hug.

   “i was hoping that would be your answer!” she nuzzles into your neck, “because i like you too, i have for a loooong time, you just didn’t notice!” you chuckle, hugging her tightly back, and then something else dawns on you.

   oh god alfonse is gonna kill me.

Chapter 30: misunderstandings. (alfonse x reader)

Chapter Text

  ever since you had summoned ike, the two of you had been almost inseparable. it didn’t help that sharena and anna kept teasing him about ike “stealing your girl/mans” (slang that they picked up from you, no less). even in battle, you seemed to rely on ike over alfonse, leaving alfonse to think that perhaps he was replaceable. he could never voice these doubts to you, though, you would just think of him as weak for it, he was sure. so he threw himself into training, trying to catch your attention whenever ike wasn’t at your side.

  “alfonse,” sharena snaps in front of his face, trying to get his attention. “you know it’s rude to stare, right?” alfonse pales, not realizing he had been practically boring holes into the back of ike with his glare. there you two were again, waiting to get lunch together, ike obviously flirting with you. i mean, why wouldn’t he be, you were smart, talented, funny, not to mention gorgeous.

  “if you like them, why don’t you tell them? sitting and glaring at your competition isn’t going to help your case.” anna tuts, stirring her stew.

  “because obviously they like ike. why should i even try?” alfonse mutters, tapping his fingers on the wooden table, and he looks back up at you, who now has their bowl of stew. you turn around and meet his gaze, smiling fondly at him. alfonse averts his gaze, anxiety swelling in his chest at the thought of you smiling like that at someone else.

  “oh, alfonse.” sharena sighs, flicking his forehead. “you’ve always been too hard on yourself. i can ask them about it if you’d like–”

  “no.” he says a little too quickly, “let’s change the subject, they’re coming over here right now.”

  “hey guys!” you say cheerily, placing your bowl beside alfonse and sitting down. “sorry for missing the war meeting today, me, ike, and soren went down to the training tower and lost track of time!” you nudge alfonse, “you know how that is, right?” alfonse stares straight ahead into his now-empty bowl, letting out a quiet yes. he missed the days where you, sharena, anna, and him would explore the first stratums of the training tower. that time felt so far away from now. you knit your eyebrows, knowing something was off. alfonse was quiet, sure, but usually not passive like he was being now. you two always laughed about the training tower mishaps. you grab his arm, and look to the other three sitting at your table.

  “um, i have to discuss something with alfonse about… one of the new heroes.” you then turn to ike, “make sure sharena doesn’t steal my food, she always does.” he nods, and you pull alfonse out into the hallway, where it was much more quiet (and away from anna and sharena’s giggles).

  “something wrong, al?” you say, poking him in the chest. he avoids your gaze, crossing his arms. “really, you can tell me what’s up! you’re my best friend after all.” a warmth flickers in his chest. he could live with being your best friend, but he had to at least get these feelings off his chest.

  “are you-” he starts, and almost stops himself, but knows if he doesn’t get it out now it’ll keep eating at him. “are you and ike… together?” you stare at him for a second, blinking incredulously. you didn’t have feelings for ike in the slightest, you had been hanging out with him until some of the other people from his world were summoned. you two incidentally just became friends as you were spending time together. besides, you had feelings for another blue-haired lord.

  “no,” you reply, “no, he’s just a friend. gods, alfonse, is that why you’ve been acting so distant? i go looking for you and you’re always training.” he meets your gaze finally, feeling a bit guilty but all of his bottled up feelings suddenly exploding.

  “you should’ve pulled me out of training, like you used to do. i thought you left me and found someone better.” his voice is small, and you feel a pang go through your chest. you knew alfonse had attachment issues, but he usually kept them to himself, hearing the pain in his voice now made you feel bad. you wanted nothing more than to grab him and assure him everything will be alright.

  “no, no way, no one is more important to me than you, al, you know that.” you put your hand on his shoulders. “but i have other friends too, you know? anna, sharena, the other heroes, they matter to me too, but you matter most of all. nothing will change that, you understand?” you let out a short laugh, “besides, i have my eye on someone else.”

  “and who is that?” he says, heart pounding at the thought of being this close to you. it was exhilarating in a way no battle ever could be, and your words of encouragement made him feel a bit more secure in what the next words from your mouth would be. you exhale sharply, sticking your hands in your coat pocket. well, you think, it’s now or never, huh?

  “you, you dork.” you say, feeling like a weight was lifted off your chest. that was much less painful than you had imagined it to be. alfonse immediately flushes, opening his mouth to speak but no words come out.

  thankfully, his reaction says it all, and no words are needed. you pull him closer by his scarf, and kiss him gently on the lips. his eyes close, and he wraps his arms around your waist. all his doubts about him being not worthy of you are pushed into the back of his mind.

  you break apart when you hear a wolf-whistle, and you turn around to see anna taking a few coins from sharena.

  “i told ya!” anna cackles, taking out an odd-looking tome. “now if you two could just go back to doing what you were just doing so i could capture it on this snapshot tome, that would be wonderful…” you roll your eyes, grabbing alfonse’s hand and pulling him back into the dining hall. anna watches you leave and follows you.

  “hey wait! you both can split some of the profits with me!”

Chapter 31: déjà vu. (alfonse x reader)

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   you weren’t supposed to be in this war. 

   you weren’t even supposed to be in this universe. alfonse always thought it was unfair for someone as kind and sheltered as you to be dragged into a war you had no part in. and to become one of the leaders of the army despite that? you were something special.

   so, when you were captured by surtr, he hated himself for that. without you, the army barely functioned. there was no order, no willpower, hardly any leadership. for all intents and purposes, they were back at square one. people had always called you the “brains” of the army, but now he could see that you were the heart. 

   to strike back at surtr for what he did to you, he decided to plan a sneak operation. sure, it wasn’t as good as one of yours would be, but it was better than nothing. thankfully, they still had other tacticians, such as robin and soren, to help fill the gap that you left. they planned to take a few heroes and invade a nearby village that housed a small faction of surtr’s army. it wasn’t anything grand, but a couple yards is better than a loss. 

   alfonse, sharena, reinhardt, and camilla take their positions, moving quietly through the outskirts of the camp towards the house where most of the enemies were said to patrol. he had heard news of a new tactician surtr had gotten to replace veronica after she defected, and it was safe to assume that they were the one here. an army’s nothing without a tactician, he’s now learning the hard way. in a way, this was an eye for an eye. 

   an arrow whizzes past his head. alfonse curses, whipping around to look for the enemy. it appears as if they have him and his team surrounded. how could that have happened without anyone noticing? their tactician must be better than anyone thought. through the dim light of the torches scattered around the camp, he can see someone step forward. an uncanny smile on their face holding what looks to be… no, gods, it was breidablik. how was that possible? alfonse saw surtr snuff you out! he went to your funeral, mourned your death, but here you were, eyes blank but recognizable as ever. he could never forget just how beautiful you were.

   “[name]?” comes sharena’s quiet voice, breaking the silence.

   no, he thinks, this can’t be happening again… not to his summoner… not to you. but his suspicions are confirmed when you say five words that send his world crashing down.

   “who the hell is [name]?”

Chapter 32: home. (chrom x reader)

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  chrom hated being lied to. 

   no matter what it was, he was a man who trusted easily (perhaps he was a bit naive for doing so), so when someone betrayed that trust it killed him.

   he never thought the person who would do so would be his own spouse, the person he loved more than anything in the world. he would gladly give his life for them if it meant they would be okay, so when the opposite happens to him, he falls apart

   you promised you wouldn’t sacrifice yourself to defeat grima, that you would let him land the final blow. but here you are, fading out of existence, slipping through his fingers like you were made out of air. you choke out a final “goodbye” before disappearing into nothingness, like you had never been there before. 

   the following two years were the worst years of his life – even if they were supposed to be the happiest. there was no more war, he was the exalt, he had his children, but you weren’t there. he loved his kids but they didn’t share the bond you and him shared. there was no one to make fun of the other royals with at boring council meetings, no one to read to him when he had trouble falling asleep, no one that he could talk to about anything and everything without getting bored. 

   so, he searched for you at every free moment he could. frederick and lissa also helped, knowing how much you meant to chrom. 

   “chrom, it’s been two years, don’t you think we should–” lissa asks, trying to bring up the harsh reality but she knew she had to. chrom would spend the rest of his life looking if no one one stopped him.

   “no.” he snaps, his voice cold, something very unlike him. “they-they’re not gone. naga will bring her back, i know it.” and that’s how the topic goes every time, with lissa wanting chrom to move on and chrom desperately wanting you back.

   until one day he spots you, lying in the field, asleep like it was the first time he met you. he could barely contain himself as he takes off in a full sprint shaking you awake, tears freely spilling as he sobs your name over and over.

   you were home.

Chapter 33: out of time. (alm x reader)

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   “don’t touch them!” alm yells, across the field at berkut. berkut merely sneers, chuckling and pushing you roughly forward, his grasp on your shoulder tight.

   “and why not? a filthy commoner’s life means nothing to me!” berkut readies his lance with the other hand, shoving it roughly against your back. you writhe against it, crying out in pain. you pray to mila for any way out of this, but you get your answer sooner than you expected.

   and sometimes the answer is “no” in the form of a spear piercing through your heart. 

   alm grips his sword tighter as he sees you fall, berkut stepping over your body like you were nothing but an insect in his way. seeing him do that makes alm snap out of the shock he was in and charge forward, not caring about the shouts from clive or lukas as they urge him to take caution. the only thing on his mind was killing berkut


   “where are you going?” lukas asks, seeing alm try and sneak out of the camp. alm had been in a dark place for the past few weeks, blaming himself for not only your death, but for not being strong enough to kill berkut. lukas had been instructed to keep a close eye on alm to make sure he didn’t do anything reckless.

   “to the nearby ruins.” he mutters, avoiding lukas’s piercing gaze. “i heard the villagers talking about a well of life that could revive people who have died so i–”

   “alm, i understand your feeling but how–”

   “no! no, you don’t understand!” all the anger he feels at his failing comes out in one explosive fury. “i don’t care how nonsensical it sounds to you, if there’s any chance of getting… of getting them back i’m going to go for it! i don’t care what you say.” lukas sighs, knowing that once alm puts his mind to something, there’s no changing it.

   “fine, but i’m coming with you.” he says, “i’d love to believe such a spring exists, but if it doesn’t, you have to be willing to…”

   “i know.” 

Chapter 34: future child. (fjorm x reader)

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   fjorm grips her lance, ready for the final boss of the tempest trial. all of her other allies were busy cutting through the unnamed enemies, while she prepared herself to take on the boss. visions of previous bosses flash through her mind, legendary heroes such as celica, hector, robin, and ike, and villains such as grima, the black knight, and veronica were the main ones that came to mind. but she was ready for whatever came, and as her friends make the way open for her, she charges forward, locking eyes with a younger looking girl, with pixie cut [your hair color] hair and icy blue eyes, determined and focused until they meet hers.

   the boss falters, gracefully dodging fjorm’s attack. just as fjorm raises her lance to go for another jab, but the girl jumps back, effectively dodging yet again. fjorm clenches her jaw, yelling as she goes in to knock the girl off her feet.

   “WAIT!” the girl yells, using her tome to throw up a shield that pushes fjorm back. “mother! it’s me! don’t fight!” fjorm rolls her eyes, knowing this is probably another one of loki’s tricks. she doesn’t have a child, she doesn’t even have a spouse yet, no way this was real.

   “you’re lying!” she shoots back, breaking through her magic barrier, knocking the teen down with her shoulder, lance pointed at her throat. the girl looks up, not frightened but impressed. “reveal yourself, loki.” the younger girl pushes herself back, mouth agape.

   “wow, mother,” she breathes out, chest heaving from effort. “i’ve never seen you that… fierce before! it’s kinda scary.” as long as the boss was alive, more unnamed adversaries poured in through portals. fjorm looks around for a second, seeing elise, brave!lyn, and grima struggle to keep up with all the other enemies, so fjorm comes closer, lance at the girl’s throat.

   “why do you insist on calling me mother?” fjorm’s hands tremble, loki would’ve given up the charade by now, so was this girl telling the truth? “there’s no way… i don’t even know your name!” 

   “gods, these timelines are confusing,” she rubs her temples, “i made a deal with veronica that i’d be the boss of the tempest trials if it meant i could see you again but… i guess she sent me earlier in the timeline than i’d anticipated.” she fiddles with the ends of her cape, biting her lip. 

   “why would you make a deal with veronica? she’s our enemy, you know that right?” the girl just shrugs, squinting up at fjorm.

   “well, i would correct you, but that would be spoilers!” fjorm is tempted to laugh, that sounds like something you would say, but instead she helps the kid off the ground.

   “FJORM!” you call, all the enemies down except for the boss. “i know you’re a sweetheart and all, but she is the boss, you have to defeat her for the tempest to close itself.” you portal yourself by fjorm, pulling down your hood.

   “i can’t do that– this is, well–” she can’t bring herself to finish the sentence, as she knows how insane it would sound, but thankfully her child answers for her.

   “hello father/other mother, i’m your future daughter, adelaide!” 

Chapter 35: future child. (gunnthra x reader)

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   after being rescued from sutr’s flames by an unknown stranger risking their life and sneaking behind enemy lines to save her from the fire, gunnthra had been confined to bed rest. her wounds had been significant, and she had almost died when she was first brought in, but thankfully your side has the best healers in all of the land, who worked around the clock to make sure she recovered well - (they were highly motivated by your love for gunnthra, who, despite only knowing her for a short while, you had been infatuated with her). you pace outside the medical ward, waiting for elise to bounce out and tell you everything was alright.

   “pacing isn’t going to help, you know.” the mysterious boy says, turning around the corner and leaning against the wall, an orange in his hand. you perk up, you thought he had fled after he dumped gunnthra’s half-dead body in your arms, but here he was again. he mutters something under his breath, picking at the peel anxiously. 

   “you,” you say, and he avoids your gaze. the mask obscuring the top half of his face makes it hard to read his emotions, but you can see he’s blushing a bit. “you’re the one who saved gunnthra.”

   “yeah, thankfully i got there in time,” he answers, “i can’t afford to lose her again.” again? that was a curious choice in words.

   “you said ‘again’… what do you mean by that?” the boy curses, knowing he said something he shouldn’t have. “are you a time-traveler?”

   “something like that,” he continues to peel the orange, throwing the peel on the floor. “i would say you wouldn’t believe me if i told you, but i know you would.” he snorts, the first impression that you got of him being gerome-esque wearing off. he didn’t seem as aloof, just mysterious and hard to read.

   “that would mean you know me,” you take off your hood to look at him better. he’s a little bit shorter than you, with a cloak similar to yours, except it’s black. he has bright pink hair, similar to gunnthra’s, and eyes the same color as yours. his outfit suggested he was a dread fighter, with his long scarf and cape. 

   “of course i know you, look at me, do you not see anything similar to yourself?” his smile upturns into a mischievous grin, one you’re known for getting whenever you’re thinking of how to prank the askr trio. his eyes and face bear a striking resemblance to your own. 

   “no way, you can’t be… you’re my son?” you ask, with narrowed eyes. on your earth, you would’ve been admitted to a psych ward for even guessing that, but in the fire emblem universe, anything was possible. “i mean, you look a lot like me.”

   “you’re sharper than the other version of yourself, mother/father.” he eats a piece of the orange. “i guess you must be wondering what you named me? my name is aros.” you sigh, what a stereotypical fire emblem name, why couldn’t you have named your child something normal like ‘john’. “you didn’t like it at first, but mother liked it so much you acquiesced.”

   “oh really? hm. wait, mother?” you stutter, “who’s your [other] mother?” he chuckles, and as he opens his mouth to speak, elise rushes out, jumping into your arms and giggling.

   “she’s okay!” she puts her hands on her hips proudly, “she’s awake now, you can have a few minutes with her!” you thank elise, and you and aros go inside.

   “you wanted to know who my [other] mother is?” he leans over and whispers to you, “well, there she is.” in your heart, you knew she was the one, but having him confirm it makes it just the more real to you.

   “i’d wait until after she’s fully healed to tell her, i don’t want her having a heart attack on top of all she’s been through.” he lets out a short laugh, nodding in agreement.

   “what can’t you tell me?” gunnthra asks, and you and aros both look at each other, and you kneel beside her, taking her hand. “that he’s our son?” you choke on your own spit, and the boy flushes red. how did she know that?

   “h-how–?” gunnthra smiles her usual, knowing smile.

   “i know all.” she winks, “plus, when you rescued me, you were humming that ‘burning up’ song that [name] sings whenever sutr is close.”

Chapter 36: future child. (michalis x reader)

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   you had always had a fascination with the stars. they were the one thing constant in both your world and in askr – and despite the different constellations, you could always look up at the maps in the sky and make up stories for the different shapes you would pick out. of course, alfonse would tell you what each constellation meant, but you found the stories in your head were much more interesting then the actual explanation for them.

   the one story you loved, though, was the story of the goddess of night, celeste. doomed to be forever separated from her lover, the goddess of the daytime, she weeps every night, the tears falling from her face and creating the beautiful formations in the sky to lead other lovers safely home, so they don’t suffer the same fate. it was oddly beautiful, in a way most tragedies are. 

   you’re thankful for your love of the night, as it let you meet her.

   just as the goddesses tears light the night, so does she as she falls to the earth, hurtling towards it like a comet. you quickly jump up, going to help the girl who’s passed out inside of a crater on the ground. 

   “are you okay?” you ask, though the answer is fairly obvious. she just fell from the sky, of course she wasn’t alright. the girl, thankfully, can stand, and she gets up weakly, looking around as if in a daze.

   “where am i?” she asks, holding her head, her voice barely a whisper. her clothes are torn, and she holds her arms close to her chest, her breath visible because of the cold. “w-who are you?” she scrunches her face up, and limps towards you. you lunge forward and grab her arms, making sure she’s fit to stand, inspecting her face closely. 

   you can tell she’s a bit younger than you, maybe by a few years, but there are dark circles under her eyes. her bright red hair is cut at her chin, [eye color] eyes dull and devoid of warmth. 

   “i’m [name], i’m the tactician and summoner of the army of askr… i could ask the same to you… what is your name?” she grits her teeth, looking to the left as if trying to rack her own brain of thoughts, but ultimately finds nothing. she grips onto you as if trying to steady whatever was going on in her mind. you wrap an arm around her shoulder, taking out breidablik and summoning a portal back to the castle.

   “i-i’m not sure… i don’t remember anything.” you look at her, searching her eyes and seeing nothing but sincerity. you smile softly, making a stupid decision to trust this stranger who could easily kill you. studying the freckles on her face, you realize that some look like your favorite constellation.

   “can i call you celeste?”


   celeste quickly falls asleep under the care of the healers working the night shift, who just happened to be mist and sakura. they assured you that she would be fine in the morning, she only had a few scrapes and a dislocated ankle (nothing a stave couldn’t fix), so you could turn in for the night. despite their words, though, you couldn’t bring yourself to fall asleep when you had so many questions about this girl. so, you resign yourself to sitting by the door, waiting for her to wake up.


   it’d been a few weeks since celeste crash landed in askr. she still didn’t have her memories back, but was quickly becoming very attached to you. not that you minded, she was a total sweetheart who loved animals viewed the world with wide-eyed optimism. she even got herself a pegasus and started training to become a pegasus knight, with some help from caeda. she seemed to be naturally talented with a lance. (you suspected that she might’ve been a pegasus knight before she lost her memories, but nothing was certain). 

   “isn’t she adorable?” you ask, watching her train from afar. michalis lowers his head, crossing his arms. “she’s growing into such a strong young woman already, despite only being here for week. i wish i had resolve like that.” you let out an airy laugh, the macedonian king seemingly listening to you, but his eyes focused straight ahead.

   “children should not be utilized on the battlefield.” he says, eyes flickering down to look at you, “leave the fighting to the strong ones.” you hum, opening the small journal in your pocket where you keep notes on the units.

   “you’re right,” you reply, flipping to a page where you had kept notes on michalis. “children have to grow up far too fast here, i mean, kana and sanaki are barely even teenagers and yet they have to fight. it’s cruel.” you doodle yet another drawing of the red-haired wyvern rider, this time smiling and happy with little flowers surrounding him. he takes notice, and doesn’t seem too amused, but says nothing of it. “did you train as a child, too?” michalis merely nods, obviously not wanting to share that part of him with you just yet. you knew not to press him, as he opened up to you little by little, and pestering only made him close up more. 

   “[name]!” you hear celeste call, bounding over to the two of you, with a grin stretching from ear to ear. she jumps into your arms, heaving trying to catch her breath, but still beaming nonetheless. 

   “i’m getting so much better! miss caeda is SUCH a good teacher! i think i’m almost ready to be on the front lines, what do you say, mother?” she says, so excited that the words come so fast you can hardly keep up.

   “i don’t think you’re ready qu– wait, i’m sorry, what did you just call me?” you question, and see michalis shift beside you. the first thing that comes to your mind is that this is probably just a slip up, like calling a teacher ‘mom’ on accident, but she just smiles in response, confident in her words.

   “nope! as i was training, i think some of my memories came back to me!” she’s practically bouncing, shifting from heel to heel with nervous energy. “i saw a glimpse of you helping me get over my fear of wyverns, telling me something about how you used to fear them, then you met someone who helped you get over that fear!” she giggles, and you feel your heart hammer in your chest. you knew exactly who she was talking about, but your feelings for him weren’t up in the air yet. you glance at him, and his frown deepens, as he turns on a heel and leaves. your heart is telling you to follow him, but you couldn’t leave your daughter hanging. 

   forcing a nervous smile, you say: “please, tell me more.”


   word travels fast around the castle, the news of celeste being your daughter being the topic of everyone’s conversations. chrom had offered you a few words of advice, as he was one of the few people who could relate to your situation, and you were grateful for that.

   though, the speculations about who was the baby’s other parent were rampant as well. since celeste had red hair, it seemed every hero with a streak of red in their hair was rumored to be your “future spouse”. some heroes didn’t mind, such as the fearsome tactician saias and the candy thief gaius, but others, minerva, anna, and cordelia, quickly shot down these rumors, as though they did enjoy the summoner’s company, it was merely a platonic relationship between you two. 

   deep down, you knew who it was. it couldn’t be anyone else, you were sure of it, but you couldn’t seem to tell him. it’s only when celeste falls off her pegasus and bumps her head that she remembers herself.

   “it’s michalis!” she laughs, almost maniacally. “my father is michalis! we have to tell him at– ouch.” celeste winces, rubbing her head. you tell the girl to go to the healers while you took care of the matter yourself, (half because you didn’t know how he would react, and it would kill you if he denied her), and she acquiesces.


   “michalis?” you knock on his door, anxiety swelling with each tap you make. you hear him respond with a quiet yes. “may i come in?” he doesn’t answer, and you know that means you can. 

   “what is it?” he responds sharply, not even bothering to look up at you as he scans through some war book at his desk. you clench your jaw, not knowing how to bring up the topic at hand. usually, you always knew what to say, but words often failed you when you needed them most. letting out a deep breath, you decide that it’s now or never.

   “it’s about celeste, you–” he cuts you off mid-sentence.

   “if it’s about who her father is, i couldn’t care less.” his voice is icy in a way you hadn’t heard since when you first met him. 

   “no, just–”

   “oh, you haven’t found out yet? the list must be very long considering that you flirt with half of the army.” your eyes water, gods, he always knew just the right words to say to make someone hurt, you just never thought it would be directed at you. he didn’t mean it, your brain told you, he’s just hurt and trying to push you away like he does with everyone else, but it still stings that he would think of you that way. you hadn’t flirted with anyone but him for the longest while, he was just too much of a recluse to notice. it’s then he finally glances at you, noticing that you’re holding back tears. 

   “you’re such a dastard michalis.” you curse, tears flowing down your cheeks freely, “i was coming here to tell you that you’re her father.” you want to yell at him, want to make him hurt as much as he made you hurt, but you can’t bring yourself to. instead, you add in a small voice: “i should’ve listened to minerva about you.” and then you leave, slamming the door behind you.

   michalis is left with the same feeling that he had after using his sister, maria for a bargaining chip. complete and utter disgust with himself.


   “you!” celeste yells, flying her pegasus in front of michalis to block his path. she quickly dismounts, standing in front of him defiantly, chest puffed out and a stubborn expression on her face. even in the darkness, he could see the resemblances to you, as you always made when he would first tell you to leave him alone. “you made my mother cry! why would you do that you jerk!” despite the fierceness in her voice, her eyes look scared.

   “i know,” he responds, voice barely above a whisper. “where do you think i was going, child?” 

   “i don’t think she even wants to see you!” celeste replies, her pegasus glaring at him behind her. despite her words, he continues across the courtyard to the hall where your room was. “hey! are you even listening to me!” she follows quickly, the only noise besides their voices being the soft flap of her pegasus’s wings.

   “i don’t care, i need to right my wrongs.” he answers, ignoring her words of warning. of course you wouldn’t want to see him, he was utterly rude to the only person who cared enough to be nice to him despite his cold demeanor (save maria), but he had to see you. what he did to his family was unforgivable, and that damage could never be repaired, but he could mend relations with you, his one beam of warmth in his otherwise frigid world. 

   “i don’t know what you were like in my world, but…” she trails off, “i don’t want you to hurt my mother because you don’t want me.” he’s stunned into silence, the small girl looking towards the ground, eyes watering and sniffling as if to hold back a sob. michalis mentally curses, wondering what good deed he did in some previous life to warrant him this lucky of a hand, because he was sure that he’s done nothing good in his life to deserve the love of not only you, but of this angel, celeste, whom he’s never shown kindness to in the months she’s been here. he wishes he was maria, or even minerva who, though blunt, was much kinder than he. 

   “you think i do not want you?” he says, clearing his throat, trying for once to say what was truly in his heart. “nothing could be further from the truth.” celeste breaks, freely sobbing as she lunges at michalis, clinging to his midsection. 

   “oh father!” she says inbetween sobs, “i love you!” he’s frozen in place, not used to this type of affection except from maria. he puts a tentative hand on the top of her head, slowly patting her hair.

   “yes. now, let’s go find your mother.” celeste quickly reels back, quickly wiping her face off and forcing a smile. 

   “yes! but don’t think you’re off the hook just yet!” she giggles, eyes puffy and red, “i’m still mad at you!”

Chapter 37: valter protection squad. (fe villains x reader)

Chapter Text

nine o’clock am

   you lifelessly stir your porridge, too tired from last nights planning to have the motivation to lift the spoon to your mouth. sharena and anna are talking at you, but you only respond with nods of your head or little “mhm”s to let them know you were sort of paying attention. 

   “you need to eat, [name].” lyon says, and you lazily shift your gaze to the purple-haired boy. a small smile grows on your face.

   “can you feed me? i’m too tired to feed myself.” you tease, and you see lyon flush pink, his eyes dropping down to the floor. 

   “y-you don’t m-mean that-!” he stammers out of nervousness, and you just chuckle quietly to yourself. lyon was adorable when he was flustered. but he was right about eating, so you take his advice and eat a spoonful of the now-cold, flavorless porridge. you shoot him an ‘are you happy’ look, but then feel someone tug at your hair. you see anna and sharena visibly stiffen, and lyon sits up straight. you knit your eyebrows, thinking that it’s probably just nowi, but when you turn around you see it’s valter, a wide grin on his face.

   “hm… you smell good today [name]…” he continues to stroke your hair, wrapping a few strands around his slender fingers. “delicious enough for my taking.” you open your mouth to curse him out for being such a creep, but instead lyon stands up, stepping in between you and the wyvern knight.

   “leave her alone.” he says, voice wavering but still standing firm. your hand is on breidablik just in case valter tries anything, but instead he just laughs.

   “you send your pup after me?” he’s still laughing, puffing himself up to look down on the shorter man. “oh, i know you, you’re the prince of grado. you’re more pathetic than i remember.”

   “i said leave her alone.” you curse, knowing lyon’s voice dropping an octave meant only one thing, that the demon king was now in control. “or i will have no choice but to put you down like the dog you are.” valter looks amused, gripping his lance tighter, but you realize this has gone too far, so you use breidablik to teleport valter to the training tower where he could actually kill something. you sigh, leaning back against the table. lyon looks at you blankly, his eyes wide and dark unlike their usual pale purple color. 

   now you had a different problem on your hands.


twelve o’clock pm

   “there you are!” you freeze, hearing the familiar voice of valter. “you sent me away this morning, i suppose you’re not as daft as i first thought.” his voice is laced with venom. you want nothing more than to teleport him away, but feeling your hip you realize that you left your divine weapon in your room. 

   “i’m full of surprises.” you pull your coat tighter over yourself, trying to conceal the fact you don’t have breidablik with you. “now, please leave me before i send you back to where you came from.” he sneers, grasping your chin roughly and pulling you to look up at him, a sickening grin on his face.

   “i don’t think you will, little girl.” he looks you over like he would devour you at any moment, “i went by your room and i saw that blasted weapon that allows you control of me.” a few hairs fall in front of his face, making him look even more wild than he looked before. you try and pull away, but despite how strong you are, he’s even stronger, and his grip tightens to the point you swear a bruise will form. he lets out a tutting noise, and your eyes start to water. 

   “aw, are you going to cry, kitten?” he mocks, and you glare up at him, “maybe i’ll let you go if you beg in the way i like… so let me hear those sweet cries from you.” 

   “you lech,” you feel someone grab you from behind, and you instinctively burrow yourself into their chest, trying to get away from valter. “your filthy hands are not worthy to touch her, leave now and i won’t skewer you to the walls.” it’s then you realize it’s berkut’s voice, deep and rough and you know those threats are true. 

   “this another one of your dogs, [name]?” he grins, his eyes staring down berkut, who’s weapon is pointing right at him, you tucked under his arm like a baby bird. “very well. but don’t think this is over, you will kneel to me, one way or another.” and with a last threat, he walks out of the library. when berkut hears the doors close, he sets down his lance, gaze softening as he looks at you.

   “he didn’t hurt you did he? i’ll kill him if he did.” you sniffle, wrapping your arms around berkut’s neck, letting out the scared tears that you had been holding back. 

   “no, but thank you for saving me, berkut.” you whisper, “i owe you one.” berkut chuckles lightly, slowly encircling his arms around your waist.

   “that you do.”


five o’clock pm

   “is he still staring at me?” you ask grima, purposely facing him/her so that you didn’t have to look at the man whose been following you all day. grima turns his/her gaze to valter, who is indeed watching at you. 

   “i can pluck his eyes out if you want.” grima whispers back, no intent of humor evident in his/her voice. 

   “thanks for the offer but i’ll pass.” you sigh, alfonse clearing his throat and looking at the two of you, like a stern mother trying to keep her kids quiet in church. you probably should’ve been paying attention to anna’s speech about how tough the next battle was going to be, but you couldn’t bring yourself to focus, as you can practically feel valter’s gaze piercing into the back of your head. 

   “switch seats with me.” she/he says, already getting up. you oblige, earning a few odd stares from the other heroes in the room, but not caring. instantly, grima spreads his/her wings, effectively blocking valter’s view of you. you hear him cackle from across the room, but you could care less. you smile gently up at grima, mouthing a ‘thank you’ to him/her, and grima shrugs, trying his/her best to remain their uncaring attitude. he/she then proceeds to flip off valter, and you hear valter scramble to fight grima, only to be held back by a few of the other heroes.

   war meeting were supposed to be peaceful.


twelve o’clock am

   stifling a yawn, you open up your notebook to go and check to see if all the wyverns were in their place at the stable. usually, you would have done this much earlier, but considering how your day went, it was a surprise that you even got to it at all. you had only recently started counting the wyverns, as they usually behaved, but after cherche’s went missing one day and she caused an uproar (you have never been scared of anyone more in your life), the job had fallen on you.

   opening the stalls, you hear the loud screeches of the beasts, and you wince, the noise piercing your ears. you walk to the first few stalls, reaching your hand in and letting the wyvern’s nuzzle into your palm. you check off the two ‘minerva’s’ aka gerome and cherche’s wyverns. 

   then, you see your favorite wyvern, that belonged to one of your favorite people, michalis. you smile softly, grabbing some treats out of your pockets, and walking into the pen. 

   “hey buddy,” you coo softly, walking closer to the beast. it jumps up, its tail thumping against the walls of the pen. “i got something for you.” you stick your palm out flat, a few strips of dried beef for her. it quickly eats it up, nuzzling against your side, sniffing your familiar scent. at first, the wyvern would try and kill you when you got withing ten feet of it, but after getting to know the beast, it had warmed up to you. 

   “all alone i see?” comes a familiar erratic voice. a chill runs up your spine, and michalis’s wyvern growls. “well, this is a treat for me…”

   “valter, please,” you plead, stepping behind the wyvern. “can’t you just leave me alone?” 

   “oh, are you scared of me, kitten?” he sneers, “good. it’s always more fun when my prey is cornered.” his lance glimmers dangerously in the moonlight. you know he isn’t going to kill you, he’s told you that much before, but otherwise his intentions were unknown to you. thankfully, michalis’s wyvern snaps at him, cornering him against the opposite wall, and you take the opening to run out of the pen. you step backwards, forgetting about the step up into the pen and landing on your ankle awkwardly, falling to the floor, your ankle throbbing. you cry out, seeing valter step out of the pen, a feral grin on his face as he sees you laying on the ground holding your injury.

   “you know you can’t run from me for long, [name]…” he kneels over you, breath fanning your face. you screw your eyes shut, turning from his gaze. this is it, you think, he’s going to enact whatever thing he had planned to make you submit to him, none of the options pretty. “i want to hear you grovel… come on now! let me hear you beg!” it’s then you hear a THUD, and you open your eyes. you see michalis standing beside you, an axe in his hand and valter laying beside you, seemingly unconscious. you breathe a sigh of relief for having been saved for the second time today.

   “i really need to train with an actual weapon,” you say, smiling weakly up at him. he peers down at you, looking you up and down. the only thing keeping tears from flowing is the familiar pump of adrenaline coursing through your veins. 

   “…you okay?” he asks, his voice low. you shake your head, laughing bitterly at the question. 

   “honestly? not really. valter’s been stalking me all day and i’ve had to be saved multiple times, i haven’t had a good night’s sleep for the last week, and now my ankle’s messed up.” you let out a sigh, “sorry… i’m just tired is all.” 

   “hm…” he almost seems to smile, “guess you won’t have to worry about that insect anymore.” he taps your head with his clawed gloves. “can you get up?”

   “with some help, maybe.” you hold your arms out for him to help you up, and he grunts. instead of helping you up, he scoops you up in his arms, bridal style, and starts back towards the castle.

   “tell anyone about this and i’ll end you.” he says, but you’re not listening to his words. instead, you cuddle into his chest, letting out a yawn, your adrenaline high crashing and you start to feel overwhelmingly tired. your eyelids feel heavy as you start to fall asleep in his arms, a small smile on your face.

   “thank you for saving me,” you whisper, “you really aren’t as mean as everyone thinks. i know you can be nice…” before dozing off to sleep. michalis chuckles, wondering how you could have possibly have this sort of effect on him. 

   “only for you.”

Chapter 38: future child. (loki x reader)

Chapter Text

   it’s all over, you think as you see loki’s staff hover dangerously over your throat. she could easily use her powerful magic to snuff you out, so why did she hesitate? you study her eyes, trying to read her despite the dim light, but you get nothing - no emotion is written in her deep purple eyes. you grit your teeth, mentally cursing yourself for sneaking out of the castle against the wishes of anna. why couldn’t you just listen?

   “go ahead,” you hiss, the words vehement and sharp, “kill me if you want. that’s what surtr wants from you, right? so what are you waiting for?”

   loki tosses her hair over her shoulder, wondering the same exact thing too. had it been anyone else you would’ve been worm food by now, but even now as she feels the magic flow through her fingers she can’t bring herself to kill you. instead, she uses her forearm to push you against a tree, pinning you in place.

   “i’m only allowing you to live so you can tell me where the divine weapon is.” she lies, only inches away from your face. it’s only now that you realize how wonderful she smells – sweet like honey yet bitter like iron, something that matches her personality well. “so i’d suggest you shut up and show me just where breidablik is before i have to take it off your corpse.” her eyes narrow, and you feel yourself flush, the tension between you two so thick you could cut it with a knife.

   “STOP!” you hear a female’s voice yell, and hear the snapping of tree branches before a blade knocks loki’s staff out of her hands. loki curses, scrambling to pick it up, but the masked stranger’s foot is already on top of it. “l-let them go y-you-!” her hands shake as she points her sword at loki’s chest. taken aback, loki chuckles, puffing herself up to where she was towering over the stranger.

   “oh? who do we have here? one of your friends?” she casts a look back at you, a bemused smile on her face. “poor thing, your hands are shaking… you’ve never killed anyone, have you?” loki takes a step forward, and the girl takes a step back, cowering before loki’s presence.

   “d-don’t come any closer! i-i’m warning you!” you shoot her a glance, and pull breidablik out of an inner pocket of your cloak. loki realizes that the girl isn’t going to hurt her, so she leans down and grabs her staff, but as she does so, you create a portal under her feet and she falls through, you sending her back to muspell. you let out a sigh of relief, but the girl falls to her knees, sniffling. 

   “are you okay? she didn’t hurt you, did she?” the girl shakes her head, and you take another tentative step forward. “good, good… ah, i don’t think i’ve seen you before. what’s your name?” she coughs, obviously trying to suppress her sobs, and looks up at you.

   “um, i’m gaia…” she says quietly. “i’m sorry i couldn’t protect you more it’s just that–” you kneel down and hug her, a sudden feeling of paternal/maternal love washing over you. 

   “no, i get it,” you brush a strand of her straight auburn hair behind her ear. “you’re young. the battlefield is no place for you.” you feel the girl freeze in your arms, before she breaks down into sobs, crying freely into your shoulder. you shush her, taking off her mask so she can vent her frustrations. you both sit there for a moment, you running your hand through her hair while she cries. she looks up at you, tears in her [your eye color] eyes.

   “no, the reason i couldn’t kill her was because–” she breaks off, pushing back a sob, “is because she’s my mom. i could never kill my mother, even when she’s threatening the life of my father/other mother.” your eyes widen, and suddenly you understand why you feel drawn towards this girl. heck, she even looked like the two of you. but loki was your enemy, so how could this work out? it was no secret that even though you hated her, you also found her very attractive (as did anyone else with eyes), but you couldn’t see yourself marrying loki and having a child with her. 

   “you’re thinking about how this happens, right?” you let out a short laugh, nodding your head slowly.

   “well…”

Chapter 39: you're not sharena. (alfonse x reader)

Chapter Text

   “how about this?” you say, stepping out from behind your dressing curtain. it was getting close to the valentines festival and you were trying to find something nice to wear. of course, anna had offered to stitch you up something (that would probably cost twice as much as you make per year) but you politely declined, knowing how risque some of her outfits had been in the past. it wasn’t that you were conservative or anything, but you know that she’d take pictures of you and sell them to some of the more lecherous heroes, and that’s the opposite of what you wanted. thankfully, sharena offered to let you borrow one of her dresses. 

   “hm…” she looks you up and down once, then twice, then frowns. “it’s cute but–”

   “it’s not me, yeah i know.” you groan, walking back behind the screen, shrugging off the pastel pink dress. “honestly, why can’t i just wear my regular outfit? i do that for every other festival anyways.” you hear sharena rummaging through your closet.

   “geez, everything in here looks the same…” she mutters under her breath. “oboro and anna really need to give you a new wardrobe.” 

   “do you want me to lose all my money,” you chuckle, hanging the frilly dress over on top of the divider. “you know anna’s prices don’t change even if you’re her best friend.”

   “yeah but if she could make money off of you wearing that costume…” you can almost hear the smugness in her voice. “i know a certain brother of mine that would love a picture of you in a valentines dress.” she peeks behind the divider, a dress in her hands.

   “oh please, he only thinks of me as a friend.” you roll your eyes, taking the white dress from her. “wait, isn’t this the dress i wore to the winter festival two years ago? geez, i’ve been here for so long.” 

   “yep! you were so cute back then,” she beams, “but don’t try to change the subject! you two are awfully close for ‘just friends’… i don’t buy it for one second!” sharena sits on your bed, crossing her legs and waiting for you to come out. 

   “i mean… i wish he liked me…” you sigh, unzipping the simple dress, “like, why does every hero here have a crush on me besides the one i actually like… this has to be karma for something, right?” sharena clicks her tongue, suddenly thinking of something. 

   “WAIT! ninian has the perfect dress that you could try on!” she jumps up, “hold on! and when i got back we’re continuing the conversation!” you roll your eyes, listening to the click of her heels as she sprints out of the room. looking in the small mirror hanging on the dressing curtain, you step into the white dress and pull it over your thighs. unfortunately, you seemed to have gained a lot of muscle since you wore it last, as you practically have to yank it up onto your hips. giggling, you hear the familiar noise of sharena’s footsteps as she enters the room. that was fast, you think, usually sharena got distracted by some pretty girl in the hallways, but you think nothing of it. 

   “what? no talk about your brother?” you tease, trying to pull the small dress over your arms, but you see the same has happened with your arm muscles, as you can’t get the small sleeves over your now-toned deltoids. “you think tharja can hex him into liking me?” you joke, “kidding, but seriously, i have gained so much muscle after being here it’s ridiculous, just look at this dress.” you step out from behind the divider, the top of the dress hanging down because it’s too small, and the skirt resting on your sides. it takes a second for either you or alfonse to recognize what was happening, but once it sinks in, both of you turn bright red, and you scream, grabbing the nearest pillow and covering your chest with it (despite you having a bra on). “you… you’re not sharena!”

   “no… no, i’m not… gods, i’m so sorry i didn’t mean to–” he stutters, looking anywhere but at you, teeth clenched in embarrassment. 

   “how… how much of that did you hear?” you take a step back, slowly inching your way to the changing divider. 

   “all of it.” he’s positive that he would explode at any second. honestly, alfonse would rather be fighting surtr in hand-to-hand combat than being here right now. 

   “even the part where i–”

   “yep.” he coughs, “but i mean… it’s probably not the best place to say it but you don’t have to get tharja to hex me to get me to like you back because i already, er, i already like you, [name].” at any other moment, you would’ve jumped into his arms, but you were so embarrassed that all you can do is mutter out a pathetic:

   “oh, t-that’s good.” you take another step back, “i’m just gonna–”

   “yeah…” he sighs, gods above, when he imagined confessing his love for you it was certainly not with you half-naked in front of him after he overheard your confession because you thought he was sharena. but it was you, and nothing went perfect with you around, and that was okay. 

   “OH MY GODS ALFONSE!” sharena shrieks, throwing the dress she borrowed at alfonse’s head. “WHY ARE YOU IN HERE? GET OUT!” she proceeds to wrap her arm around alfonse’s neck and drag him out of your room.

   you take a deep breath, then smile to yourself. of course this is how you and alfonse would get together.

Chapter 40: second place. (alfonse x reader)

Chapter Text

   gunnthra’s team cheers with victory as she uses her magic to tear alfonse’s flag off of its pole. reaching down to pick it up, she holds it over her head, waving it back and forth as sigurd and ninian send up the victory flare, alerting you to teleport to her team. readying breidablik, you warp to the oldest princess of nifl, crowning her the winner of this gauntlet.


   “alright everyone!” you yell, standing on top of a table in the kitchen, all the heroes who participated in this gauntlet standing around with eager eyes. every month, you hosted an event called the gauntlet, where eight heroes would volunteer as captains and face-off in a capture the flag-esque game. each hero would have their flag placed somewhere on the castle grounds, and each team of heroes (the captains and two other allies they chose to be on their team) would be responsible for stealing the other teams’ flag. they can also eliminate a team by knocking out all of another team’s players, but this rarely happens. you, as the summoner, had the job of warping around the map when flags were stolen (signaled by a flare) and portaling the losing teams out of the play area. 

   “i know y’all want me to get this over with so y’all can eat, so i’ll make it quick. in last place we have sharena.” the ladies in the audience clap out of pity for the blonde. “in seventh we have fjorm and in sixth ryoma!” gunnthra mouths an ‘i’m sorry’ to her sister whom she knocked out on accident. “in fifth is grima” grima scowls at you, crossing her arms and you shoot her a nervous look. you didn’t want her killing anyone tonight. “aaaand fourth is our very own commander anna!” despite losing, anna still looks super chipper, “and in third ike!”

   “IKE SHOULD’VE WON!” you hear soren yell, and you roll your eyes, tempted to bite back but you don’t want to rub salt in his wounds.

   “….anyways, folks, it was a close game and both of our final contenders fought super hard! but there must always be a winner so our runner up is alfonse!” you glance over at the prince who’s standing on your left, not even making eye contact with you. he looks at the ground, dejected, and you grab his hand, squeezing to indicate to him that you were there for him. you turn back to the crowd, but can see him looking at you in awe out of the corner of your eye. “and, of course, we have our champion, the ever-lovely gunnthra!” you take your hand out of alfonse’s and clap for her, turning to fae who has her prize in her hands. “please accept this as your victory prize!” fae hands you the bunny ears accessory and you place them atop her head. “alright people, shows over, time to eat!” the three of you step off the table, and the crowd disperses into their usual cliques. 

   usually, you were the first in line to eat (no one really cared if you cut in line), but instead you turn to alfonse, sending him a cheery smile.

   “hey! what’s with the sad face, it’s just a gauntlet, you know these things are just for fun!” he puts a hand on the hilt of his sword, and scratches the back of his neck with the other one. “besides,” you take your notebook out of your coat pocket, flipping to the gauntlet results notes (which is just a page filled with doodles of the heroes on it). “the first one we had you were in dead last–”

   “thanks for reminding me…” he mutters, and you roll your eyes, you hated how hard he was on himself.

   “you were against chrom.” you reply, “he may be a dork, but he is pretty scary on the battlefield. and i’m not finished, remember in the easter gauntlet when you came in third? that’s a huge improvement! and just today you were in second! if we take that into mind, next gauntlet you should be the winner!” he looks partially convinced, but there’s still doubt in his deep blue eyes. 

   “but what if i don’t, what if i keep losing over and over and never improve?” he says, voice barely above a whisper. upon meeting alfonse you’ve begun to realize that sometimes most difficult thing to do was to have to watch the person you love the most struggle with the perception of themselves when you thought the world of them. you had no idea why alfonse seemed to doubt himself when you saw what a fantastic leader he was, he loved his people and his country with a passion you’ve never seen before, you just wished he could find that same type of love for himself. 

   “then we’ll keep trying.” the rest of the heroes in the mess hall were completely forgotten about as you take his hand into yours. “all we can do is our best, right? i’ll love you even if you come in second place for the rest of your life.” he smiles softly, and you take that as a victory. “oh! that reminds me, i got something for you!” you take a small object out of your coat pocket, and brush his hair behind his ears. it’s only then he realizes how close you are to him, and he can see every detail of your face as you take out his old hairpin and put something else in. your eyes, bright and curious as always. no matter how matter how dark the bags under your eyes get (from lack of sleep, he always scolds you about that) your eyes always seem to hold a sparkle that never could be taken away. and then he looks lower to your lips… gods, he wish he weren’t in public right now so he could ravish them. 

   suddenly you pull back, hands on your hips and a huge grin on your face, admiring your work. 

   “ta-da!” you say, content. he looks even more confused as he couldn’t see the thing you put in his hair. “it’s a seashell hairpin! i made it myself for you!” alfonse feels around and touches the surface of the shell with his hands, feeling that it, indeed, a shell. “do you like it?” he looks at you like you’re his whole world:

   “i love it.” he replies, (not entirely directed towards the seashells).

Chapter 41: future child. (shigure x reader)

Chapter Text

    anna had ordered you to strict bed rest after being nearly killed in the last battle. loki had disguised herself as shigure and had made her way into the back lines, under the guise of “protecting you”. you managed to escape her clutches, but not before she drove a knife into your thigh. it stung something awful, but you’d sustained much worse in past battles. however, the army was very overprotective of you, treating you like glass that. when injured even in the slightest, was going to break completely. you found this inconvenient usually, but today was different.

   “you okay?” shigure says, keeping a steady hand around your waist, careful not to let you put too much weight on your leg. “i could just carry you, you know.” then, as if realizing what he says, he adds: “if you want me to, of course…”

   “i’m okay, shigure, really.” you reply, continuing to limp down the hallway. “it’s just a small injury, nothing i didn’t sign up for when i became the tactician of this army.” managing a small smile, you continue to hobble forward (shigure carrying most of your weight) to the summoning pedestal. you had saved up enough orbs to try and summon some of shigure’s friends (siegbert, shiro, and rhajat) so he’d feel more at home in askr. he had his mom, sure, but that wasn’t the same as having people your own age with you. at the moment, you were really the only friend he had made in askr, as he tended to keep to himself.

   “no, it’s because you trust me that you got hurt.” he bites his lip, “loki disguised herself as me, she’s using our bond against us… maybe it’s best we hide our relationship?”

   “oh please shigure, you’re starting to sound like gerome…” you huff, as he helps you lower yourself to sit on the summoning shrine. “besides, you’re worth taking a stab for.” it’s a joke, but you really do mean it, shigure flusters, realizing how close his face was yours, his gloved hand lingering under your thigh. your eyes flicker down to his lips quickly, but he catches your look. he brings his other hand up to your jawline and rubs his thumb over your smooth skin, inching closer and closer until your lips are almost touching.

   “SHIGURE!” azura’s voice makes shigure pull away, standing up straight, the tip of his ears bright pink. the doors open to reveal his mother, obviously pissed about something he did, a younger boy following her like a puppy. the gears start turning in his head as he thinks about every possible thing he could’ve done to warrant this type of reaction from his usually tranquil mother.

   “yes, mother?” his usually smooth tone of voice sounds strained, and you would have left, had it not been for the look on azura’s face.

   “why didn’t you tell me you had a son?” you hear him choke on his words, trying to find the right thing to say. looking over to the boy hugging azura’s leg, you see that he had an uncanny resemblance to your lover, the cotton-candy blue hair, the delicate features, the shy-smile, he was basically a mini-version of him. but he never told you he had a child, and you were his best friend… surely he wouldn’t keep this big a secret from you?

   “that would be news to me too!” he manages to stutter out. the kid clinging to azura’s leg bites his lip, tears welling up in his eyes. “i don’t have a child… i’m barely an adult myself, and not even married. maybe there’s a misunderstanding?”

   “no!” the boy says, stepping out from behind the songstress. “you are my papa!” you can see the child a bit better now, as he’s not hiding. his eyes are bright [your eye color], sparkling in defiance, a few strands of curly blue hair touching his eyelashes. then, he points at you, “and you’re my mama/other papa!” if it was possible to pass out from embarrassment, shigure surely would have, his whole body looks like he’s been sunburnt. you can’t believe it yourself, this child looks like he’s 8-9 years old, no way he could be yours!

   how was this possible?

   “is there any way you could be mistaken?” you chime in, trying to tread lightly as to not hurt the boys feelings. if it was true that he was you and shigure’s son, he seems to have shigure’s temperament. “like, are you sure you’re our son?” the child steps forward, past shigure and closer to you. up close, there was no denying whose child he was. 

   “does this prove it?” he pulls out a necklace from underneath his white shirt. “it was nana’s before, papa told me he got it from nana when he was married! then papa gave it to me when i was older…” you turn the pendant in you hand, before handing it back to the kid. he looks anxiously at you, shifting from foot to foot, seemingly waiting for your approval.

   “i believe you.” you look over to shigure who seems to be lost in thoughts. azura’s face is of concern, but her she seems far less angry than before. “but doesn’t it seem odd that we don’t even remember you?”

   “veronica said this could happen…” he pouts, trying to jump in your lap but you wince, and he turns to looks at you. “did i hurt you? oh no papa/mama i’m sorry i just wanted to–”

   “no, it’s fine, i got hurt in the last battle…” you chuckle, and he sits beside you instead, “what were you saying about veronica, sweetie?” azura puts her hand on shigure’s shoulder, squeezing both to assure herself that this was not a dream, and second to reassure her son. 

   “she’s one of your bestest friends!” he covers his mouth quickly, “oops! she told me not to tell you that… bad quinn…” he fake slaps himself, looking up at shigure.

   “oh… um…” you realize it’d be best to ask all the details later, so you change the subject, “you said quinn? is that your name?”

   “yup!” he says cheerily, his mood seeming instantly better now that you believed that he was your son, “sometimes you call me Q though!!”

   “do we now?” shigure pipes up, “you know what quinn? i think it’d be best if we talked about this inside, it’s hot out here… do you know where [name]– uh, i mean mama’s/papa’s room is?” he puts a finger to his chin, before nodding exaggeratedly. “alright, do you wanna race us there?” quinn jumps up, tugging at your cloak, then turning and dashing.

   “last one there’s a rotten egg!” and with that, he opens the doors to the hallway and dashes out. you giggle, glancing back up at shigure, letting out a sigh. 

   “well, that’s one thing that i didn’t expect to happen today…” you rub the bridge of your nose, feeling a headache start to form. “i mean, we have a kid, shigure… i’m not old enough for a kid!”

   “i know, but we’ll figure this out together.” he turns to face his mom, still spaced out behind him, “plus, mother can help us, right mom?” her grip turns painfully tight, her smile wide but her eyes hold the same fire as earlier.

   “right after we have a word, sweetie!”

Chapter 42: think i'll miss you forever. (xander x reader)

Chapter Text

   he was crowned a king. 

   xander would do anything to protect nohr. it was his motherland, and despite all the atrocities his home land committed, it was still his home. and one day when his father had passed the gold would grace his head.

   xander was always fond of you. despite knowing of your true blood, he had took you under his wing and cared for you like a sibling, treated you like a friend, and then something more even he had a hard time pinpointing. you were the light of his life, the one brightness in the gloomy country of nohr – a flower grown out of the weeds.

   so when you chose to side with hoshido, his life suddenly didn’t make sense. how could you choose people who you hardly knewover those who raised you? despite no blood relation, nohr was your true family, and you had trampled on the rose of kindness they had given you. suddenly, the bond you shared with xander was all for naught. you had betrayed him, and for that he could never forgive you.

   you were crowned a martyr.

   you were ready to give your life for the sake of peace if need be, you just didn’t think it would be at the hands of the man you loved the most, the one you tried to save from his own wicked father. elise stands, watching in horror as you bleed out in his arms. her cries echo horrifyingly off the walls of the empty hallway near the throne room. looking around, you see the purple, gold, and black decorations adorning the walls, you had always hated how dismal everything looked. it matched the attitudes of the royals in the palace quite well; pessimistic, vain, disloyal.

   what a horrible place to die. at least it was in xander’s arms, your one pillar of strength when the world around you seemed too melancholy to bear.

   “please, xander,” you choke, blood running down your chin. your vision becomes spotty, and your head pulses with pain. it would be so much easier to die, but you were always stubborn, you had to let your last words change him. “please, lead nohr in the right direction… garon is no good for this country.” tears trickle down his face, and it’s then you realize you had never seen xander cry. it brings a smile to your face. “but you, you can do it. bring peace to this world.” despite being so resolute when he pierced you through with siegfried, now he wonders if he did the right thing. was nohr truly worth your life? the answer was so clear minutes ago, but now–

   “no, i… i can’t do it without you, please stay with me.” you blink slowly, getting a good look at his features, knowing you can’t hang on for much longer. “i’m sorry i thought this would be–” if you were gone he could never be whole again, he would miss you forever

   “you’ll be okay, i know you can be.” xander falters, leaning his forehead against yours. “bring peace, okay? if for no one else, for me.” and with a last exhale, (and a pained smile) you give up the ghost. xander is trembling, sobbing freely. he didn’t think it would hurt this much, losing you. the strong feelings for you he had felt when you left he thought to be hatred. nothing was further from the truth. 

   he had loved you.

Chapter 43: i wish i was special. (one-sided!alfonse x reader)

Chapter Text

   “hey al, can i ask you something?” you say quietly, the two of you sitting around a table, trying to figure out who in the order of heroes was the traitor. you had always suspected ylgr, but alfonse isn’t quite sure. he wants to trust your instincts, but…

   “anything!” he answers a little too quickly. he feels his heart pound in his chest as you smile lazily at him, an air of nervousness between the two of you. 

   “well… what do you think about hríd?” you ask, “do you think there’s any chance he’s the traitor?” alfonse mulls it over, before answering:

   “i mean… we can’t 100% rule anyone out, but i don’t have any reason not to trust him. why do you ask?” the tension in the room grows, the silence so prominent that he can hear his own heartbeat. deep breaths, alfonse, he thinks. 

   “i don’t know i guess i…” you bite your lip. alfonse was your best friend, you could tell him anything, you remind yourself, before speaking once more: “i think i like him.” 

   his heart drops.

   “i would hope so, he is our ally–” he responds quickly, stumbling over his words as he does so. 

   “no, not like that… like i have feelings for him.” you feel your cheeks heat up as you cast your gaze back to alfonse. “but i don’t know, do you think he’d like me back? he is royalty after all… and i’m just… me, ya know?” alfonse is quiet, his stomach dropping as suddenly he feels like he’s in a dream. 

   the one person he’s ever felt this way about and now their confessing their love for another man to him? it just seemed cruel. 

   he has the urge to be nasty, to take back his words earlier and to say that there’s a large chance hríd is the one that’s going to betray you all, but then he looks in your eyes and is rendered speechless: you’re looking at him with eyes full of trust, and he realizes that he could never be rude to you. he swallows the lump in his throat.

   “anyone would be lucky to have you.” he states simply, forcing a smile. 

   “aw, c’mon al you’re only saying that because you have to.” you tease, propping chin up on your hand. “you can be honest with me.”

   if i was really honest with you it would just end up with the both of us hurt,he thinks. but he’s seen prince hríd, not only is he more attractive, but he’s also stronger, braver, more determined. if alfonse were like that then maybe he would’ve confessed by now but he’s not. you deserve the best, and the best just wasn’t him. 

   “i am… and i think i heard him talking about you to fjorm the other day…” he adds, and your whole face lights up. “i could put in a good word for you when we move out tomorrow, if you’d like?” you want to jump across the table and hug him, but instead, you stand up, extending your arm to the prince.

   “what did i do to deserve you, al?” you chuckle, and he takes your arm, pulling him up out of his seat. he looks down at you, realizing just how close the two of you are and wanting to take a step back, but your hand in his holds him in place. he feels dizzy as your thumb runs across the back of his hand, but then you let him go, and he wants nothing more than to grab your hand back, but he can’t. “you’re too good for me, really… but i think it’s time we sleep, we have a long day tomorrow!” he nods, the two of your saying your goodbyes, before heading off to your separate rooms.

   he heard footsteps rushing behind him, those erratic yet familiar footsteps he knows belongs to one person. he turns around to see you, hood fallen from your head, and breathing heavily. before he can say anything you stand on your tip-toes and kiss him on the cheek quickly. 

   “i forgot to tell you thanks for everything!” alfonse is stupefied, standing there gaping with a hand over his cheek. “you mean a lot to me and i’m glad you’re my best friend… alright i’m going to sleep now! see you tomorrow!” and without him saying a word, you dash back down the hallway to your room. 

   he lets out a smile to himself. 

Chapter 44: appearances. (loki x reader)

Chapter Text

   “one last dance?” it’s hrid’s voice, you had danced with him earlier but no way were you going to deny a second dance with the handsome prince. you take his hand, letting him lead you back into the middle of the floor. 

   “miss me?” you tease, your gaze flickering between his eyes and then his mouth. 

   “you’re my friend, i couldn’t let my friend sit alone for the last dance.” his smile grows as the music stills and you feel your heart beating in your chest. you can feel his cold hands through the fabric of your clothing. 

   “aw, prince hrid’s heart really isn’t made out of ice after all.” you stick your tongue out as him and he chuckles, spinning you around before guiding your hand to his chest.

   “want to feel for yourself?” he eyes you suggestively, and you feel your cheeks heat up. he was never this forward with you. maybe it had to do with the night air, or perhaps he had just had too much punch, but you could feel his eyes burning holes in you. it was too intense, and for once you were rendered speechless. just as you find the words to say, the band quiets, and you hear anna start to dismiss the crowd. the couples file out, and you see anna shoot you a wink as she leaves the hall, leaving the two of you alone in a deafening silence. when you turn your gaze back to hrid, you see it wasn’t hrid but loki, smirking down at you. you instinctively pull away, but her grip is strong.

   “don’t struggle, little doe.” she chirps at you, bringing your hand up to her face. “i didn’t come to harm you, at least i changed my mind about doing that.” she places your hand back on her chest, and you feel your whole body flush scarlet. surely you couldn’t be this enthralled by the trickster. she was your enemy! so why did you submit so easily to her?

   “so why did your change your mind?” she chuckles, pressing your hand harder to her chest. you gasp, as you feel her heart racing much like yours was doing now. she eyes you, like she would devour you on the spot given the opportunity. 

   “there’s something annoying about you.” she makes a tut noise, her nails digging into the back of your hand. “your very presence just… well, i’m sure you understand now.” loki lets go of your hand, but not before drawing blood with her nails. “you’re lucky you have that effect, otherwise you’d all be dead by now.” she steps back, waving flirtily at you. “next time, however, i won’t be so kind.” with a wink, she teleports away, leaving you standing there in shock.

   you silently curse at yourself for being enraptured by her.

Chapter 45: future child. (zelgius x reader)

Chapter Text

   loading your orbs into breidablik, you prepare to try and summon legendary lucina, a hero you were alerted about by feh. you had been trying to get her for a while now, and after spending all your orbs from quests, you decided to break into your secret stash. you were sure robin would be happy once you summoned her daughter (again), so you kiss breidablik for good luck, before launching it at the summoning pedestal.

   instead of a blue unit like you want, three red and two colorless appear, and you curse, turning to glare at ike.

   “you! you cursed me!” you joke, but ike seems to think you’re serious, and scratches the back of his neck. 

   “sorry,” he mumbles, looking less like a radiant hero and more like a 12-year old boy “i just like watching you summon, i was wondering if there might be more heroes from my world.” you crack your knuckles, trying to decide which red orb to choose from. the red heroes you knew were summonable from this banner were exalted chrom (another chance to make robin happy, you mentally note), ryoma, and new year’s camilla. at least that’s what your owl friend feh told you. how she knew these things, you weren’t sure.

   “ooh maybe we can get another zelgius!” your heart races just thinking about it. “wouldn’t you love that, ike?”

   “well it would be good for the… other versions of myself to spar with.” the rivalry between ike and zelgius was a little swayed in ike’s favor at the moment, with there being four versions of the hero and only two of zelgius. of course, zelgius is so strong he can almost take them all on at once, but you try not to let that happen. you don’t want ike to embarrass himself, he is one of your closest allies after all (much to the branded’s dismay).

   “alright big money!” you shoot a beam of light at one of the red stones, and the pillar glows, puffing out smoke at the bottom before a young boy pops out of the mist, a weary smile on his face as he pokes his head out to look at you. pulling out your hero notebook, you get ready to make a new entry.

   “uncle ike? where’s–” then, as if just realizing you’re there, he jumps straight in your arms, screaming mother/father, a huge smile on his face. 

   “u-uncle?” ike coughs, “surely that doesn’t mean you and mist–?” he voices your own concerns, but as you look at the young boy you notice the peculiar mark on his neck, and you know just who’s kid he is. 

   “no, silly!” the boy chirps, spinning around to ike, who’s as pale as a sheet, “you know who my parents are! you and mama/papa have been friends forever! even if you hate my father…” he pouts for a second, then instantly perks up, turning to face you, who’s still trying to process everything. this kid had called you his mama/papa, but you don’t have a kid – and that’s something you know you would remember! 

   but the resemblance to you and zelgius was uncanny: he had your [hair color] hair, straight like zelgius’s, and has the same piercing green eyes as your boyfriend. and unless this was a cosmic coincidence, there was really no denying that he was your boy.

   “where did you come from, uhhh–” you blank, realizing you don’t even know your own son’s name.

   “quinn! my name is quinn!” then he freezes, his goofy grin falling, “oh, uh did i come back too early?” he shrugs, “oops, but! at least i get to see you again! and so young too! in my world you’re…” he looks to be in pain, and he winces, “nevermind… where’s father? i wanna see him!”

   deciding not to press why he looked to be in pain, or why he cut off his rambling, you smile: “let’s go find him!”


   the whole time your exploring the castle looking for the elusive zelgius, quinn rides on ike’s back, giggling the whole time. you’re glad at least your child likes ike, maybe in his future zelgius and ike set aside their feud and learned to be friends (but you doubted it). 

   “maybe we should just wait until everyone gets together at dinner?” ike says, putting a free hand on your shoulder, using the other hand to help hold up quinn. 

   “looking for a swift death, ike?” you turn around, seeing zelgius clutching alondite. you roll your eyes, knowing how jealous he can be when it comes to ike being near you. quinn hops off ike’s back as ike reaches to grab ragnell. knowing what’s about to happen, you grab zelgius’s shoulder, telling him to cool down, but before he does so, quinn hops in between them.

   “stop!” he yells, “you two always fight, i just wanna talk to you, father!” quinn faces zelgius, eyes watering as he locks eyes with the stern knight. zelgius looks puzzled, sheathing alondite.

   “what are you talking about, child? i am most certainly not your father.” despite his words sounding cold, you know he’s just as confused as you are. heck, you barely even believe what you’re seeing yourself, and yet…

   “well, not yet but i’m from the future!” it’s as if a lightbulb goes off in his head, “oh! i can show you proof!” he pulls off his cloak and shows zelgius his brand. “it’s like yours p- i mean, father!” zelgius looks shocked, you know just how insecure he is about his brand, it’s been such a cause of darkness in his life, and for his son to proudly flaunt it like that was baffling.

   “you shouldn’t display it like that… it’s nothing to brag about, if you are telling the truth, i should’ve taught you that already.” 

   “how could i be ashamed of anything if it’s from my papa!” he puts his hand over his mouth, “sorry, you always tell me to call you father…” zelgius is quiet, and you have to resist the urge to cry. what he said was so sweet all your doubts just melt away. even if he was lying, that was enough for you to want to adopt him on the spot. 

   zelgius reaches out his hand tentatively, and gently pats quinn’s hair, and quinn beams up at the general, tackling him into a hug. you look behind you to see if ike was still there, but he seems to have slipped away. you clasp your hands together, pride welling up in your chest. 

   “that’s enough, boy!” quinn lets go, still laughing, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. “if you are really a son of mine, show me your skills in battle!” 

   “zelgius, he’s only thirteen, go easy now.” you tease, “i can’t have you killing our son the first day he arrives!”

   “don’t worry mama!” quinn unsheathes his sword, raising it above his head, “i’ve got this!” then, in an instant, his expression changed from confidence to horror as he realizes how heavy the sword is, and he drops it, nearly toppling over. zelgius is stunned into silence for a moment:

   “…looks like we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.” he sighs.

   “oh! that means more bonding with you, father!” quinn cheers, picking his sword back up by the hilt. “i would love that! and mama/papa can watch too and cheer us on like she/he always does in my world!” you flush.

   “o-okay, quinn that’s enough!”

Chapter 46: trust. (symbiote!grima x reader)

Summary:

venom au......... bc why not lmao

Chapter Text

   with the tempest closed, and robin finally able to overcome his possession, everything was seemingly back to the way it was. even marth remarked on how well everything went considering your opponent was possessed by a god.

   that is, until you awoke from your sleep because of a loud voice inside of your head.

   “WORM.” the deep voice rings inside of your mind, and you snap awake. frantically, you look around the room, trying to find out where the intruder is. it wasn’t a voice you had heard before, it hardly sounded human to you. you slowly stand up, your body still heavy with sleep, and pick up breidablik, wary that someone could be hiding in the shadows.

   “who’s in here?” you call out, probably looking like a fool dressed only in your shorts and a shirt emblazoned with askr’s crest. 

   “ARE YOU THAT DAFT?” the voice rings again in your head, and you clutch your temples. no way this voice was coming from inside your head. i must be going crazy, you think, casting your eyes to the mirror in your room. you feel your blood run cold, as when you look in the mirror you see the goopy form of the dragon you faced earlier. 

   before you can even register what you’ve just seen, your eyes roll back in your head and you pass out on the floor.

                                                      —♪♪♪♪♪—

   when you awake, your head is no longer hurting, but you feel a hunger like you’ve never felt before. 

   “finally awake, worm?” you hear the voice in your head, and you nearly collapse again. okay so it wasn’t a dream… that thing, grima is actually inside of me? you put a hand to your chest, taking deep breaths. “don’t panic, i’m not going to hurt you.”

   “but you-!” you break off, trying to form words, “you possessed robin just not too long ago? how am i supposed to trust you! he was… suffering!” you can almost hear him laugh in your head as your body moves of its own accord.

   “he and i weren’t… we weren’t as compatible as i believed we were.” if you weren’t so out of your mind you would’ve thought you heard something pained in his voice. “i’m hungry… we’re getting something to eat.

   “HEY! i can move by myself…” you mumble under your breath, “jerk”.

   “you know i can hear everything you say, right?

                                                       —♪♪♪♪♪—

   you don’t know why or how you accepted this parasite to co-pilot your body, but from the beginning the two of you just seemed to click. you always thought yourself as bogging down the army because you weren’t a trained soldier like most of them were, but with grima you were stronger, faster, more resilient. of course, people noticed, especially your friends, but they were hesitant to say anything about it, just chalking it up to your training kicking in.

   “you’re awful quiet today, worm.” the dragon says, and you continue to plot out your maps for the next march. 

   ‘if we’re to move on loki here, she’d easily be able to trap us if we were to have to fall back… maybe…’ you think, biting your lip out of frustration.

   “don’t go for loki first. she knows you always attack first, that’s what she’s counting on.” you roll your eyes, dipping your quill back into your ink well. “send a small squad of mounted units to lure her out of the ravine, then have your troops attack from all sides.” 

   “and why would you help me? what are you gaining from it?” you ask absentmindedly, redrawing the routes using his advice.

   “keeping you alive. i have to keep my vessel healthy, as much as it pains me to use my powers on a mere worm,” he uses his influence over you to correct the error you made. “if you die, then i’d have to find another vessel that suits me as well as you do.

   you smile to yourself.

                                                      —♪♪♪♪♪—

   “hey, alfie, what do you think of the routes me and… uh, i drew up last night?”

   “taking credit for my work? manipulative. maybe i am rubbing off on you.” grima says, and you force back a smile. alfonse scoots a bit closer to you, his arm brushing against your shoulder. “someone’s forgotten their place.” 

   “i think you’re just jealous.” you say audibly, and alfonse shoots you a strange look. you cough awkwardly, mentally cursing the symbiote for making you look insane.

   “jealous? what do you mean?” his eyes scan the maps in front of you, “but these maps look fine to me. i’ll have to get saias and soren to double-check over them before we march, but i trust you.” alfonse puts his hand on your shoulder, and suddenly your body recoils faster than you can even comprehend that he’s touched you. 

   “oh, sorry, summoner, i–” he cuts off, awkwardly moving his hand back to his side. “i didn’t mean–”

   “no, it’s… you’re fine, just feeling a bit sick lately…” you’re cringing, and the parasite is laughing in your head. if you had half a mind, you’d have lewyn exorcise the creature with his flute, but… 

   “have you gone to the medics yet?” he asks, worry evident in his face. “i’ll escort you there if you would like me too?” 

   “how sweet. the little princeling likes you. can i eat him now?” he’s impatient, and before you can even answer him, he’s standing you up. 

   “no, you can’t eat alfonse!“ you whisper it as best as you can, but it appears as if the prince heard you. “sorry, i think i’m gonna take a nap, see you at dinner?”

   “…right.” his eyebrows are furrowed, “but do tell me if you start feeling worse, i worry about you.” you continue walking away because of grima’s control over you, but not before blowing a kiss at alfonse. the prince flushes, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

   “YOU KNOW I DON’T LIKE HIM!” grima snaps at you, “DON’T DO THAT AGAIN!” grima walks you out of the library, your steps much heavier than usual. 

   “i was just doing it to tease you… but if it works you up so much i may have to do it again…”

   “that’s it i’m eating him.” 

                                                      —♪♪♪♪♪—

   you were a monster on the battlefield. grima shielding you from attacks and using his transformation abilities to take out enemies that happened to get to close to you, combat was so effortless with him fighting for you.

   “your body is even stronger than i believed,” he’s shouting, even though his voice is inside your head. where the heat of the battlefield would once make you anxious, a calm washed over you like you’d never felt before. with grima, you know you’ll always be safe. 

   “is that a compliment?” you laugh, firing breidablik and summoning more heroes on the field. veronica, quan, azura, and lucina burst forth, awaiting your orders. “TEAM! FLANK THE ENEMY! let’s make ‘em pay for burning the villages!” quan leads the charge, him and veronica going to one side and lucina and veronica taking the other. 

   out of the shadows, a dark mage emerges, grabbing you from behind. you gasp, feeling grima growling as he tranforms your hands into talons, easily slicing through her thin defenses like butter. your eyes are open, forced to watch as he pulls his now-bloodied talons out of the mage’s stomach. you feel the urge to gag, the horrors of war still hadn’t sunk in yet, you were used to being away from the fighting and now…

   “you okay, worm? your heart race is increasing.” he sounds worried, something you hadn’t heard in grima’s voice before. “thought you would be used to this by now.” you try and steady your breathing, but instead, you feel a cold presence enveloping your own hand. looking down, you see the dark purple color of his symbiote form clutching onto your palm, seeming to try and calm you. it works a bit, as you’re so taken aback that you start giggling, tears pricking at the corner of your eyes from your adrenaline spike.

   “grima you… you’re holding my hand, aren’t you?” you can’t contain your laughter as the symbiote continues to use his form to stroke the back on your hand. 

   “why are you laughing? i saw ethlyn calming quan down this way, so i thought–” a god trying to calm you down by holding your hand. it was adorable, you just wish you weren’t in the heat of battle so you could press him on it more.

   “it’s nothing i just didn’t think you were a holding hands type of… uh, person?” you cough, trying to snap your mind back into tactics mode, but his “hand” in yours was slightly distracting. “but… thank you, it means a lot to know you trust me this much.”

   “hm… yes, of course i do, i would hate for you to think otherwise.” grima chokes back his pride, “you… are the one person i trust in this world.”

Chapter 47: hey ghouls! the boys are here! (alfonse x reader)

Chapter Text

   “and why is ghost hunting a thing in your world?” alfonse asks, clutching his torch a little tighter than needed. the look on his face was of terror: which was absolutely what he was feeling. he told himself he needed to be strong for you, but it appeared as if you were the strong one, a huge grin on your face as you nonchalantly talked to the spirits. he underestimated your ability to take nothing seriously. 

   “because it’s fun to try and get evidence that they exist!” alfonse swings the torch back and forth, illuminating the sides of the cave wall. 

   “you and i must have a very different definition of fun.” he murmurs under his breath, continuing to follow you through. 

   the cave that you had roped him into exploring was a very infamous place in askr, famous for its rumors of ghosts and demons that dwell inside. höðr’s cave, as it was known, and alfonse tended to steer clear for those very reasons, but he couldn’t say no to you. 

   “oh don’t be such a scared-y cat you’ll be okay.” you tease, not actually thinking that he was as afraid as he was. “oh spirits! show us your presence!” you call loudly, your voice echoing louder off the cave walls. “scratch me if you’re here!”

   “[name], don’t ask them things like that! what if… there’s actual demons in here?” his voice is barely above a whisper, but it’s still the worried tone alfonse usually takes when you do something stupid. 

   “there’s no such thing! at least… i’ve never seen evidence of any,” you look back at alfonse who shoots you a very sheepish smile. despite your taunts, nothing happens. the quiet dripping noises and knocks of things falling from the ceiling are the only noises coming from the cave. “DEMONS! COME OUT AND KILL ME IF YOU’RE REAL!!!” you look back at alfonse, who’s illuminated by torchlight and see that he looks a bit paler than usual. you figure that you’ve had your fun, so you grab onto his free arm.

   “ahhh, i was just joking around, alfie! see? we’re okay!” he relaxes into your touch, and a small smile tugs at the corner of your lips. “even if there were ghosts in here, i’d protect you from them!” you announce this proudly, but this appears to do nothing for his nerves. the torch light flickers at the sudden cool breeze that blows through the cave, and you pull your cloak tighter against yourself.

   “have you had enough ghost hunting for one day?” alfonse asks, looking around nervously. wasn’t a cold breeze the sign of a spirit? you seemed to notice it too, so he wasn’t imagining things.

   “it’s only been like… ten minutes.” you reply simply, grabbing his free hand with your own. a blush grows on his face, the small contact from you making his heart beat much more quickly than usual. “let’s explore some more!” despite everything in him screaming for him to get out before one of you gets hurt, your hand in his, gently tugging him along is enough to push those thoughts aside. anna’s voice echoes in his head: “they’ve got you wrapped around their finger, huh alfonse?”

   the cave splits into two directions, one wide entrance and one more narrow. you put a finger on your lip, silently deliberating which way to go. before you can make up your mind, however, you hear wailing coming from the narrow side of the path. alfonse tenses, clutching your hand tighter.

   “what was that?” you both say in unison, though the tone in which you said it was much more inquisitive than the prince’s. 

   “we need to get out of here!” just as he says it, you peek your head further into the direction where the screams came from. another shriek bounces off the cavern walls, and even you take a cautious step back. “let’s go, [name]!” 

   “no, let’s go see what it was!” you say, chipper. it suddenly gets darker as alfonse sets down the torch, and suddenly you feel strong hands grab your waist, hoisting you over his shoulder. he picks the torch back up and makes a beeline towards the exit. 

   “i don’t think i’ve ever seen you move this fast, alfie!” you tease, his free hand holding you in place on his shoulder. he lets out a huff at your remark, knowing that you’re kidding (or, at least he hopes).

   “i’m just protecting you… like always.”


    “you think we got ‘em, anna?” sharena says, as the two girls emerge from the shadows. anna puts an arm around the blonde’s shoulder.

   “definitely.” 

 

Chapter 48: deals with the devil. (vampire!arvis x reader)

Chapter Text

   darkness settles in the small town near askr, the pouring rain making the mood more dour. your back is against the wall as you try to slow your breathing. you feel your heart beat in your chest, blood pounding as adrenaline courses through your veins.

   he knew you were here. he had too, he could probably smell your fear by now. you usually weren’t this nervous, but then again this wasn’t a usual hunt. he was powerful, dangerous even, and you couldn’t afford to make a wrong move. every stray sound puts you on edge, from the thunder rumbling outside to the settling of the old house.

   “looking for someone?” you hear a silvery voice say, and you turn your head, seeing a shadowy figure lurk over the banister directly above your head. you reel back, stake in hand. you swear you can see your heart beating through your shirt, sweat slicking to your skin as he becomes visible by the lightning flash. for a split second, you see his auburn hair and his taunting eyes sizing you up. “come to kill me, have you, little one?” you feel a chill run down your spine, both from the cold and second because he’s every bit the person he was described to you by anna. 

   “y-yes, i have.” your voice is less resolute than you wish it to be. you instinctively grip your stake tighter

   “but you’re trembling…” he takes a step down the decrepit staircase. “how are you supposed to beat me if you’re frozen in fear?” before you can even blink, he’s in front of you, towering over you. you grab your stake, pushing it with all the might you can summon at him. but he’s much faster, (faster than any other vampire you’ve encountered) and he easily grabs your wrist so hard that you can already feel the bruise. 

   “that’s all you have? i’m disappointed.” he looks you up and down, like a predator sizing up its prey. “aren’t you supposed to be a legendary hunter? you’re barely bigger than a pup!” you sneer at him, trying to think a way out of this position, but his cold hands on your wrist clouds your mind. he’s devilishly handsome, you can’t help but think, and the mocking smile on his face, his fangs almost glowing despite the shroud of darkness in the room. you feel your face heat up.

   “let me go you dastard.” you growl, and his expression turns unreadable. 

   “why would i do that? so you can kill me?” he looks at you closely, forcing the sharpened wood from your hand and chucking it as far as he can throw. 

   “y-you’re letting me go?” you question, though, you realize after you’ve said it you probably shouldn’t have questioned him.

   “why would i bother killing you? you’re not in the way… besides, your blood smells too good to let go to waste.” he chuckles, “i have a deal of sorts i want to make with you.” you never knew yourself to be attracted to vampires, you hunted them for a living, but the thought of his fangs sinking into your neck was enough to make a heat grow in the pit of your stomach. 

   “and what that might be?” you ask, the thunder cracking in the background, perhaps warning you to run while you can. but your feet won’t budge, almost as if you’re locked in place.

   “i get your blood, say… once every week, in exchange for information on vampire nests nearby.” he says it so firmly it’s as if he knows what your answer will be. you swallow the lump in your throat.

   “why would you give that out?” you inquire, more and more intrigued by the man by the second.

   “you’re helping me get rid of my enemies, simple as that…” arvis shrugs, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “besides… it’s good for me to have a human around… i haven’t had one in a long time and…” you flush scarlet, “i’m hungry, i suppose.” something in you tells you that this is a stupid decision, but there’s another part of you that instinctively trusts him. naive? perhaps. just a minute ago you wanted him dead, but this would help you with your hunts a lot. maybe sacrificing yourself to him was the best option.

   “fine. it’s a deal.” his red eyes almost light up, illuminated once again by a flash of lighting. “but if you lie to me i’ll kill you, you understand?” he chuckles when he sees you brush away the hair from your neck for easier access for him. he pulls you in closer, and your heart beats just as hard as it had earlier. 

   “duly noted.” he replies dully, eyeing your neck. arvis pulls your back against his chest with your wrists, letting them fall to your side. you feel his fangs prick at your pulse point, and he licks it before sinking his fangs in.

   initially, it hurts. it hurts a lot. you feel tears prick at the corner of your eyes, but as soon as the pain is there, it’s gone. you let out a quiet gasp as he continues to drink for you. 

   your blood is like a drug to him, and his mind is lost in a haze. you smelled good, yes, but the real thing was much better than he originally thought. he continues to suck at your pulse point, until he’s satisfied (for the moment, there wasn’t enough blood in you to completely satisfy him). he pulls back, but not before licking the wound closed. you step forward, almost stumbling out of his arms. your head is spinning from the blood loss, but you feel a pair of strong arms envelop you.

   “that wasn’t as bad as i thought it would be.” you say woozily as you see spots cloud your vision. arvis holds you in his arms, not entirely hating this position. living for thousands of years without company could leave him very lonely, though he hated to admit it, and it had been years since– no, he wouldn’t dwell on her now. “hehe, you look cuuuuuute arvis…” now it’s his turn to be flustered. of course, he knows its the bloodloss speaking.

   “right, okay, now if you could stand up now that would be wonderful.”

Chapter 49: the big bad wolf. (zelgius x reader)

Chapter Text

   “zelg, sweetie, are you okay in there?” you quietly knock on his door, listening for any signs of movement. “the kids are getting antsy, if you could change a bit faster i would really appreciate that!”

   no sound is heard in a response, and you frown, once again calling his name louder.

   “maybe he’s asleep!” fae suggests, pulling at your sleeve. “fae would usually be in bed at this time… maybe zel–zelg–zelgee–… he is too!” 

   you resist the urge to laugh at that statement, it was only just getting dark, you were lucky to have zelgius in bed by the early hours of the morning – he was just that stubborn. fae, who is dressed as a pumpkin and getting more and more impatient by the second, continues tugging at your arm. you sigh, kneeling down to fae’s level.

   “can you watch nino and tiki for me? you’re in charge until i come back out, okay?” fae’s eyes sparkle, and she cheers loudly.

   “thank you sum-sum! fae will do her best!” she makes a crossing motion over her heart, before she runs over to tiki and nino, the former dressed as a fairy and the latter as a “scary” witch. you roll your eyes, an amused smile on your face, as you push the door open to zelgius’s room. 

   upon entering, you see the jet-black general looking at himself in the mirror. you chuckle, seeing him with the outfit you picked out for him on. 

   “…did you intend me to look so ridiculous?” he says, turning to face you. you come closer, hands clasped behind your back, a mischievous smile on your lips.

   “no! you look adorable!” you reach up and scratch one of his ears, “what big ears you have, zelgius!” he doesn’t look amused.

   “i look like a laguz.” he states simply, the grumpy expression on his face only spurring on your teasing. the plaid shirt he was wearing appeared to be a bit tight (not that you minded at all, the better you could see his muscles), but everything else seemed to fit fine.

   “what big hands you have!” you take one of his fake paws into your hand, squeezing the pad in the middle. zelgius’s pout only grows. normally, he would’ve denied your request to dress up, he did have a reputation to uphold, but then ike offered to go with you if zelgius didn’t want too – and as soon as the words left the radiant hero’s mouth, he agreed to go with you. besides, who knew what kind of trouble you would get into without him. he had to be there to protect you, just like he always did.

   your hand moves up his face to his lips, where you push up his top lip with your thumb, inspecting the fake fangs that he put over his canines. his face flushes crimson, as he realizes just how close you are: “and, my, what big teeth you have…”. your voice is low, sultry even, as you brush over his fangs with your thumb. he decides to play along:

   “the better to eat you with, my dear…”. the room goes uncomfortably silent, the tension between you two so thick you could cut it with a knife.

   “C’MON SUM-SUM WE’RE GOING TO BE LATE!” the atmosphere shifts violently as you hear tiki’s cries, as she bangs on the door. you flash him a sympathetic look, and he curses under his breath. 

   “coming!”


   “trick-or-treat!” the three kids chirp in unison, two villagers stepping out of their house, a bowl of treats in the older one’s hand. 

   “oh, what do we have here!” the elderly woman chuckles, “pick one of anything!” the girls all rummage through the bowl before picking out a piece they liked. fae and nino both run off quickly, waiting for you and zelgius a few feet away (you had to drill into their heads not to run off to the next house without you). tiki stops to thank them for the candy, before joining the two. 

   “aren’t you from the order of heroes?” the younger woman asks, “yes! i knew you looked familiar, you’re the summoner right?” you blush upon being noticed, you didn’t think of yourself as being worthy of recognition, but you smile nonetheless. 

   “yes ma’am that’s me!” you reply, fiddling nervously with the basket in your hand. 

   “i just want to thank you so much for the work you do in askr… you saved us from surtr!” she gets closer to you, grabbing your hand and putting something cold in it. you see zelgius move closer to you in your peripheral, instinctively worrying about you. 

   “i didn’t– i didn’t do anything special… just my job.” you reply, looking in your hand to see small gold coins in them. “oh no i can’t–” she closes your hand with hers, winking at you.

   “and i won’t take i back.” she then looks behind at you to zelgius. “and you helped protect askr as well, thank you so much.” she praises, “i’ve heard that you and the summoner are a force to be reckoned with.”

   “i merely follow orders,” he says, “they’re the ones who deserve your praise. if not for their strategies i fear where this army may be.” you flush darker at all the praise, shift nervously. 

   “thank you very much…” is all you can manage to say, embarrassment clouding your mind. you can hear nino’s chants for you to hurry, and so you curtsy respectfully, before walking over to nino, fae, and tiki, two of which already appear to be tired. 

   “next house! next house!” fae chants, though it’s much more relaxed than her usual voice, meaning that she’s getting sleepy. the five of you make your way to the next house, which was a ways into the village. you notice zelgius seems a bit quiet. 

   “what were you talking about?” nino inquires, pulling up the sleeves of her much too large costume. 

   “they were just thanking us for our work in the army.” you reach in your pocket and feel the gold, thinking that you could finally refine alfonse’s weapon with this. 

   “why didn’t they thank fae! fae fight too!” fae exclaims. 

   “they probably didn’t recognize you with your outfit on.” you muse, “they’re used to seeing you as a scary dragon.”

   “that must be why they didn’t know it was me either…” tiki says sleepily. 

   once you arrive at the house, you and zelgius wait back a bit. you grab his hand, smiling up at him.

   “i’m proud of you, you know… you’re a hero now!”

   “as i said, i merely follow orders… if anyone wants to see me as a hero, that’s up to them. it’s you who makes me a better man.” he stares at you intensely, though there’s much love behind his stare.

   “maybe you aren’t the big bad wolf after all!” you tease, nudging him with your elbow. zelgius appears lost in thought, wondering what good he did in his life to be able to turn around like this. people thought he was a scourge back home, but here… they treated him like a hero, on par with the likes of you. that was something he knew he didn’t deserve. but as you always told him, sometimes it’s not about deserving something, people can change, sometimes they just need a little help. as he looks down at you, clinging onto his arm, and your “adopted” children ahead of you, he realizes how much he missed out in his old life. a content smile makes its way onto his face.

   “maybe so.

 

Chapter 50: autumn nights. (ishtar x reader)

Summary:

DANG i keep forgetting to cross post these whoops! ANYWAYS i love ishtar uwu

Chapter Text

   “[name]?” you hear your girlfriend’s calm voice call out to you, and you whip your head around, hiding your present for her behind your back. “there you are… you wanted to see me outside?” one of your overall straps falls down your shoulder, and you smile at her. 

   ishtar is dressed differently that normal, she’s wearing an over-sized dark purple sweater – one gifted to her from oboro, and black tights. her lilac hair is tied up in its usual side ponytail, and she’s nervously pulling at the sleeves of her top. despite the cold, autumn wind you feel your cheeks heat up upon seeing her.

   “oh, yeah you um…” you trail off nervously, “you look amazing, babe.” ishtar smiles softly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. you clear your throat, trying to push aside your nervousness. it didn’t matter how many times you saw ishtar, it was as if she got more beautiful each day. “first thing’s first, though, i made this for you!” you pull at the small pumpkin from behind your back, the letters carved out in there saying “i love you!”. ishtar inhales sharply, stifling a laugh. the pumpkin is very crudely carved to say the least, but she thinks it’s cute nonetheless. 

   “thank you very much… that was very sweet of you.” she takes it out of your hands, holding it against her chest. it’s warm to the touch in certain parts, were you nervous while holding it?, she wonders. you tended to worry yourself over impressing her all the time, something she wasn’t used to but was certainly getting more and more accustomed because of your doting on her. “is this what you called me out here for?”

   “of course not,” you pull at your overall straps, winking at her, “you know i like to go all out, babe, i’ve got something planned for us!” you grab her free hand to lead her to where you’ve planned your surprise. 

   “you didn’t spend too much time on this, did you?” you turn to look at her for a moment and can see her trademark pout is etched on her face. “i don’t want you too…”

   “i know it makes you feel bad but,” the leaves that have fallen off the trees and plants crunch under the two of you’s boots. you loved this type of weather, and though you missed all the festivities of your world, the heroes in askr did their best to try and mix their traditions with yours. even ishtar, who isn’t big on festivities will always go for your sake, because she knows how much work you and anna put into them (even if only one of the two is doing it for the right reasons). “i like doing things for you… you deserve it!” 

   ishtar goes quiet, and you leave her with her thoughts. a comfortable silence falls between the two of you, as you walk hand in hand to your surprise for her. scarecrows loom overhead, the cornfields in askr just as tall and healthy as the ones you remember from earth. 

   “here we are!” you announce proudly, seeing the fire pit that you and the order of heroes often gathered round after hard battles, though this time, it would be just you and her. you pick up the fire tome that you laid beside the bonfire pit, and use the tiny bit you know to set the wood ablaze. “how do you like it?” you waggle your eyebrows teasingly, and ishtar’s features grow soft.

   “i love it, thank you,” she speaks softly, though you can tell that she’s beyond happy just by the pep in her voice. you pick up the blanket that you brought outside prior, and wrap it around yourself, beckoning ishtar to come sit beside you. she’s still a bit hesitant to do anything physical with you out in the open, even though there was no one around. when she was with julius, he was possessive of her in public, but not sweet like you were being towards her… it was different, but a good different. 

   ishtar sits beside you, setting the pumpkin beside the fire, and lets herself be enveloped in the blanket that you wrap around her, your arm secured around her waist. she sighs, as you lay your head on her shoulder. 

   “when did you learn fire magic?” a small smirk grows at the corner of her mouth, “i didn’t think you had an affinity for it.” you roll your eyes, latching onto her arm.

   “i don’t have an affinity for it, henry taught me how to do a little… because i was hungry and wanted to grill some meat…”. you hear ishtar’s shoulders move up and down as she laughs her deep, almost silent laugh. “what? that’s a valid reason to learn magic, i think!” your eyes take on a mischievous light as you roll your head to look up at her. 

   “i know, it’s just… that sounds like the most you thing i can think of!” she continues to chuckle, and you pull her closer to you. the sky, once a mixture of pinks and reds as the sun set is completely dark now, the only lights being the warm bonfire, and the twinkling stars above.

   “what’s that supposed to mean?” you fake pout.

   “hm, nothing, love…” she teases, looking up at the sky. “they’re beautiful aren’t they? the stars… i never noticed them much until i arrived in askr… they must shine more brilliantly here.” your breath hitches in your throat as you see ishtar, illuminated by nothing but the light of the fire. she was ethereal, and you wish you could stay in this moment forever, but as soon as it’s there, it passes, as a strong gust of wind blows and you feel her shiver.

   “yeah… you– i mean, they sure are something…”

Chapter 51: betrayed. (villain!hrid x reader)

Chapter Text

   "hrid, can you cover alfonse?” you shout, as you rush to the aid of anna. it was supposed to be a simple mission, fight a small band of heroes that had been recruited to loki’s army by the trickster’s magic. now, it feels like you’re back fighting against surtr’s army, as smoke covers the battlefield, the humidity stifling as you struggle to breathe.

   how did all of loki’s army find you? weren’t they were supposed to be somewhere on the outskirts of embla? 

   “you okay?” you ask anna, who’s clutching her abdomen in pain. she manages a weak wink at you.

   “a healer would be nice but…” she picks up nóatún out of the dirt, “something is wrong, loki shouldn’t have known we’re here…”

   “she could’ve been disguising herself as one of us again… i mean usually i’m good at detecting her but she could’ve slipped past me.” you respond, as you summon veronica over to anna so she could heal her up. 

   “maybe, but i think it’s best to wait until after we win this to talk about it more!” anna asserts, as the two of you see another wave of enemies spawn near hrid and alfonse. 

   “you’re right!” you cough, pulling the scarf hrid let you borrow over your mouth, trying not to inhale any more smoke. your lungs already burned from overexertion, with the smoke it felt like you were being burned from the inside out. 

   but you had to protect your friends, you were going to get them out of here if it was the last thing you did.

   before you can hop on veronica’s horse to go help alfonse out, out of the ashes emerges loki. veronica doesn’t notice the trickster, and before she can protect you, loki knocks you down with her staff, thökk. veronica whips around after hearing your cries, retaliating with hliðskjálf, stopping the trickster from advancing towards you. despite the thick blanket of smoke, loki’s smile is as bright and taunting as ever, as she disappears into the blanket of haze.

   just as you’re about to command the princess to pursue her, you hear alfonse’s cries for a healer. you curse, standing up slowly trying to process your surroundings. your eyes were dry and burning, your head throbbed from being hit with loki’s staff, and your lungs struggle to breathe as the air became more and more hot. 

   “veronica! go help out alfonse! i’ll get hrid to help me find loki!” you cough, feeling lightheaded.

   “…are you sure?” she asks, using her staff to heal you as she prepares to leave your side. had it been any other time, you would’ve mentioned how proud you are of veronica that she cares enough about you to even question if you were okay (as opposed to when you first met and she would leave you to die). 

   “yes! go!” you command, and she nods, galloping away on her horse. when she’s out of eyesight, you take breidablik out of your coat, and use it to summon to summon hrid by your side.

   “help me find loki!” you tell him, coughing harder into your scarf. you had to find her before it was too late. if you could defeat loki, then her troops would retreat, but you had to do it and do it fast

   “of course, [name]… anything for you.” he says it quickly, and he draws his sword leading you through the haze. your head is spinning, and each step hurts to move. but you press on, for your friends, for yourself, for–

   “so we meet again!” you hear loki’s honeyed voice, “you know… it’s not very nice to send your pets after me.” you grit your teeth, frustrated at the trickster for everything. you didn’t hate her, no, she wasn’t as cruel and ruthless as surtr, loki was hard to read, at one moment helping you, the next, burning a village and trying to kill all of your friends. 

   “hrid! stop her!” you bark, but hrid doesn’t move. instead, he walks slowly forward, grabbing your arms from behind, knocking breidablik from out of your hands. 

   “what are you doing? hrid, let me go!” you don’t want to think that he’s betraying you, hrid is one of your closest friends, something even more, some would say. surely he wouldn’t hurt you. but reality betrays your hopes, as he secures your arms behind your back. you kick and writhe, trying to free yourself from his strong arms, the same strong arms that used to hold you when you would lay cuddled up next to him on hot nights in muspell.

   “i’m sorry, [name], it’s the only way…” his calm, icy voice that so often soothed you when you came to him for help now is the same voice that betrays you. 

   “let me go!” you scream, your voice cracking as you strain your dry throat. “LET ME GO!” tears prick at the corner of your eyes, as you continue to struggle against him.

   “i’m so sorry darling it was the only way to get you on our side!” loki chuckles, picking your divine weapon off the ground. “those friends of yours never leave your side… how better to get you than to have one of them do it for me!”

   “our? hrid… you… you’re working with loki?” you rasp out, continuing to pull against him. “after all she’s done to you? she…” you break out in a coughing fit, feeling your throat start to bleed because of the smoke. “she helped surtr kill gunnthra!”

   “…that was in the past.” he says, monotone. “she promised me she’d help get her back… that she could get you to–”

   “she’s lying to you! that’s what she does, hrid!” loki chuckles, and for a moment, hrid’s grip loosens, but then he grips you harder. you know you’ll have bruises tomorrow, that is if they didn’t kill you before then.

   “that’s enough chatter, lovebirds!” loki says, sing-song, as if the smoke doesn’t affect her at all. “you’re coming with me.” 

   “you can’t force me to do anything for you.” you say, more weakly than you would like. 

   “if you would like your friends alive, i would do everything i said, darling.” her honeyed voice is laced with venom, and you struggle hard enough to get a good look at hrid, who looks deep in thought, face set in a firm line. you hear your allies shouts for you over the battlefield, you knew they couldn’t last much longer without your help. you would cry, if the smoke hadn’t clogged up your tear ducts, but you know what you have to do.

   “fine.” you mumble out, “i’ll help you.” you’ve given up, you knew loki was a woman of her word, and just as you surrender yourself, she calls off her troops.

   “good, good!” she claps her hands together cheerily, “now hrid, let your [name] go, and [name] if you even think about betraying me i won’t hesitate to kill your friends, got it?” you pull your shoulder harshly out of hrid’s grasp, and loki hands you breidablik. “now, if you won’t mind, darling, send all of us back to the outskirts of embla… we have some regrouping to do!”

   wearily, you use breidablik’s power to warp loki’s army, including hrid, back to where she told you to go. in seconds, you’re in the fresh air of embla’s countryside, and you start coughing as the smoke leaves your lungs. hrid rushes to your side, but you quickly pull away. loki comes to take breidablik from you, just to make sure you don’t run away, and then she leaves the two of you alone.

   “don’t touch me!” you hiss, looking him in his bloodshot ice blue eyes. “you’re- you’re the worst!” if you couldn’t cry before, now all the emotion you felt back in askr came forth double. such hatred for a man you had almost gave your heart, but you knew deep down what it was. it wasn’t fresh hatred, or anything of the sort, it was grief. in a way, you felt as if you had lost him. 

   “i had to do this… for fjorm, for ylgr… when they lost gunnthra they lost so much… as did i, i couldn’t help–” your hands tremble as he gets closer to you. despite your previous words, the closer he gets to you the faster your heart races. your heart betrays your brain that tells you you should hate him, you shouldn’t let him close to you because of what he just did to you. you manage to collect yourself as you take a couple of deep breaths. he looks almost frantic, waiting for you to soothe him as he did so often to you, but instead you spit out:

   “gunnthra would be disgusted with you.” 

Chapter 52: future child. (chrom x reader)

Chapter Text

   marth bursts into the war meeting, frantic, as he yells for a healer. instantly, you get up, rushing to his side to see just what was going on. he shouts for you to clear the table, and you heed his orders. 

   once the table is cleared, books and ink spilled carelessly over the floor, marth drops an unconscious girl on the table, who appears to be struggling to breath. looking around the room for someone to help, you see that innes and robin have already run out to seek help.

   “marth!” you yell, and you can see his hands are shaking. “what- what happened to her?”

   “gods, i-i-” his voice cracks, and he grips the girl’s hands. despite his mask, you can almost see visibly how distressed he was. you shrug off your coat, getting closer to the blue-haired stranger, eyes screwed tight and teeth clenched in pain. 

   “shhh, you’ll be okay,” you apply pressure to the large wound on her stomach, and she grits her teeth harder, hissing at the pain. you offer her your hand to squeeze, and she does so, her grip so tight it’s painful. 

   “who’s hurt?” lissa and chrom burst in the door, and you make eye contact with the lord. his eyes soften upon seeing you, holding the stranger’s hand. lissa gasps, then almost instantly her expression hardens, and she takes her physic staff and starts to work her magic on the stranger.

   “what happened?” chrom stands by your side, pulling you away so lissa could have her space. marth clears his throat, appearing to try and collect his thoughts.

   “i tried and rescue her from the tempest as it was closing…” he nervously fidgets with the hilt of falchion. “she was… she got hurt as we were escaping…it’s my fault i didn’t see the archer… i’m so sorry, quinn…” the last part is added in a whisper, and he sniffles, trying to hold back tears. you pull away from chrom’s gentle grasp on your waist and go to comfort young marth, putting a hand on his shoulder, rubbing comforting circles into it. you can feel him tensing up more at your touch, and you pull back slowly. 

   “this isn’t your fault, you know.” you smile sweetly up at him. “besides, lissa will have her fixed up before you can know it.” 

   “yep! her wounds are all healed… she’s still weak so she’ll need rest but she should be fine in the morning.” lissa says, and you and marth both let out a collective sigh. “but she does need to go to bed… now, if you’ll excuse me i need to go back to the medical ward.” you thank lissa, and she nods at you, exiting the room. 

   “thank the gods…” chrom speaks up, “marth, do you know who this is?”

   “well… that’s–”

   “luci… are you okay?” the girl you now know as ‘quinn’ croaks out, sitting up slowly, still clutching her stomach. “gods, even if the wound is closed it still hurts.”

   “yes, i’m fine…” marth speaks up, and you tilt your head in confusion. why did he answer to the name of luci? “you need to worry more about yourself, sister, seriously.” marth pulls off his mask, “his” long, straight hair falling onto his shoulders. you realize now that this is not marth, but whoever the “luci” girl the stranger just mentioned. 

   “wait… you’re not marth?” you say, and chrom looks just as puzzled as you are. “then… who are you?”

   “oh,” she lets out a soft laugh, “i’m–”

   “wow, luci, you really had ‘em fooled.” the other girl says, weakly grinning, “no, this isn’t the hero-king marth, that’s lucina, my big sister, and i’m quinn!” she appears to be mulling over revealing any other information. you had your suspicions that masked marth was hiding something, as the actual marth seemed to not know anything about him (er, her), but you pushed aside these suspicions. now, you had wished you pursued them more, but that was neither here nor there. 

   “why would you hide your identity from us, mar- um, lucina?” chrom pipes up, “there’s no reason to hide in askr, you know. we trust you.”

   “i suppose it’s just anxiety carried over from being in my old world…” lucina looks to the floor, then to her sister, silently speaking to her with eyes alone. “it’s also because…”

   “because she was hiding her true identity!” quinn says, wincing after she straightens herself too quickly. “as the daughter of you two!” lucina stiffens, avoiding eye contact with the you and chrom.

   “as the what?” chrom splutters out, and lucina steps closer, looking at chrom firmly in the eyes. 

   “i know that’s a bold claim to make, as you two aren’t wed yet… that’s one of the other reasons i was hiding myself, but…” that’s when both you and chrom see it, the brand of the exalt, clear as day on her eye. “i suppose this evidence will suffice.”

   “lucina… i–” chrom is at a loss for words as he looks to you, who is still in a state of shock. lucina is so much the spitting image of her father, it’s hard to believe that she’s even related to you. “this is insane but i believe you. and i suppose all the things you’ve told us about your future are true? your parents… me and [name] are dead?”

   “yes.” she says quietly, the memory obviously hard for her to think about, so she pushes it aside, and continues: “and when i saw you two for the first time i was so happy it took all the strength i had not to jump into your arms… you two look so young and so happy… but i had a mission… i had to find quinn before i could even think about revealing myself to you. i lost her in the tempest when we were called here and then i got her hurt…” she sniffles, tears welling up in her eyes. “mother, father, quinn… i’m so sorry, i’ve failed you all.” lucina falls into you and chrom’s arms, sobbing into your shoulder. you can’t help but feel yourself start to tear up as well.

   “luci, you know it’s not your fault…” you whisper, carding your fingers through her soft hair, “we should be the one sorry for not being there for you.” 

   “hey! don’t group hug without me!” quinn stands up slowly, limping over to the three of you. lucina pulls back, laughing softly and wiping her tears away. “guess some things never change, you always blame yourself for everything lucina, if i had been a little faster i could have avoided the archer… guess i should stop skipping training, huh?” quinn chuckles, pushing her curly blue locks out of her eyes. there’s a pleasant silence between the four of you, as lucina wipes away her tears, and you try and hold yours back. chrom looks at the three of you in utter awe, all his life he wanted a family of his own, and now, he had it. sure, it may have come a little sooner than he wanted, but seeing you now, he knew it everything would be fine.  

   “you sound like me, quinn.” you pull the teen into your arms, noticing the mark of the exalt on the left side of her chest just under her collarbone, only exposed because of her tattered, blood-stained shirt had been torn off, replaced by bandages around her stomach and chest.

   “everyone always says that!” quinn replies, and then in a mocking voice (that sounds oddly like frederick) says: “lucina is the spitting image of chrom, and me of you!” chrom nervously scratches the back of his neck.

   “now that you point it out… if she didn’t have the blue hair then i’d think she was your clone.” chrom points out and you have the urge to roll your eyes. quinn’s eyes and facial features were extremely similar to yours, and from what you could gauge so was her personality, but lucina was basically a female chrom. you didn’t see much of yourself in her, but perhaps that would change as you got to know her.

   “that’s not true, i have some of your personality too, pops!” 

   “oh yeah? and what might that be?”

   “we both break things… all the time!” she exclaims, and lucina chuckles, but you look at chrom, not amused. 

   “i think i’m guilty of that as well.” the older sister chimes in, and you shake your head, now piercing daggers at chrom.

   “chrom why’d you make our kids klutzes… that’s fine but i’m not cleaning up y’all’s messes like i have to do with your father almost every day in training!”

   “h-hey! i’m getting better with that!”

Chapter 53: future child. (hrid x reader)

Chapter Text

   you had loki right where you wanted her, the trickster’s traps seeming easy compared to her usual dark magic she used to fool you and the order. it seemed like all was over, her magic rendered useless as lachesis uses her slow spell to keep her from simply darting away, as she always did.

   a cornered animal has the deadliest bite, or so they say.

   you shout for hríd to back down, your grip tight around his midsection as you ride with him on his horse. the telltale venomous smile was etched across her pearly features, something was wrong. he heeds, slowing his pursuit towards her. loki merely remains in place, not trying to move out of the way of your attacks on her. she merely taps a finger to her chin, her deep purple eyes boring holes into yours. she beckons you forth with a finger, knowing you’ll come. you hate the fact that she knows you’ll listen. 

   “i’ve not come to fight.” she states simply, and your grip on him tightens. hríd seems to notice, and he shoots you a wary glance. “i’ve come to bargain.” you swallow the lump on your throat, starting to dismount his horse. you jump down, him helping you part of the way by holding your arms. letting go, you shoot him a nervous smile, and he mouths a ‘you got this’ to you.

   “what do you want?” your eyes narrow, and she eyes you innocently. the rest of the small team that went with you watches cautiously from beside hríd. 

   “oh nothing really, moreso i have something for you.” her honeyed voice seems innocent, but you know there something more. nothing is free when it comes to loki. “i have something, or should i say, someone that would be of interest to you… and you.” she points at hríd, and you feel your heart hammer in your ears. who could this person be that she was talking about? 

   “what do you mean?” you ask, and she absentmindedly twirls her staff. “i don’t think i follow?”

   “of course you don’t darling,” she smiles, “after all, they haven’t been born yet!” she says with a wink, and you feel your cheeks warm. hasn’t… been born yet? was she implying that she had your child… yours and hrid’s? 

   “what are you saying, witch?” hríd snaps, and you turn around, seeing ylgr grabbing onto his arm to keep him from reacting brashly. her expression falls, rolling her eyes before diverting her attention back to you.

   “i think you’ve connected the dots at least.” she muses, and you fidget anxiously with the sleeves of your cloak. “what’ll it be, hun?”

   “what’s in it for you?” you retort, forcing your voice to remain steady. any weakness shown around loki would sure be your downfall. “how do i know you aren’t lying?”

   “have i ever steered you wrong?” loki chuckles, playing with her long nails. when you don’t respond, she knows she has you. “all i ask in return is a favor from you. not now, but sometime later. do we have a deal?”

   “don’t do it.” hríd warns, feeling his hand on your arm. you pull out of his grip, your mind already made up. she wouldn’t go through all this trouble and have it be nothing. stranger things have happened, and you knew of a few other comrades who had summoned their children, despite them not being with child in their world. it was just crazy enough to be true.

   “i have to.” you reach your hand out, and she shakes it. her devilish smirk grows wider, and you suddenly feel small. 

   “pleasure doing business with you,” and with a wink and a fog of smoke, she’s gone, no sign of her except for a cold, green orb left in your hand. you turn it over, carefully, entranced by the sight of it until a pair of strong arms snap you back to reality. 

   “are you okay?” he asks, and you gently shift your gaze to him. despite his earlier warning to you, he doesn’t seem angry at you for not listening. he looks moreso concerned, scanning your face for any signs of injury by her. you knew hríd didn’t trust her at all, he hated it whenever she was near you – not only from jealousy because of her obvious attraction to you, but because she has disguised herself as his sister and helped surtr with his plans in destroying nifl. 

   “i’m fine…” you glance up to him, trying to push aside your thoughts of what she would do with her favor. “let’s see if she was telling the truth.” 


   when you and hríd arrive to the summoning pedestal, you feel your heart’s pace quicken. on your way back to the castle, you had explained to him all that loki has implied to you, but had remained silent, not knowing what to do. surely, if this really was your child, he would accept them.

   right?

   “wait,” he says, watching you place the bright green orb in the pedestal. “just… wait.” he tugs at your arm lightly as he looks up at you on the alter. “i want to let you know that whatever happens… i want us to have a future together.” his porcelain skin dusts pink, sharp blue eyes conveying so many emotions – anxiety, curiosity, but most of all reassurance. he loved you, that much was so clear. “and… if somehow this is our child, well… i’ll love and protect them with all that i am.” you jump off the pedestal, unable to keep your hands to yourself. you place kisses all over his cheeks, before pulling back and kissing his nose. he smiles at you, easily holding your weight with his strong arms. 

   “i love you so much.” you say, trying your best to contain your emotions. he doesn’t want to let your go, but he has to, and he gracefully sets you on the pedestal. 

   “and i you, princess.” he says gingerly, the blush having spread to the rest of his face. 

   setting aside your anxiety, you take a deep breath, and use breidablik’s power to call forth the hero locked in their own world. mist surrounds the stone, and out of the mist pops the head of a teenage girl, green tome clutched to her hip and curious, steely blue eyes scanning her surroundings. when she locks eyes with you, you feel the rush of a familial love that you didn’t know you possessed in your heart. storge, you remembered some book you had read back on your world, was the word for it. she rushes forward, her braided [hair color] locks bouncing all the way as she tackles you into a hug. hríd joins the two of you as she sobs into your shoulder, arms cradling the two of you safely.

   this was home.

Chapter 54: stubborn. (xander x reader)

Chapter Text

   he had never snapped at you before. sure, he could be a bit harsh with his orders but never did he yell at you. you were his little prince/ss, the one person in his life that he could trust unconditionally.

   but even so, sometimes even the cold prince of nohr loses his composure.

   you were trying to help him, he had stayed up a night too many training. you knew he needed his sleep lest he not be as sharp as he needed to be in the next battle. so, you told yourself that you would force him to sleep, even if you had to drag him to bed. 

   “xander,” you call, testing the waters to see how you should approach him. he doesn’t seem to notice as he continues to spar against his younger brother, the latter who seems to be losing. leo seems to notice you, however, and yells at xander to stop the duel. xander seems frustrated, and he quickly sheathes his sword and saunters on his steed over to you.

   “what is it?” he replies, and you smile up at him, trying to calm him. xander’s face doesn’t soften any as it usually does when he sees you, and you shrink under his gaze, nervously shifting from foot to foot. 

   “i was just wondering if you were going to take a break!” you muster up all the courage you can, “it’s getting dark and you haven’t rested for a while–”

   “nonsense… i will be fine. now if that’s all you were saying i’d like to get back to training.” you know you can’t drop this, you want him to be healthy and rested, so you press on.

   “xander, please you haven’t been rested well all week, i’m worried–”

   “like i said, i will be fine.” firm. biting your lip, you know you have to keep pressing him. he can’t always be dismissive of his own health.

   “you say that, but i know you xander, if you would just–”

   “that’s enough of your nagging!” he isn’t yelling but his voice grows so commanding and it makes you flinch. it reminded you of how garon’s voice got when he was disappointed in you, and you fight back tears. xander doesn’t seem to notice, but leo does, dismounting and walking towards you. “i know what’s best for me and i will do so, leave me to train.” you don’t say a word, the frustration towards him bubbling up inside so much you feel like you’re going to explode. leo comes and takes your hand, whispering to you that he’d take you back to your room. 

————-

   xander had screwed up, that camilla had drilled into his head. he felt awful after he learned that you had been so upset by his words that you had decided to sleep in her room for the night. he scowls, working up the courage to call out your name. clearing his throat once, then twice, he softly says your name.

   you don’t answer the first time, instead you wrap camilla’s cape tighter around you, pouting. he calls louder, but it’s not the harsh tone he used with you last night. you’re tempted to keep ignoring him but you know nothing will be solved that way, so you mumble a quiet: “what do you want?”. he slowly pushes open the door, and sees you sitting in camilla’s bed, eyes puffy and red from crying. his heart drops because he knows he’s the one who’s caused this. the speech he’s rehearsed in his head is forgotten, and the only words he can utter up are a quiet: 

   “i’m sorry… i didn’t mean to–”

   “i was only trying to help you!” you snap, surprised at yourself that you’re even letting yourself talk to him. “maybe if you would listen to me for once you’d know that! but you’re so…. so stubborn that you just ignore my ideas at every turn! it wasn’t just this time, it’s every time i try and help you!”

   xander stills, letting you vent your emotions. he knows you’re right: he was stubborn, and he deserved you yelling at him. but the tears in your eyes? that’s what killed him. he swore to never let you cry and yet here you were. he was disgusted with himself.

   “you’re right.” he says, gently, taking on the tone of voice only you got to hear. “i should listen to you. you’re my right hand, [name], and you do only have my best intentions at heart. forgive me, i was wrong.” you’re silent, heart thumping and roughly wiping the tears out of your eyes. you want to stay mad at him, but when xander says something, you know he means it. he takes a tentative step forward, not knowing if you wish for his touch, but you move forward to meet him instead: wrapping your arms around him. he pulls you close, where you can feel his heartbeat.

   “on my honor, little prince/ss, i will heed your words from now on.” he places a gentle kiss to your forehead, hands carding through your locks.

Chapter 55: promises. (sumia x reader)

Chapter Text

   she sits alone in bed, waiting for you to return to her. it’s hours past curfew, and though you promised you’d be back early today, it seems you broke that promise.

   once again.

   she bites her lip, shrugging on her coat and throwing open the tent flap, going to find you. usually, she’d fall asleep waiting for you, but she wasn’t going to take it anymore. something was up.

   “[name]?” she calls, opening the war tent where you often frequent, seeing you and chrom in there, laughing over something. her heart falls, no way you and chrom were…

   “sumia! what brings you here?” you flash her a smile, and chrom mutters a “hello” to her. “it’s late, love, you should be asleep.”

   “shouldn’t you be as well?” she replies, voice cheery but her eyes tell you all you needed to know. then, it dawns on you, you promised to be in bed early, so you and her could spend some time together. your smile falls, and chrom, sensing the tension awkwardly dismisses himself, leaving you and your obviously angry wife alone. she taps her foot, waiting for you to speak.

   “sumia, i’m so sorry it slipped my mind—“ you throw out apologies, but her face is still set in a firm line.

  “you have time for chrom but not for me?” her voice breaks, and you feel your heart skip a beat. part of you wants her to just yell at you, it would be so much easier for her to be pissed, but no, she was upset.

   “it just slipped my mind, i promise you that i wouldn’t do this on purpose!” you reply, trying to keep your voice low as to not upset her even more. “but i’m sorry tomorrow we can—“

   “i’d believe you if this was the first time but…” her grip on the chair in front of her turns into a vice. her jaw clenches, and she diverts her eyes from yours. “this isn’t the first time, and with all the rumors going around i…” your eyes widen, and now you feel tears well up in your eyes. she thought you and chrom were having an affair? sure, he had a crush on you at one point but you made it clear that you were in love with sumia.

   “sumia… you know i would never…” you get up out of your chair, striding over to her. the closer you get the more tired you realize she looks. the dark circles under her eyes, gods, she must’ve stayed awake waiting for you… you feel awful. “listen, i love you more than anything in this life.” you tilt her chin to look at you. she’s holding back tears, and you wish nothing but to pull her into you. “i would never do anything to hurt you intentionally, chrom is my friend, nothing more.”

   “i know i just… wish you would spend as much time with me as you do with him.” she seems to relax into your touch. “you can’t keep breaking your promises to me, that’s not how relationships are supposed to work.”

   “you’re right. i’ve been taking you for granted, and you deserve better.” you kiss her on the nose, and she flushes crimson. “tomorrow how about we go into the villages and we get tea together, how would you like that? it won’t make up for the promises i broke, but maybe i can start making it up to you.”

   “you promise?” she says, and you smile lovingly down at her.

   “with all that i am. and if i break it i give you permission to run me through with your lance.”

   “…alright.” the sweet smile she always holds returns, and you bring her into your chest, kissing her cheek.

Chapter 56: flirt. (niles x reader)

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   it’s nothing you weren’t used to by now, niles flirting with everyone, but today it just rubbed you the wrong way. maybe it was the fact that you had just lost your friend lilith a few weeks ago and you had been on edge all week, but this time when you see him trying to charm effie, it sets you off.

   “niles. won’t you leave her alone?” you say, voice small. effie looks at you with a smile, probably oblivious to niles words. niles grins, slinking over to your side. he tries to put an arm around your shoulder, but you pull away from his touch.

   “something wrong, dear?” he still has that stupid look on his face.

   “something wrong? yeah you were flirting with effie. i thought was a given!” you pout, crossing your arms. niles scoffs, struggling to keep up with your pace. “seriously niles must a put you on a leash!”

   “well, i wouldn’t object to that,” he says suggestively, but then upon seeing that you’re actually angry with him, he clears his throat: “but i wasn’t… i didn’t mean it i simply talk like that it’s… not that i mean anything i say!”

   “it just sucks you know!” you turn a heel, throwing your hands up in exasperation. though you’re in the middle of the camp, everyone seems to have deserted upon hearing the two of you bicker. “you say the same things you say to me to everyone else!”

   “but i mean them when i say ‘em to you, i think that’s fairly obvious.” he mutters, awkwardly diverting his gaze so he doesn’t have to look at your heartbroken expression. it kills him when he hears your voice crack like that, and he’s always tried to dial down his more unruly behavior but every so often it slips.

   “it should be but… i just don’t feel special.” small. he’s never heard you sound this way, usually you’re bubbly, taking up space and letting everyone know, so it’s like a knife to his heart when he hears your words.

   “…i’m sorry you feel that way, love.” his voice is soft, unhindered with its usual mirth. he pulls you close by your hand, placing a small kiss on your knuckles. “and… i guess you’re right. i should spare my words just for you. and if you don’t mind, i’d like to start now.” you fluster crimson, burrowing into his chest.

   “n-niles please!” he chuckles, scooping you up in his arms.

   “look at me.” he instructs, carrying you off to your shared room. “i’m gonna make you feel special the rest of your life, sweetheart. starting tonight.”

Chapter 57: future child. (ike x reader)

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   you don’t even want to think about where you would be in this battle without ike, he’s a monster on the battlefield, stopping at nothing, even when left against enemies he should clearly have the disadvantage against. every time you even got close to being in danger, ike was suddenly by your side. 

   so when you see the sight of ragnell coming towards you, you have no idea what to think. quickly, you jump out of the way, falling to the ground with a loud THUD. ike quickly notices, distracted momentarily as he yells out for you. thoughts racing, he pushes against the axe fighter with all his might, sending him staggering back before he pushes ragnell through the enemy’s body. not even sparing him a glance to see if he was truly down, he rushes to your side.

   the enemy twirls ragnell in front of you as you slowly gather yourself, clutching breidablik in case you needed a quick escape. ike pulls you by the waist, making you get behind him as he squares up against his foe. the enemy doesn’t back down, despite being much smaller than ike. 

   “stand down,” he warns the girl, “or i will have no choice but to cut you down.” ike says this with such coldness that you know he’s pissed off, most definitely because she tried to hurt you. ike was always overprotective over you, especially on the battlefield. 

   “f-father?” the feminine voice squeaks, lodging her sword in the ground. she pulls off her helmet, soft blue curls falling and resting on her shoulders. “oh my gods, i’m so sorry i didn’t–” 

   “what are you talking about?” he doesn’t back down, but his posture relaxes a little, not feeling the need to completely tower over the girl. you stand on your tiptoes to peer over his shoulders, and the girl meets your eyes, then flusters more. 

   “oh my gods, that was mother/other father? i’m so sorry you just… look so different i didn’t recognize you!” she runs a hand through her hair nervously, smiling sheepishly.

   “….i’m sorry but i still have no idea what is going on.” ike turns to look at you, and you manage a shrug. the battle grinds to a halt, and you hear sharena’s triumphant cries in the background. where usually you’d join in the celebration, you’re much more curious about the strange girl in front of you. “care to explain?”

   “of course! i’m sure this is strange since you two are… well… so young but!” she sways back and fourth on her heels, tugging at the rolled up sleeves of her shirt. she’s a very well-built girl, you notice, as she would have to be to pick up the heavy sword ragnell. wait, ragnell, she had ike’s sword… could she be telling the truth? you decide to point it out to ike.

   “it would seem so… could you really be telling the truth?” he turns to you, an look of concern on his face. “what do you think?” you meet his gaze, then put a finger to your chin pensively. 

   “i mean… she has your sword… and she does look uncannily like you.” your eyes flutter open, “i believe you!” the girl grins, rushing behind ike and to your side hugging you so tight you feel the air leave your lungs. yep, she had ike’s strength as well it seemed. 

   “then it’s settled. i believe you too.” ike says, though there’s a strain of suspicion still in his voice. “but can you tell me one thing uhh–”

   “quinn!” she replies with a smile, arm still around you.

   “yes, quinn… how did you get here?” her face immediately falls, the question obviously a rough one for her. you notice the sparkle leaves her eyes, only for it to return just a moment later.

   “i’ll explain later,” she makes a dismissive gesture with her hand, then looks down, and immediately pipes back up: “oh! you two aren’t even married yet! i must’ve come back reaaaaally far then!” ike blushes, and you giggle, as your apparent daughter takes your hand in hers and pushes it into ike’s line of sight.

   “you better get to buyin’ a ring, mister.” her voice takes on a teasing tone, one you’ve used many times when joking around with ike. “after all, i wanna be born soon!” ike flushes even darker.

   “oh, please dear don’t tease ike, er, your father.” you correct, “that’s my job!” her eyes sparkle, and she shoots a wink at you.

   “this is why you’re my favorite!” 

                                                     —♪♪♪♪♪— 

   “ike, dear, is something the matter?” the crickets chirp lazily as sun sets in the sky. he turns to face you, the moon illuminating his dark blue locks. his gaze softens. 

   “how’d you find me?” he asks, already knowing the answer. he was predictable, you would always say, that knowing grin plastered on your face. 

   “oh, you know…” you put your arms on the balcony edge, gaze fixed on his profile. his jaw is clenched, his mind obviously racing with thoughts. how could it not be after all that had happened today? he found out that the two of you had a daughter, one who was almost grown, it was odd, to say the least. the three of you had talked more, mostly about what the two of you were like in her world before she crashed on the armchair in your room. “what are you thinking?” he takes your hand in his, placing a small kiss on the back of it. gently, he puts it back on its original place on the balcony, his fingers loosely intertwined with yours.

   “my father was a great man… i’m only the man i am today because of his influence on me.” you squeeze his hand in comfort, knowing the topic of his dad could be hard on him at times. “i just… hope that i can be the same man to quinn.” 

   “i know you will be.” you tap his arm, getting him to look at you. “ike, you’ve done so much for this army, gods know how much people look up to you. and you know why that is? not because of your strength, or your wits on the battlefield, it’s because you’re kind. above all, ike, you do the right thing, risking you life to save those in need.” you put a hand on his cheek, beaming up at him. “if our girl has even half of your heart, well…” he returns your gaze with a soft smile, utterly smitten by you. “look out world.

   he pulls you against his chest, strong arms enveloping your smaller frame. you melt under his touch, planting a chaste kiss to his cheek. he buries his face into your neck.

   “what did i do to deserve you?” 

Chapter 58: confessions. (marth x retainer!reader)

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   “ah, [name]… could i speak to you… in private?” he asks, nervously fiddling with the hilt of falchion. caeda shoots you a wink, squeezing your hand before leaving the two of you alone in the weapons tent. there’s a quiet pause, an uncomfortable tension settling between the two of you. you speak first:

   “of course, milord. do you require something of me?” you smile faintly at him, and he steps closer, cheeks flushing from anxiousness. 

   “nothing is needed of you but… i must tell you something.” deep breaths, marth, he tells himself, swallowing the dread that was starting to creep up on him. naga, why was confessing his feelings so hard? 

   “i’m always ready to listen to you.” you reply, looking at him with concern, “is something wrong?” his face is flushed, he’s nervously shifting,all the tale-tell signs that something is off. you’ve known the prince your whole life, at this point, you could read him like a book.

   “please, let me speak to you… person to person.” he manages a grin, and you give him a funny look. 

   “but milord–”

   “please, call me marth.” he looks at you tenderly, taking your hand in his. “what i’m trying to say is…” he breaks off, studying your facial expressions. you can feel your heart hammer in your ears. he was holding your hand. you had been close to marth before, often sitting shoulder to shoulder or sharing quick hugs after particularly harsh battles but nothing as tender and intimate as this. it was a simple gesture but one that made you feel light-headed. “i have… feelings for you.and if you would have me, i…” 

   you must be dreaming. you feel your head spinning as he looks at you, anxiously awaiting your response. you’d like to be selfish and tell him that you too felt the same way, but it would be improper. a lord and his retainer? it could never happen. as quickly as the euphoria came, reality came crashing down.

   “my– marth, you know how this would look, right?” you force the words out despite every fiber of your being telling you to go with your gut. “i mean… i’m not royalty, it would be a disgrace for you to marry someone like me!” marth rubs the back of your palm with his hand, his gaze now set on yours. 

   “i’m not one for titles, you know that.” he says, “i don’t care what anyone thinks, i know what my heart is telling me is right and… if you don’t feel the same way, fine, but i don’t want you to hide your feelings because of something as silly as what others may say.”. you swallow the lump in your throat, the ghost of a smile growing on your face.

   “of course, milord i… i, too, share feelings for you.” you flush under his loving gaze, conflicted between your duty and your feelings. why couldn’t this be easy. “but i fear of the repercussions, i don’t want your name disgraced because of me… i care for you far too much for that.” 

   “i understand your worries but you’re much more important to me than the thoughts of others…” he’s so close now that you can almost feel the heat radiating off of him. his eyes flicker down to your lips, then back up to your eyes. “may i?” he asks quietly, and you nod gently, closing the gap between the two of you. 

   it’s a quick kiss, but one full of love as marth moves his hand to cup the back of your neck, pulling you in closer just seconds before he pulls away, both of your faces flushed. all your previous doubts seem to melt away when he holds you like this.

   “i don’t know much about the future and what’s in store but… with you by my side, i know we’ll be fine. you make me a better man.” marth says.

   “and i’ll be at your side… supporting you as i always do. you very are dear to me as well, sire.” you echo back his sentiments. 

   “and [name]?” he smiles down at you, blissfully content.

   “yes, milord?”

   “you’ve got to call me marth… i can’t have my future spouse calling me by my title.”

   “of course, mi– marth.”

Chapter 59: slipping. (alfonse x reader)

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day one:

   you had not had enough time to process what was going on. in some strange way, it was like a fever dream. her words, cold and bitter as ice didn’t even seem to reach you. you were far away in your own thoughts, as you tried to push down any proof that your boyfriend was going to die. it wasn’t real, and you weren’t going to accept it. 

   and then he got sick.

day three:

   it started out with a small cough, one that he tried to hide from you as you spent all day at his side, refusing to leave. alfonse assured you that you would find a way to undo her curse, but you didn’t know. it seemed impossible: odds that you had beaten before, yes, but you weren’t sure your luck would hold on for much longer. he notices how distant you look despite keeping a grip on his arm at all times as you flip through ancient books on curses and anything you can find on the realm of the dead.

   alfonse sits beside you, flipping through book pages with one hand and letting you hold his other. every so often he finds something that could prove useful for you to write down in your notes. so far you really don’t have anything besides a bit of information on hel and others who have succumbed to her curse. 

   eir doesn’t seem to want to speak on it, as she says she doesn’t remember much about her mother’s curses, but she looks grim when you ask her if there’s any way you can get rid of it. 

day five: 

   each day you spend time with alfonse, trying desperately to find answers in askr’s library, but it seems hopeless. the prince seems determined though, reassuring you over and over that you would find a way to fix this. anna was working to help eir remember anything, while sharena was keeping watch. if hel struck again you would be ready.

   you started noticing physical changes in alfonse, where it was just once a cough, now he seemed paler and more tired. when you mentioned it, he said he was fine, that he just didn’t get enough sleep last night (despite the fact he slept soundly beside you from what you remembered. if anything, it was you awake worrying about the next few days). he even fell asleep on your shoulder during the day’s meeting, something that he would never do were he well.

   you let him sleep, while you listen to all of anna’s intel gathered while talking to eir and some of the villagers who had heard of hel. it wasn’t much but you were clinging to every bit of knowledge you could get. anna’s gaze softens as she looks at you, the prince still asleep on your shoulder.

   “we’ll save him,” she says, her usually chipper voice now serious. “i promise.” you want to say you know, that you’ll do it together like you always did, but your voice catches in your throat. 

   “gods, i hope so.”

day six:

   it’s over halfway to the day where hel promised to take alfonse. you feel desperate, like an animal slowly being cornered with no where else to run. 

   you can’t stand how people shoot you sympathetic glances in the hallway like he’s already dead. he’s not, not if you had any say in the matter. despite the pessimism of the first few days, it’s like a fire had ignited in your chest. you couldn’t mope around and do nothing, reading books and trying to find a way around this was better than nothing. 

   meanwhile, alfonse refused to leave your side, despite the some of the healers pleading for him to go to the infirmary ward. he didn’t seem to be showing signs of any certain disease. every day he grew weaker, until the point he could hardly walk without leaning against you for support. you didn’t mind helping him, you could handle helping him around for the rest of your life if you needed to. 

   he can’t keep his hands off you. you don’t know if it’s weakness or what but seems to have lost all his inhibitions as he kisses you over and over no matter where you are, even in front of others. 

   “why all the affection?” you chuckle, as he places another kiss to your cheek. you’re in his lap as you continue to rummage through books in the library, your tired eyes hardly able to understand what it is you’re reading, but you press on nevertheless.

   “just… in case.” he mumbles, resting his chin on your shoulder, his arms encircling your waist. “you deserve so much love, [name], i’m just giving you everything i was too afraid to give you when i wasn’t… sick.” it sounds like he’s given up, so you turn to face him, straddling his lap.

   “hey, you’re going to be around for a long time, okay? don’t say things like that…” tears threaten to spill over, but you force yourself to be strong. for him. 

   “…of course.” his voice sounds sad.

day seven:

   he could now not walk. he was confined to the bed in the medical ward, you and healers surrounding him all day. nothing seemed to be working though, and with each hour, it seemed like he was slipping through your fingers.

   “i brought you something.” sharena says, and despite a smile stretched out on her face, it doesn’t reach her eyes. you know she’s suffering as much as you, and so you accept the small gesture. placing the soup she has on the bedside table for later. 

   “any news?” you ask her, your voice gravelly from lack of use. she grabs your hand, squeezing reassuringly.

   “no, nothing we haven’t thought of.” she sighs, leaning her head on your shoulder. “hel’s forces have been silent. there’s nothing we can do now but wait.” hearing that from sharena, a carefree optimist somehow hurt more than the words from hel herself. 

   “when hel comes to take him… i’ll…” you clear your throat, “i’m going to ask her to take me instead. maybe she’ll–”

   “no. you can’t do that!” she squeaks, “you mean so much to this army and–”

   “but he means so much to you. and to me. he’s a prince and i’m sure there are other summoners out there the universe can choose but–”

   “but none of them are you!” her voice breaks, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. “you… you can’t… you think alfonse will ever forgive himself if you do?”

   “i’ve decided. i’m sorry sharena but…” you squeeze her hand, “i have to. it’s the only way.” she’s silent, the gears turning in her head. it’s then she makes up her mind. she smiles at you, a real smile this time, full of warmth.

   “i don’t think you’ll need to do that, [name].” 

day nine:

   you sob, holding onto alfonse’s hand as he slowly slips out of consciousnesses. he’s so deathly pale and weak he hardly looks like the man who confessed to you, nervously spilling his guts to you with the brightest blush on his face as he awaits rejection. it never came, much to his delight. you could never reject someone as sweet and kind as him. his eyes were bright and full of hope as he thanked you after you told him how you felt in return. you can still remember those words loud and clear: 

   “i don’t know the true reason why you were brought here but… without you, i dare not think where we would be… where i would be. you make me want to be a better man, so… stay by my side forever?”

   he promised forever. he promised. it wasn’t fair. 

   hel sits on the railing of the balcony, looking at you with pitying stares. you, sharena, and anna all hugging each other and crying. you begging for him to keep his eyes open, stroking his face lovingly. despite his weakness, he told sharena to be the responsible leader he knew she could be. asked anna to continue leading the army with courage. he assured you that you could be happy, even without him there. to not lose your optimism and hope that you gave to everyone in the army. alfonse apologized for not being able to be there for you three.

   you couldn’t save him. you lost. he was going to die and you had to sit helpless and watch him suffer until his last breath. god, why didn’t he listen to his father for once? why did you encourage him to take on hel? you sob harder into his chest, his hand gripped tightly in yours.

   hel creeps closer, slowly as to let you say your goodbyes. the three of you finally notice, and anna draws her weapon. she looks to the redhead, then back to alfonse. 

   “hel! please,” you beg, voice breaking off, “take me instead, i p-promise just… don’t let alfonse die. please.” you’re desperate, and now that you’ve got her where you want her, you have to say your part. nothing could kill her, she was death itself, but maybe she would make a trade.

   “it is not destined for you to die, little one.” she touches your head, her fingers ice cold and you feel like lunging at her. hel floats above alfonse, readying her scythe, and you scream at her not to. “i would say my last words, if i were you.”

   “wait, if not them, than me.” sharena’s voice is defiant, angry tears in her eyes. “you want a child of askr? then take me.” anna grabs her arm, telling her to stop, but hel freezes, turning her steely, indifferent gaze to sharena. 

   “very well.” she says, “either child will suffice. and i see a determination in your eyes that intrigues me.” you scream at sharena, telling her to stop. hel extends her hand, and the blonde gives the two of you a smile, leaning over and kissing the tears on your cheek. you grip onto her, telling her not to do this, before she extends her own hand to hel.

   “i’m sorry.” she whispers to you, “take care of alfonse for me, ‘kay?” she tries to sound chipper, before the two disappear into nothingness.

   “…[name]?” alfonse whispers, rubbing at his head, “i’m… what happened?” you sit in shock, both you and anna silent as you try and process what just happened. “you did it.” he squeezes your hand, which you had been gripping the whole time.

   “where’s sharena?” he asks, and you can’t look in his eyes. once more, he repeats the question. hot tears fall down your cheeks, your eyes puffy and red from all the crying you’ve been doing. anna looks to you to see if you’re going to answer. his grip grows tighter.

   “where is she, [name]… anna?”. he says, much quieter and scared this time. you can only whisper out a weak: 

   “she’s gone, alfonse, i’m sorry.”

Chapter 60: future child. (ninian x reader)

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   she’s quiet: which is normal for her if she hadn’t been staring at you from across the room. her eyes seem troubled, and every time you turn your attention to her, she averts her gaze. it’s not like her to be this skittish.

   something’s wrong, you assume, so you wait for her after the meeting, letting all the heroes file out before you go to ask if she’s alright. ninian seems to fluster at the sight of you, shifting nervously as you walk over to her.

   “something bothering you?” you take a gentle tone with her, and she seems to relax a bit. 

   “ah… yes, perceptive as always…” she muses, “i just… don’t know how to tell you this…”

   “you can tell me anything, you know that, right ninian?” you reassure her, taking her hand into yours. 

   “i was just worried because this is… a peculiar situation.” 

   “c’mon, ninian, nothing is peculiar with me. i came from a different dimension and i can summon heroes from other worlds from orbs. tell me what’s up.” ninian smiles softly, heart fluttering at your kindness.

   “yes… of course, let me show you.”


   “so she just appeared to you this morning?” you ask, sitting on the edge of her bed, watching the young manakete as her chest rises and falls as she sleeps soundly. 

   “yes… i was walking around the castle grounds… and i saw her passed out in the field…” she strokes the young girls hair, looking down at her softly. “she looked… out of place. i asked her where she was from but… she didn’t seem to know.” ninian’s face etches with worry. she had lost her memories at one point, she had confessed to you one night when the two of you were in the library, and seeing it happen to someone else probably brought back those memories. “the only thing she knew was her name… quinn.”

   “she looks a little bit like you,” you pipe up, trying to divert the conversation, “that silver hair, she could be your little sister or something!” ninian giggles, covering her hand with her mouth. 

   “you know about nils but… i don’t have any other siblings.” she muses, “…or family for that matter.”

   “oh, well she could be–”

   “your daughter…” you hear the girl’s sleepy voice interject, “i had the weirdest dream that i was your daughter.” her silver chin-length hair sticks up at odd angles from where she had been moving in her sleep. ninian lets out a gasp.

   “what an… odd dream.” ninian interjects, “how could you have dreamt that… [name] was your parent if you hadn’t… met them yet?” quinn blinks slowly trying to collect her thoughts.

   “i don’t know, it felt so real though.” she stares ahead, eyebrows knitted together in thought, “you two were protecting me from some scary woman… telling me to stay back with veronica and then… i woke up.” 

   “do you think this was a memory or just a bad dream?” you ask, gently, trying not to stress out the girl. 

   “i’m not sure… my head hurts so much, mother, i just–” her eyes are tearing up, and ninian instinctively pulls her into her chest. “i don’t know and i’m scared.”

   “shh,” ninian coos, rocking her back and forth. you stand there, a bit awkward as you try to decide what you can do to help. “it’s okay… i didn’t know who i was for a while but eventually… well, my friends were so kind to me it didn’t matter what my past was.” 

   “besides, you can stay with me and ninian until you know for sure what happened.” you smile warmly at the manakete, a hand on ninian’s shoulder. 

   “what if i… what if i never remember?” her frantic eyes drift between you and ninian, a bright red, much like ninian’s. 

   “that’ll be okay too… we’ll help you create new memories…” ninian whispers fondly, and the girl clings tighter to ninian, crying freely into her neck. 


   it didn’t take long for quinn to remember who she really was and where she came from. you and ninian had been helping her try to get her memories back almost all month; whether that be through listening to her talk about snippets of her life or helping her create new memories.

   when she had realized that she was indeed you two’s daughter, both of you were ecstatic. it might not be the most conventional relationship – the two of you weren’t wed yet, but everything about quinn made you love her even more.

   a family was all ninian ever wanted, after all.

Chapter 61: familiar. (sharena x reader)

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   ever since you died an untimely death, sharena was never the same. where she once was a warm beacon for everyone in the army, she now seemed hollow. she tried to put on a chipper facade, but it was painfully obvious: her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, her laughter was polite and subdued. she doesn’t take up space like she used to, instead, she’s small and featureless.

   alfonse and anna (as well as the rest of the heroes) feel the weight of your absence. the prince and commander try and stay strong for sharena, but seeing the dullness behind her eyes crushes them. there’s nothing they can do but let her cry with them, and try to help each other get over it. but it wasn’t easy – the war still moved on while they were trying to lay low and grieve. lif and thrasir edged closer to askr at every moment, and now that their summoner was gone, their efforts were doubled.

   she just wanted it all to slow down, like how it first was when you came. where the biggest trouble you had was figuring out how to fit in to their world which was so medieval and alien to you. when you walked into the dining hall in only a towel asking how to turn on the hot water. 

   those were the good old days. 


   the exact place where she saw you first is somewhere she visits often. it’s only been a month since your death, but she finds herself there almost every day. some part of her feels called there, like maybe during one visit she’ll find you nervously rambling as you speak to commander anna, just like when she first met you. 

   she sits in the long grass, picking it out from the roots until there’s dirt under her nails and her chest aches from sobbing.


   “princess sharena!” a young boy’s voice breaks her out of her thoughts. she turns to see roy sprinting towards her, a hopeful look on his face. instinctively, she rubs at her puffy eyes and smiles politely. “you won’t believe what happened… i-i can’t believe it either!” he’s heaving, out of breath from sprinting all the way from the castle. sharena stands up, heart racing as all the possibilities rush through her head. the optimist in her wants it to be you, but she couldn’t be sure…

   “what is it?” anxiety washes over her and she can feel her chest tightening. “what happened?”

   “you’ll have to see them yourself! haha!” and with the mention that it’s a person sharena is running at a pace faster than ever before. it has to be you, it has to be! 

   she sees you, that oversized cloak that never seemed to fit well hanging loosely off your frame. you hear her footsteps and turn around, smiling wide upon seeing the princess. she throws herself at you, now sobbing tears of happiness. this wasn’t real, someone pinch her. you hug her back, tightly, and she has to resist the urge to kiss you everywhere that’s visible – she doesn’t know if this is her [name] or the [name] from another dimension.

   but there was something so familiar that she knew it had to be her summoner.

   “i missed you so much!” sharena squeaks out, pulling back, but her shaky arms still desperately grip your sleeves. 

   “oh please, i wasn’t gone for too long, was i?” you chuckle, warm eyes meeting her bright ones. your vision strays from hers, and meets the red-haired commander behind herself, and you pull out of her grip and latch onto her. anna appears startled, letting out a gasp but hugging you back, her usual happy laughter returning.

   “i didn’t think you’d be this happy to see me!” she giggles, and you press a kiss to her cheek. 

   “my love, how could i not be?” you say warmly, and sharena’s heart breaks. anna tries to break away from your grip as she asks what you’re talking about, but sharena knows. she meets your gaze for a second and smiles:

   a hollow, fake smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

Chapter 62: future child. (soren x reader)

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   quinn walks happily through the market as he searches out the right flowers to buy for his parents. time travel was something he still didn’t understand, despite veronica’s many lectures about it – he hoped he was back in the right timeline, before any of the tragedies happened. 

   blush peonies, white lilies, golden sunflowers… none of them seemed like good options. he had to make a good first impression, especially with his father who he knew could be distant sometimes, even if he was loving, in his own way.

   at least, with the few memories he has of him.

   the purple irises make him perk up, his sharp canines exposed as he skips over to them. the memory comes as soon as it goes: 

   his father, dressed up for a festival, smiling at… you, his other parent as he jumps down from his horse. he looks embarrassed, and despite the angry blush on his face he shoves the flowers into your hands. no, not just any flowers, purple irises.

   his rubs his temples and quickly forks over the money for the bouquet, a few pieces of gold meant nothing to him if it meant he would get to see you smile again.


   “what do you mean the map is all wrong?” you say, not even bothering to give him a more nasty retort. he easily pushes you out of the way, not in a rude way, he just needed to show you what was wrong. 

   “i mean,” he says, dipping your pen in ink, “you’ve overlooked many aspects of the terrain we’re battling on. it’s really not like you to make frivolous errors such as these. i would hope you’re better than this.”

   “i was… tired when i made this.” you cross your arms, sitting yourself up on the table.

   “tired could cost people their lives!” he snaps at you. you know he’s right, and that this is just his way of showing you he cares. soren rarely tells his feelings to you outright, instead dancing around them and hoping you pick up on the meaning behind his words. knowing soren for as long as you did (and as closely as you did) makes deciphering his true feelings like second nature, as much as he denies it when you tease him. “as askr’s tactician, you can’t afford to lose even one person, because then that’s on you.”

     “i know i just–” you rake a hand through your hair, “i was going to ask you for help anyways… i haven’t been resting much with having to accommodate all the new heroes and such, it’s exhausting.”

   “that’s because you go over and above to do those things, you don’t have to befriend everyone in the army,” a twinge of jealousy is in his voice, sometimes he just wanted you to himself. “your job is keeping them alive, nothing more.”

   quinn hears familiar voices echoing out of the war room. he was grateful that even though this wasn’t his askr, the castle layout was still familiar. he knew it like the back of his hand, as he has fleeting memories of following your big white coat around the castle, tugging at your sleeves. he smiles, puffing his chest up as he puts his face in the cracked door.

   there he sees his parents, so young and full of life. you look healthy, the dark bags under your eyes still there but a bright expression even as you’re being teased by his dad. his dad looks the same as always, his stern expression and light blush etched into his mind like a tattoo. 

   you two seem to pay no mind to him even as he pushes his head more and more through the small hole in the door. his chest swells with anxiety, the friendly bickering between the two so familiar, but he can’t piece together the whole memory.

   “if you’re going to be a creep and spy at least do it well.” soren’s sharp voice cuts through and quinn almost falls forward out of shock. “out with you!” 

   “soren, be nice… it’s a kid!” you tell them to come in, and he tentatively steps forward, hood masking his face as he white knuckles the bouquet of flowers in his hands. “aw, you brought flowers! are those for soren? they’re his favorites!” soren flushes, giving you the evil eye.

   “t-they’re actually for both of you…” he decides now is as good a time as any as he pulls down his hood, revealing his face. you gasp, the kid’s appearance looking uncannily like the goldoan you know so well. he has short choppy green hair, parted in the middle to where you could see his brand on his forehead. his pointy teeth shine as he forces a confident smile. 

   “soren, i didn’t know your family was able to be summoned! why didn’t you tell me earlier?” 

   “…because they’re not able to?” he scoffs, “so this is obviously some bad impostor who’s trying to–”

   “n-no it’s not that at all! please listen to what i have to say!” soren mutters a snide comment that quinn can’t hear before you tell him to explain himself. “i’m your…”

   “out with it already!” you hit soren lightly and tell him to be kind.

   “i’m your son.”


   soren was in denial. 

   as soon as the words left the boy’s lips he was fighting hard back, wanting any sliver of proof he was telling the truth. it was proof enough for you that he had the same brand – if it wasn’t soren’s kid then who’s else could he be? none of his other relatives were in askr. you had seen stranger things since your arrival in askr, so you sit back and let him run out of steam.

   “soren, that’s enough.” you cut off his endless interrogation. oddly enough, the kid doesn’t even seem phased by soren’s cold behavior, instead answering every question honestly. “you can’t deny this forever. this has happened in askr before, remember robin–”

   “yeah but she was married! we’re not… i don’t understand how this could–” for once, he doesn’t have anything smart to say. you beckon quinn over towards you, motioning for him to sit beside you, and he does, his feet hanging off the table as he shyly hands you the flowers. he may look like soren, but he had to have inherited all of your personality. 

   “it’s okay, we can talk about this more tonight,” you eye him up, giving him the stop being mean look. quinn couldn’t have been much older than eight, maybe ten at the most by his young looks. but, if he was a branded, he could be far older than you and you wouldn’t even know it. “right now, let’s just talk this out like rational adults, okay?”

   soren flushes, and lets out a quiet ‘tch’, before you start gently asking quinn more about himself.


   “this is… unbelievable.” soren says, pacing like a maniac back and forth in your room. “it’s just– why me? why us? i’m not… i don’t think i even want kids.” he bites at the skin around his nails, as you roll your eyes, placing the flowers you got in a vase with water. you smile, recognizing them as the same ones soren got for you on valentine’s. 

   “i don’t understand this either, soren, but listen…” quinn’s soft snores echo through your messy room as he lay there curled up on your bed. “this is something we’ll have to get through together.” you walk closer to him, gently cupping his face with your hand. he scowls, cheeks hot but eventually melts into your hand.

   “i’m…” he starts, screwing his eyes shut as if he’s afraid to see your reaction to his words, “i don’t know what to do… what if i…” his voice wavers, but it’s okay, because you know what he fears are. he’s still in the process of opening up to you, and you never wanted him to press himself too far, so instead you just kiss his forehead, right on the brand, before filling in the blanks for him.

   “i’m scared too, i’m just as inexperienced as you are but i think if we can take on armies, then a child shouldn’t be too hard to worry about. besides, we have titania who is basically everyone’s mom to help us.”

   he opens his bright, red eyes, a soft smile on his lips as he says the next words without even thinking:

   “…thank you.”

Chapter 63: breaking. (lif/alfonse x reader)

Chapter Text

   askr’s castle grounds at night are the closest thing that one could get to peace during the time of war. even the most rowdiest of heroes seemed to wind down as the night breeze started to blow in, the stars painting themselves in the sky. you loved the nighttime more than anything; all of your duties were done for the day and you could sit out and marvel at the stars.

   more often than not, though, you would doze off, the hard work of the day finally catching up to you.

   despite usually being a light sleeper (something you weren’t until you came to askr), líf’s footsteps are almost silent as he watches you from afar. the scene before him is familiar, in his world he would always find you asleep after reading against the same tree. 

   when you were alive that is.

   he didn’t mean to come here, he had told himself he wouldn’t come close to this askr’s version of you, and yet as if unconsciously, his feet led him here. perhaps some of his old softness was still there after all, much as he hated to admit it. 

    líf was going to leave, seeing you once made all the feelings he had repressed for so long bubble back up to the surface. but it wasn’t enough, your face was hooded by your cloak, and he longed for the real thing. your soft lips, delicate face, sparkling eyes – now they were just memory, one that slipped farther away with each day. maybe seeing your face yet again could set him back on track to do what he needed to do. for his sister, for his kingdom, for you.

   again, he feels himself moving forward despite everything in him screaming to stop. the closer he gets the more he feels dread well up in his chest. his hand reaches out to your hood and pulls it off your face. líf smiles under his mask, you were so much more beautiful than he remembered. your soft features only made more beautiful by the bright, glowing moon hanging above. 

   he can’t help but brush your face with the pads of his fingers, making sure he doesn’t scratch you with his gloves. you let out a soft exhale, eyes fluttering open at feeling the soft touch from your lover. 

   “…alfonse?” you coo softly, until you realize that it’s not alfonse but líf looking down at you, his cold, red eyes staring at you almost in shock. as soon as he realizes that you’re awake he turns to leave quickly, but before he can, your voice cuts through him. “wait!”

   he shouldn’t have overstepped. he shouldn’t be here. he was being too selfish.

   “líf, please, wait!” again, you beg him to stay. had it been anyone else, he would’ve been gone by now. but your voice stops him in his tracks, and for a second he hesitates. “i-i’ve been meaning to ask you this… are you really alfonse?”

   líf is silent.

   “you don’t have to tell me, i know the answer.” you step closer, and líf steps back on instinct. “might i see for myself?” again, he doesn’t answer. “can i…?” you motion to his mask and he stills, eyes darting away. he knows he shouldn’t be here, but once you put your hands on his cheeks, he’s done for. he nods slowly, letting you take off his mask. there’s no mistaking it once his whole face is in view. it’s alfonse, his face a little more grey and sad-looking, but it was him. you tear up, wondering what could have made the prince this way, you can’t imagine your boyfriend looking as miserable as the man before you did. you set his mask down, hands going to feel his face.

   “i can’t believe it.” you rub your thumbs against his cheeks, his cold skin meeting your warm hands. your touch was addicting, and he wants more, but he is quick to restrain himself. “what happened to you?” 

   “i lost everything,” his rough voice answers, letting you continue to stroke his face. “i lost you.”

   “i can’t imagine what you’ve lost… the pain you had to endure in your world but…” you pull him down to lean your forehead against his, “i’m here for you now. whatever it is you need… i’m here.” lif hesitates for a moment as you throw your arms around him in an embrace, but once your words wash over him he shatters, crumbling into your arms and letting out all the emotion he had held in for so long. he pulls you closer to his cold, glowing body with his strong arms. he needs more of your warmth, craves it – it reminds him so much of his version of you. 

   his forehead rests against yours as he silently sobs, your hand running up along his chest. it was an odd feeling, firm but squishy, and it seemed to suck the warmth out of you. you wonder if he can feel you. after a few quiet moments, líf pulls himself back slowly, this time he leans down to kiss you on the forehead sweetly, eyes closed as he prays silently for the first time in a long time for your safety. 

   “i have to go,” he says abruptly, seeing the light of a torch in the distance. líf knows who it was, because he knows himself. he would always come looking for you. the prince bends down to scoop his mask off the ground, and he attaches it back over his mouth.

   “please, take care of yourself.” you call after him as he turns to leave. 

   “no, you stay alive. for m… for alfonse. i beg of you.” his eyes flit away for a second to the figure in the distance, and then he adds, “i know how much he cares for you, so please.” 

Chapter 64: thorns. (one-sided!dimitri x reader/byleth x edelgard)

Notes:

spoilers from the crimson flower route !!!

Chapter Text

   the rain pours down on the battlefield, chilling you to the bone. conditions are miserable, with some of your most elite soldiers having to retreat in order to lead away the ambush by the beasts that had suddenly appeared on the battlefield. the sword of the creator strikes true even despite the conditions, cutting through anything that happened to be in its path, determined to see dimitri one last time.

   (later, hubert would confide in you that one of those said demonic beasts was actually your old friend dedue. it stung thinking of how loyal he was, up until the bitter end.)

   you hear edelgard’s shouts as she pushes through the fray, following you towards dimitri. her heavy armor makes her sink into the mud, slowing down her pace. ignatz, your adjutant, implored you to wait up for the other troops who had been commanded to go in after the more sturdy units had taken out the first line of defenses. his advice falls on deaf ears, as you continue to cut your way across the battlefield, unbeating heart fluttering when you think of confronting your old friend here.

   this was nothing like facing claude. claude knew when it was time for his final act in fodlan, and surrendered after a rough battle with his alliance forces. he had more cards to play, a birthright in another kingdom that he had been banking on returning to if all failed here. he exited gracefully, promising to return the kindness that was sparing his life with a pained smile and a quick kiss to your knuckles. you knew that wasn’t the last you’d see of claude, no matter what he said.

   dimitri, on the other hand, had nothing else to lose. he had lost his family, his friends, and was on the verge of losing his kingdom, he had no other choice but to fight. either him or edelgard was going to die here, there was no other option. the two siblings were unyieldingly stubborn – el had come too far in her beliefs to give up now and dimitri was playing the last card in his sleeve.

   one last enemy soldier stands between you and dimitri, and ignatz hits him between the eyes before you have the chance to strike. 

   dimitri’s eye meets yours, and you feel frozen in place. white-knuckling the sword of the creator, you take a step up to the last piece of ground he was holding. it was over already, even dimitri seemed to know it. all around him were the sounds of his troops breathed their last.

   “was this what you wanted?” dimitri grits his teeth, “we could’ve carved our own path together, professor.” the way he spits your title stings like no wound could ever. “but you chose the way of a tyrant, how many graves had you had to tread over to get to this point?” 

   “it’s no use dimitri,” you know arguing with him would get you nowhere. “we both have different ideals…” you swallow the lump in your throat, ignatz’s call that edelgard was approaching alerts you that time was running out. “i wish… well, it’s too late now. we will see who’s ideals carry them through today.”

   dimitri strikes first with areadbhar, so strong you lose your footing. his fighting style was so different from the boy you met all those years ago. it’s almost funny, you think, back then you were so close to choosing the blue lions house. had it not been for bernadetta timidly asking if you would pick her class because hanneman scared her, things could’ve turned out so much differently. one simple action had changed the course of history forever.

   every blow from dimitri’s lance is one that is aiming to kill. he pays no attention to any wounds that befall him when you get a stab in, and instead keeps bringing down his lance with all of his might. it’s not until ignatz shoots an arrow into his calf that he slows down any, edelgard finally meeting up with you. 

   she shoots you a bittersweet look, a quick slip of her mask reveals just how conflicted she is emotionally about doing this. but, as she turns back to dimitri, her resolve is back. you had won. 

   this is how the story would end: edelgard was crowned the emperor, and dimitri was crowned a martyr. she steadies aymr right above his neck, but he isn’t looking for pity. even now, he puffs his chest out and meets her eyes, as if challenging her to do it. el doesn’t back down.

   she raises her blade, and you feel dorothea squeeze your shoulder as if she’s imploring you not to look. but you can’t turn away, this was the path you chose to walk. you would have to live with the horrors you had created. the sounds of edelgard and dimitri arguing pulls you out of your head.

   dimitri, left with nothing, not even a lance in his hand, finally looks over at you. you can almost visualize the thorns digging into his head as he musters up his final words. “professor…” he says it gentler this time. you feel an arm around your waist securing you to your spot: whether it was ferdinand’s, or hubert’s, or dorothea’s you didn’t know. “will they stop now… will i finally be free after i–” your heart sinks, he’s talking about his hallucinations. dimitri had come to you in the middle of the night at the monastery more than once after being plagued by them. he seems to gather himself again for his final words to you. “i wanted you to be by my side, always. if… if i am granted another life, let me be with you.”

   aymr cuts through the night, a sickening slicing noise as she beheads the prince, ending the blaidydd bloodline for good. like father like son, the gruesome thought crosses your mind. edelgard lets the rain wash the blood off of aymr, then slowly rallies her troops. 

   you walk back to garreg mach in silence, the only sound being the pouring rain and the sound of the strike force’s footsteps. edelgard’s trembling hand grips onto yours like you’re her lifeline.

   “thank you,” she whispers it so that not even hubert, who was standing on your other side could hear. “for choosing to walk with me. i-i… would rather not imagine what would have became of me if i didn’t. you really have saved me, in more ways than one.” you squeeze her hand tight. 

Chapter 65: a little privacy? (caspar x reader/byleth)

Chapter Text

   “caspar, you really have to pass this class test,” you smack his head lightly with a book. “i may not be your professor anymore but that doesn’t mean i can’t force you to study.” caspar throws his head back exasperatedly, running a hand through his choppy blue hair.

   “aw, c’mon, you know how bad i am at this stuff.” he pouts like a child, “why read books when i can learn everything out in the field. just show me how to put on the armor, i’m sure i’m good enough with axes and gauntlets to pass the physical portion! i did have the best teach after all.” he adds the last part with a smile, trying his best to change your mind.

   you sigh, realizing that this argument wasn’t going to go anywhere. caspar was stubborn to a fault, and unless he saw firsthand how his ideas were wrong, he wasn’t going to accept it. with a sigh, you agree, and lead him to the armory.


   “you almost done?” caspar yells, bouncing on his heels. any normal person would’ve winced at how loud he was being, but you knew by know this was his inside voice. you finish doing the straps on the top of the breastplate, accidentally pulling it too tight and gritting your teeth for a second before readjusting it. 

   “now caspar,” you say in your best teacher voice. caspar whips around, eyes bright as he’s ready to prove himself before taking one look at you. his cheeks flush when he realized how much of you was exposed. your whole thigh was showing, usually you had it covered by tights at least, but seeing it revealed made him feel hot. he lets out a very loud “gwaaah!” before reeling back. you look at him confused.

   “what’s wrong, caspar?” you blink owlishly, walking closer, “are you okay? you look a little red… i thought you wanted me to show you what a war master looked like.”

   “y-yeah i did but i didn’t think–” he trails off, looking in the opposite direction trying his hardest to compose himself. what was wrong with him, he thinks, it wasn’t like him to get distracted by such things like a little extra skin showing. caspar was always oblivious when it came to things of a more… amorous nature, but it seems recently, with you, something had awakened in him. he tried to fight down the urge to pick you up and shower you in kisses. “i didn’t think it’d look like that.”

   “like what?” you frown, looking down at the outfit again. was it not his style? if caspar would wear the grappler’s outfit, he would wear anything, you reckoned. 

   “it’s just…URG!” deciding he’s much better with actions than with words, he closes the distance between you two and wraps his arms around your waist, head buried in the crook of your neck. “you look too cute for your own good… how am i supposed to focus on my class test now?” gently, you tug his hair, hoping he’d look back up at you. he does, grinning goofily at you. 

   you roll your eyes, knowing the lesson had now greatly been derailed from what you intended it to be. caspar puts his lips on yours, and you put a hand on his chest, trying to melt into the roughness that is caspar’s kisses. he pulls back, eyes bright as if expecting praise, and you give it to him in the form of planting soft, loving kisses to his lips, one right after the other. 

   “professor i just came to–” dorothea’s voice stops as she enters the armory, seeing the sight laid before her: caspar holding you close to his chest while you have your hands on his cheeks, quickly pulling your lips off of his when dorothea enters. “–well now, i didn’t mean to interrupt a lover’s tryst. i’ll leave you two alone now.” and with a wink and a giggle, she shuts the door again. caspar doesn’t seem too bothered, he wasn’t one to know shame, but if you had a heartbeat, you bet it would be fluttering wildly right now.

   “well, i guess the armory is not the best place for this kind of stuff, huh professor?” caspar says, the grin never leaving his face. 

   “i guess not,” you huff, arms crossed as you wonder if it would be worth it to chase after dorothea and get her to promise to keep her mouth shut about what she saw. those thoughts are pushed to the side as you look up and see that caspar’s staring at you expectantly. you clear your throat. “now that this lesson is ruined… do you want to go somewhere with a little more privacy?” 

   “aw that sounds nice! say, do you have another lesson plan? you’re always so prepared.” you resist the urge to facepalm at his misunderstandings of your implications, but you suppose it’s part of his charm.

   “yes, caspar, i have a… different type of lecture planned.”

   needless to say, caspar passes his next exam with flying colors.

Chapter 66: reunions. (dimitri x reader/byleth)

Chapter Text

   dimitri sits alongside the many dead soldier’s bodies that riddled garreg mach, leaning against the lance in his hand.

   where did he go wrong? how was he so powerless against edelgard and her army? if only that damned hubert hadn’t been there, he could’ve had her then. all this needless bloodshed that had happened today could have been prevented, the voices in his head could perhaps quiet a little at him finally getting revenge for them. this was all on him.

   “your highness,” dedue’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts, and momentarily he looks up at his friend. “i have heard from seteth that rhea is nowhere to be found, sylvain seems to have suffered a serious injury, but he should be fine, and…” dedue trails off, eyes closing as if to steel him for what he was about to say next. dimitri feels a swell of fear rise in his chest, dedue was never one to hesitate to tell him something, no matter how bleak.

   “out with it.” his voice is cold, commanding as he tries to suppress the anxiety that he feels threatening to paralyze him.

   “the professor… is missing.” dimitri’s eyes widen in shock, snapping his lance in half the moment the words leave his mouth. no, it can’t be true. it can’t be. they wouldn’t leave him all alone. they promised. “seteth and some of the other students are out looking for them under the rubble right now.” 

   if they were under the rubble, that could only mean…

   like a man possessed, he gets up and walks over to join the search party. dedue is in tow, intent on helping dimitri with his search. for hours, he tears at the rubble, casting it aside with his hands until his gloves wear away. nothing, nothing, no sign of his professor. the sun sets and mercedes implores him that he needs rest, that she and ashe can take care of looking for their dear professor at night, and then he could resume again in the morning. 

   dimitri snaps at her, feeling sick as he looks down at his hands, bleeding and raw from casting all the rubble aside. it stung, but that pain hardly registered to him when someone he loved so ardently was missing. 


   dimitri didn’t stop looking for you until he physically collapsed after a two and a half days of nonstop searching. he had scars on his hands that would never heal from where the rubble of the cathedral had cut into his palms. 

   the night he was brought to the infirmary he dreamt about you, that soft smile that you showed him on rare occasions distorting into a sickening grin as you taunted him, calling him a failure, a coward for not being able to save you. when he awoke he went back to searching, despite manuela’s insistence that he need rest.

   he didn’t give up the search until weeks later, when he could no longer ignore the voices of the dead ringing in his head. dimitri forces his grief down, choking back a sob that he wouldn’t let out until he was alone with his thoughts. he added you to the list of names he needed to appease by bringing you edelgard’s head.


   five years had passed. the sunlight casts a light across your face as you tread quietly up the cathedral stairs, the eerie silence (except for the silent click of your heels on the stone steps) did nothing to lessen your anxiety. around you lay countless bodies, each strewn about the steps almost as if they were a warning to anyone who might try to intrude. it smells sickeningly sweet, the corpses left there had been sitting for god knows how long.

   you feared for the state dimitri was in. some fates were crueler than death, and the memory of how dimitri was before you fell asleep only frightened you more. what had happened to him in the five years you had been gone?

   your answer comes when you see him sitting in the darkness, leaning against his lance as he stares ahead blankly. the clicking of your heels alerts him, and his face rises to meet yours, sunlight casting across his face. he winces at its brightness.

   his breath hitches in his throat, he had heard your voice before, but a full body apparition seemed too cruel. he stilled, waiting for you to start cutting him with those harsh words of yours. dimitri can’t remember what your praises sound like. it didn’t matter, he didn’t deserve them anyways.

   instead, you reach out to him. he can only look at you for a moment, the sunlight reflecting off of what it seemed was your entire being blinding him. dimitri tries to slink back in the darkness.

   for a moment, you reminisce on a time before you fell asleep. it had been the first time you got close to the prince. you had just lost your father, and you had holed yourself up in your room. the prince had felt your pain, knowing how it felt to lose family as he did, and he didn’t want you stewing in your grief. perhaps it was hypocritical of him to think such a way but the thought of you crying alone in your room shattered him. he invited himself in, where he saw you sitting with your knees tucked into your chest, expression blank as you stared ahead at the wall. dimitri frowned, extending his hand to you.

   “come now professor, you shouldn’t bear the weight of grief all by yourself.” his voice is soft, coaxing almost as he sees your gaze shift to him, eyes red and puffy from crying. “i’m here now, if… you need anything i will do my best to help you. even if it’s just to lend an ear. or a shoulder to cry on.” his smile is genuine, the moonlight reflecting off his blonde hair like a halo. you reach for his hand.

   the memory fades away and suddenly all you see is the ghost of the boy you knew long ago. you ache at the thought of him being alone for the years you were gone. he doesn’t take your hand, instead scoffing bitterly as if you were mocking him.

   his swallows the lump in his throat, “i should’ve known that one day you would be haunting me as well.” 

Chapter 67: weaknesses. (jeritza x reader/byleth)

Chapter Text

   “professor jeritza!” you call, almost tripping over your own feet to get to him. he lets out a groan of annoyance, not slowing down his pace in the slightest as you come running after him. “wait, please, i was wondering–”

   “what it is you want?” his annoyed gaze meets yours as you run in front of him, barely out of breath from having to sprint across camp. you can thank your morning runs with caspar and leonie for that. “if it’s not to spar me… leave me be.” 

   “ah, we’ve sparred already today though,” you cross your arms, “do you want to join me for tea?”

   “no.” he says plainly, and ducks past you and continues walking. you huff, the ritual by now being clear. you’d been trying to befriend jeritza since you arrived at the monastery, but each one of your advances was shrugged off forcefully by his words. you two sparred quite often, him only exchanging words after the battle, taunting you if he won and challenging you to a rematch if he lost. he seemed to have an uncanny amount of stamina, and you were so sore by the time your sparring sessions ended.

   afterwards, you would always try to take him to tea, to which he would always decline. you thought that if you stuck around him enough he’d warm up to you, but he seemed impossible to crack. you would often just sit with him in his room and help him polish weapons, talking at him until you both were finished and he would tell you to leave. he would never answer your questions, comment on your stories, or laugh at your jokes. it was like talking to a scarecrow, only a scarecrow wouldn’t send you piercing glares and bark at you if you were handling a weapon too roughly. he seemed to care more about the spears than he did about you. 

   it was discouraging, but jeralt didn’t raise no quitter. 

   “i hear it’s your birthday, professor jeritza.” silence. just what you expected from him, so you continue. “well… me and sylvain made an outing to gautier territory and they entrusted me with a special lance.” he doesn’t slow his pace, “i know you’ve always wanted to use a hero’s relic, haven’t you?” jeritza whips around, his long hair falling over his shoulder.

   “where is it? may i see it…?” he sounds bored as per usual, but you swear you see a spark in his eye.

   “weeellll… i was hoping you would come to tea with me. and then i’ll let you take it for a test run.” jeritza looks annoyed yet again, tapping his foot as he looks away from you.

   “…fine.” he says nothing after that, and continues walking towards the garden where you always have tea. you almost fist pump in excitement. 


   you pour him a steaming cup of lavender tea (you had guessed at what his favorite would be – judging by his reaction, he seemed to like it), and he sits across from you with his arms folded. he hardly passes you a glance, until you start speaking up.

   “so… professor, how are your students doing? i know felix really loves your class, how do you get him to pay attention?” jeritza sips his tea, facing sideways in his chair so he doesn’t have to look at you. “well… i guess it’s easy because he loves sparring so much… wish i could spar more with my class… hm, maybe i’ll do it next week.”

   he thought it annoying that you would pester him so, you were like a puppy constantly nipping at his heels. it was a familiar annoyance, and though he hated the thought of getting close to someone in any way, it was something that at least made life a little interesting. everything was so dull to him besides the rush of battle, until you came into his life. 

   jeritza hardly realizes you’ve been talking the whole time until he snaps out of his thoughts. you’re leaning on one hand, having a one-sided conversation with him. he chuckles quietly, setting his teacup down.

   “you– did you just laugh?” you stare at him, wide-eyed. did he? he wasn’t sure himself. he hadn’t laughed in so long… since last he saw his sister, probably. no, this couldn’t happen. he couldn’t allow you to grow on him, he’d indulged you too much. he had work to do. jeritza rises from his seat.

   “you said you had the lance of ruin. i believe you promised it to me.” still enamored with the laugh you had gotten out of him earlier, you shake your head.

   “oh, right, of course,” you say, clearing your throat. “sorry… your laugh was just really unexpected. and cute! er, should i say manly,” you were ranting, and wanted to take back all the words you had just said. “whatever. i think you should laugh more often professor. i want you to be happy.” he didn’t expect those words from you, he hated how kind you were. it made his blood boil more with each smile and laugh you gave him, every kind word of encouragement. 

   why did you make things so difficult. if you were just mean to him then maybe–

   “…the lance, professor. meet me in the village nearby. bandits there.” jeritza then takes his leave, going to prepare for battle. 

   you smile to yourself, maybe you’d finally made a dent in his armor. maybe it would take years, but one day you’d crack him open. you just hoped you would be allowed that much time with him.

Chapter 68: failure. (dimitri x reader/byleth)

Notes:

angst warning weeewoooo !!!

Chapter Text

   he sees the light leave your eyes as he cradles you in his arms, dead before he could even say his last words to you. before he could hear you one last time. 

   he was a failure. he had sworn to protect you and yet here you were. dead. dead. dead. those worse rang in his head, as if the voices of his dead friends and family were mocking him, reveling in the fact that he had failed yet again.

    ice prickles in his veins, as he feels the familiar sense of tunnel vision return, a blind hatred for anyone and everyone on the battlefield. he didn’t even see who had killed you, who he needed to set his sights for revenge on, it didn’t matter. he was the judge, jury, and executioner for this case – and the only way to get true justice was to stain the battlefield red with the blood of everyone who had took you from him.

   and then, he hoped far more than anything, that he would fall as well, so he wouldn’t have to live with the anguish of hearing your soft voice in his head: the quiet whispers of affection that you would repeat to him over and over as you comforted him from one of his nightmares would slowly be replaced by your voice calling him a coward, a failure, a monster. he knows he couldn’t live with that. 

   as if a man possessed, he raises his lance and starts killing, one by one, friend or foe he didn’t know. didn’t care to know. he hears his friend’s voices call out to him but it doesn’t reach him, they sound muffled, as if underwater. even when someone sticks a lance through him he doesn’t stop, he keeps staggering forward. he had to avenge you.

   when he runs out of energy to propel him forward, he simply falls to the ground, face down in the mud. how embarrassing for a prince to fall like this, disgraced after losing everyone he loved, he hears one of their voices say (whether it was rodrigue, or glenn, or his father he didn’t know. didn’t want to think about it).

   just as starts to see everything go black, he sees a hand reach out to him. the small, warm hand that fit so perfectly in his, that pulled him back into reality more times than he could count. he feels a smile tug at his lips, as he reaches out for it with the last of his strength.

Chapter 69: broken promises. (sylvain x reader/byleth)

Notes:

me, seeing chapter 69: haha nice
me, realizing its sylvain: HAHA NICE
me, realizing its super angst: haha......................n-nice

Chapter Text

   sylvain heard your screams from across the battlefield. he could feel deep in his gut that something was wrong, horribly wrong, and he turns his horse around and speeds on over to you. he had to protect you, just like he promised he would.

   when he reaches the small clearing he sees felix holding something on the ground, countless enemies lying dead around him. the feeling of dread grows worse still, and when he lays his eyes on you he almost faints.

   blood. there was so much blood.

   willing himself forward, it seems felix notices, and advises him to stay back, his hands glowing as he uses the little healing magic he knew to try and do something, anything to save your life. sylvain kneels beside you, ignoring felix’s shouts and cradles you in his arms. you looked so small, felt so limp that it sickened him. 

   “f-felix are they… are they gonna be okay?” sylvain doesn’t know what to do, his mind and heart are racing at a million miles an hour. felix’s face, for once, shows much too emotion for sylvain’s liking. it scares him even more.

   “shut up and let me work!” he looks scared, using every last bit of his magic to heal you, but the bleeding doesn’t stop. felix curses, loudly, “stay here and… and i’ll go get mercedes and marianne…”. he runs off, disappearing into the hazy battlefield but sylvain is focused only on you. your eyes flutter open, just a bit, and lock eyes with sylvain. 

   “you… came,” a weak smile, but it’s one sylvain latches onto, if you were smiling, surely that would mean you would be okay. 

   right?

   “ah, of course i did.” his voice is weak as he takes off his old academy jacket and tries to find the main source of your bleeding. he curses himself, why didn’t he just pay attention to you when you tried to teach him healing spells? what he wouldn’t give to go back to that time with you. “i’m your knight remember, i have to… i have to protect you.” he forces himself to stay more confident than he feels.

   hot, summer days with him sat on your office desk as he tries desperately to grab your attention. you would always shake off his advances, steering the conversation towards him. you had a way of cracking him open, getting to his real insecurities and accepting him in spite of them all – even when he had threatened to kill you (he said he was joking but even he didn’t know if that was a lie or not). sylvain never knew what to think of you, until you went missing for five years. 

   he had never ached like he did all those years, looking for you every spare moment he had. there was a hole in his heart you had left that he had thought would be there forever, until you came back. sylvain had never smiled as big as he did the first time he arrived back at the monastery and saw that familiar face on the battlefield. covered in mud and dirt, but beaming at him and throwing yourself into his arms, you were just as beautiful as he remembered.

   and now that he had you back, you were leaving him again. your head lulled against his chest weakly, and he choked back a sob.

   “hey… stay awake for me, darling. mercedes is almost here and she’s gonna fix you up.” his vision of you blurs, and he realizes it’s because tears are welling up in his eyes. “i promised i’d take you on a picnic after the battle, remember? i was gonna make all your favorite foods… i’ll just have to take the picnic to the infirmary now but… any place with you is good.” he unconsciously grips your hand tighter, as if the connection to you would keep you from slipping away from him. “please, please, hold on. please.”

   “sylvain.” you say quietly, your watery smile fading as you lean against him more. “sylvain, i love you. i’m sorry.” 

   “i love you too,” he always had trouble saying those words to others, but for you they flowed out so naturally. because he did love you. “i love you, so stay… stay with me please.” over and over he repeats these words to you, even when your eyes close and he feels you still against him, he just holds you tighter and rocks you back and forth in his arms.

   “i’m sorry… i’m sorry… i’m sorry i couldn’t protect you,” he sobs, felix and mercedes having arrived when it’s already far too late.

Chapter 70: moonlight. (claude x reader)

Chapter Text

   “claude i knew we shouldn’t have–” claude peeks around the corner, his arm extended in front of you as to signal you to keep still. the heavy footsteps of the castle guards grow ever louder, and slowly, claude backs you both back into the classroom. 

   “you’ll have enough time to chew me out later.” he whispers, slowly closing the door just enough for the both of you to fit behind it. you should’ve known better than to get wrapped up in one of claude’s schemes, especially one that involved “borrowing” dimitri’s spear from the armory at night, when being out of the dorms was strictly off-limits. when you brought up these worries to claude, he just threw you his signature smirk and said that “nothing is off-limits if they don’t catch us”. 

   you should’ve listened, you’d seen how terrifying lady rhea was towards people who disobeyed rules with your own eyes. unfortunately, you were too in love with claude to let him get chewed out alone, so you acquiesced (after many, many promises of him making you tea to pay you back).

   with each clank of the guard’s armor, you can feel your heart speed up. claude can sense your anxiety, and grabs your hand – both to calm you down and to make sure he didn’t leave you if he needed to bolt. but, instead of stopping outside your door, you hear chattering, and then they move on. letting out a sigh of relief, you grip his hand tighter, bringing it to your chest.

   “see? told you we’d be just fine.” his voice is right by your ear, and you jump at the closeness of him to you. 

   “i still have to get back to my room,” your voice is still low, despite there being little apparent danger, “which is across the camp.” you hear him laugh quietly, pulling you into his chest. 

   “you can always stay in my room, you know.” he leans down so that his cheek is touching yours. you can feel his heartbeat against your back.

   “that’d be indecent, claude, and you know it.” your cheeks are flushed at all of claude’s teasing. “can you imagine if hilda found out? she’d tell the whole camp and we’d–”

   “you worry too much…” you can see his eyes from the moonlight that creeps in through the half-open door: half-lidded and wanting

   claude lets go of you and pushes the door, the room becoming suddenly dark except for the small amount of moonlight that sneaks through the cracks. he backs you against the wall, his hand running through your hair. he’s so glad for being an archer, it made his vision so much better, to where he could almost make you out in the dark.

   “can i?” he asks gently, his hand moving to your jawline as he moves his thumb gently over your bottom lip. he knows the answer but asks anyways. your eyes dilate when you look back up at him, your body shifting to lean into his touch, you wanted him to kiss you. he could read you like a book, at this point.

   or at least he thought he could. he certainly didn’t expect you to pull him down by the lapels, bringing him into a passionate kiss.

   he makes a surprised noise against your lips, and you pull back, laughing as he wraps his arms around your waist.

   “claude didn’t we have a mission?” you ask, breathless, in-between him peppering you with kisses. “dimitri’s spear is right there, you know.”

   “mmm don’t mention him when i’m kissin’ you, babe.” he lightly pushes you back against the wall, one arm now resting on the wall above your head and the other at your waist. “ruins the mood.” he pulls you flush against him, kissing you deeper and you can feel him start to get antsy. his hand at your waist moves up your side, lips moving against yours feverishly. you bury your hands in his hair, mussing up his messy curls. 

   “and you know what ruins my mood,” a familiar, sing-song voice interrupts, and you push claude off of you on instinct. however, his arm around your waist remains. “having to deal with brats when i’m supposed to be on a date.”

   “p-professor manuela i’m–” you start, but claude cuts you off.

   “professor manuela we are so sorry. we haven’t had much time to go on dates since we’ve been studying so much, so we thought we’d sneak out at night and have some alone time.” your cheeks fluster at the implication, and it takes everything in you not to protest.

   “…i see.” she doesn’t appear to have bought his excuse, “well, giving you proper punishment would cut more into my time, so i’ll let you two off with a warning. if i catch you again, it won’t be pretty. understand?”

   “yes ma’am, thank you so much professor.” claude bows, and tugs you along. manuela appears to be inspecting you both, and turns to face the two of you as you stride towards the exit.

   “and [name], make sure you wipe off claude’s lipstick.” she says with a bemused smile, “wouldn’t want people talking.” mortified, you nod, and continue walking towards your dorms. 

   once out of earshot of manuela, you turn to claude:

   “i am never helping you ever again. ever! i mean it this time.”

   “hey, you were the one who kissed m– hey cut it out– OW!”

Chapter 71: make me feel. (jeritza x reader/byleth)

Chapter Text

   “yield!” the ghost of a smile graces your face as the training sword meets the bottom of his chin. jeritza looks up at you, an unreadable expression on his features, jaw tense as he sucks in a breath. for a moment, his eyes leave yours as he scans the battlefield, no doubt looking for anything to be used as a distraction, so you push the blade forward, applying enough pressure for him to realize that there was no escape now. 

   “…i yield.” his surrender makes you giddy, though the emotion doesn’t quite reach your face, and you extend a hand to help him up. he takes it, and you pull him up, his body almost a head taller than yours. 

   “you did well,” you praise him, and he shakes his head, still unused to such praise by anyone. “almost had me a few times.” neither one of you has stepped back, the closeness almost natural, his hand gripping yours tightly. 

   “but you bested me,” you hear the door of the training hall close and realize that caspar and petra must’ve left, the silence of their absence almost deafening as you look up and see how intently he’s looking at you. you step away, and he unclasps your hands, not wanting to overstep. 

   “that i did! but don’t count yourself out, you’ve bested me a few times.” you test out a wink, something you had picked up from hanging around dorothea. jeritza flushes, and turns his gaze downward. “oh, emile, did you want to come to dinner with me? i heard they were serving–”

   “what did you call me?” his voice sounds cold as he cuts off your sentence. you blink owlishly at him.

   “i’m sorry i didn’t mean to–”

   “no,” he steps closer to you, arms pulling you into his chest, one hand on your cheek. jeritza is looking up and down your face desperately, looking for any spark in your eyes that would hint to him that you wanted him to continue. his cold, calloused hands send a shiver down your spine, and that’s all he needs to close the distance between you two, lips meeting yours desperately, pulling you tight against his body with one hand, the other still clutching your face.

   teeth mesh against teeth awkwardly, his nose bumping against yours but jeritza doesn’t care. you could have him bleeding out on the floor, his heart cut out in your hands and he’s sure he would be fine with it. he just wanted you, you, more and more of you. he pulls back for air, missing the feeling of you on him already, but the need to hear you say his name again overwhelmed him. he’s sure he’s never wanted something so much in his life.

   “…say it again?” you look confused, but decide not to question it. 

   “emile,” you whisper, and he pulls you in again, more desperate, his hands grasping your thin summer outfit tight, you can feel his heart thump in his chest as his tongue dips into your mouth, tasting you, finding you to be sweeter than the richest ice cream. he gasps quietly when you push back, biting his bottom lip as you pull his hair out of its ponytail and watch his hair fall down and frame the sharp angles of his face. 

   “again,” he moans against your lips, letting you press him lightly against the wall. his pupils are blown wide, a hungry look on his face as the intense, open-mouthed kisses continue to be pressed against his lips. 

   “emile.” breathy and sultry and it goes straight to his head. you tug sharply on his hair and he shivers. “emile, i–” 

   the doors to the training hall creak open, and you pull back, jeritza’s arms still circled around your waist, preventing you from going too far out of his grip. hubert strides in, then, upon noticing you two, a grin grows upon his face. suddenly feeling self-conscious, you straighten your white blouse, tucking it back into your skirt/pants. jeritza just glowers at hubert, not bothering to hide the evidence that you two had been kissing. his swollen and bruised lips would be enough evidence anyways.

   “nice shade of lipstick.” hubert comments, solely to try and annoy jeritza. “her majesty requests your presence, professor. please do make yourself look… less shameless before meeting her in the audience chamber.” your cheeks feel hot, nodding at hubert before he gives you both a look up and down, before turning and leaving. 

   “duty calls…” you trail off sheepishly, not knowing how to address the passion shared only moments ago. for a beat, you’re tempted to rewind time just to feel his lips on yours again, but you’re not that selfish. “emile, i’ll meet you at dinner tonight, yeah?” jeritza nods, and you place a kiss on his cheek, his body still trying to process the electrifying sensation of your lips on his.

   “thank you,” he whispers as he watches you walk to the door, sparing him a parting smile before heading out. jeritza touches his lips, his heart thumping as butterflies well up in his chest.

   he’s never felt so alive.

Chapter 72: distractions. (seteth x reader/byleth)

Notes:

this one is uhhh a lil bit spicy !!! just a warning lol

Chapter Text

   “come back to sleep!” you whine, large comforter draped over your shoulder as your feet cross the cold stone floor over to seteth’s desk. “you promised me you would stay the night.” seteth exhales through his nose, reading glasses slipping down his face as he turns his head to look at you. he almost acquiesces then and there upon seeing an adorable pout on your normally stoic face.

   “i apologize, dearest, but i forgot that i had some paperwork to finish up,” he turns back to his desk, and you pull the blanket tighter around your shoulders. “now, go back to sleep, i shall join you before the sun rises.” your scowl deepens at his words, you knew that this meant he would come to wake you for your archbishop duties, not to come in and cuddle with you. 

   well, if words wouldn’t persuade him then surely actions would.

   slinking over to him, you lean over his chair, your hands wrapping around his neck, the side of your face pressing against his own. you feel him tense up under you, obviously not expecting you to do something like this. seteth straightens back up in his seat, you can feel his cheeks heat up as you lean against him.

   “dearest…” his voice takes a warning tone, as if asking you not to tease. 

   “what?” you play innocent, wide eyes looking down to the papers on his desk. “if you won’t come sleep with me, then i will just have to cuddle you here.”

   “that’s not–!” from the corner of your eye you can see that his cheeks are even brighter pink. he clears his throat, “stop being petulant and go to bed. you have a big day tomorrow.”

   “you say that about every day,” you mutter under your breath. seteth, as close as he is to you, hears, and decides that it is as great a time as ever to lecture you about the work that needs to be done.

   “as the archbishop it is your sacred duty to uphold the new traditions of the church, every day is a “big day” because we are working to repair the continent.” you roll your eyes, wishing he didn’t have to take everything so seriously. if you had a gold piece for every time seteth had lectured you on about the role of the archbishop, you’d have enough to buy the entire island of brigid. 

   tuning seteth’s rambling out, you move your head up off his shoulder. the tip of his ear peaks out from behind his hair and the gears in your head start turning. you remembered that he had mentioned once not to touch them because of how sensitive they were – something that was unique to nabateans, you supposed, and it seemed now was as good a time as ever to test that out. with a curious gaze, you slide your hands up and off his chest, and use one to move his hair behind his ear. whatever seteth was saying before suddenly was silenced when you brush your lips over the side of it.

   “dearest, now is not the time to–” your breath fans against the shell of his ear, the tips of which are now as red as sylvain’s hair. 

   “oh? do you not like this?” your voice takes on a teasing lilt as you give it an experimental nibble. seteth’s body goes stock still, the quill in his hand snapping in half as he tries with all his power to resist your advances. you hear his prayer in your head, and you let out a laugh. this time, you’re more bold, giving the back of his neck a quick kiss before licking a stripe up the shell of his ear.

   so this was what it takes to get him to break, you muse as you continue to nibble on it lightly. you can almost hear his willpower shriveling into nothing as his protests grow silent. 

   “please, dearest, i–” he mewls as you kiss the point of his ear, giggling as you do so. “if you continue i can’t–” you hum, about to teasingly ask him what would happen if you continued, but looking down at his lap you know just what he was about to say. his tight, black leisure pants do nothing to keep his arousal from being seen. a wicked sense of pride grows in your chest as you realize how little you’ve done to him to make him want you this much. 

   you kiss down his ear, and he lets out another low moan. “it’s time for bed now, isn’t it, love?” seteth nods, not trusting himself to speak, and instead stands up on shaky legs, you leading him by the hand upstairs to the archbishop’s chamber. how fun it was to distract your husband.

Chapter 73: betrayal. (claude x reader/byleth)

Chapter Text

   his grip on his bow tightens as he hears your voice rally your troops. so you were alive after all, it wasn’t just misinformation spread by edelgard’s army to instill fear in the remaining lords of the alliance. claude curses under his breath, why were you with her? you had been by his side all throughout the academy, entrusting you with so much of himself, secrets that not even nader or judith had been privy to. and here you were, trampling all over the promise you had made at the goddess tower that night so many years ago. how did he not see this coming? why did he trust you so easily? he feared his paranoia would increase tenfold after today.

   he had prepared for so many scenarios, but all the plans he had made suddenly fell to ash as the sword of the creator fells enemy after enemy, only pulling its blows when your eyes lock with one of your former students. it seemed you still had a soft spot for them after all. the gears in his mind turn faster than his racing heart, if you still were going easy on them then surely–

   it was a long shot, but then again what plans of his weren’t. he had exhausted all of the cards in his sleeve, if he didn’t sway you here then everything he had worked for would be for naught. 

   “teach!” he yells, circling you on his wyvern. you easily dodge an arrow he meant as a warning shot. despite you choosing edelgard over him, he didn’t want to hurt you. that was his last plan he had tucked into the back of his mind, if it came to it he would, but he knew he was really no match for you. “what happened to our promise? why did you side with edelgard?”

   his words seem to cut to your heart. truly, you wished nothing more than to have him at your side, but you knew claude well enough by now. he would never abolish the church like you wished to do with edelgard. claude’s ambitions, though similar enough to edelgard’s weren’t drastic enough. 

   “i’ve made up my mind, claude.” you say, voice firm, commanding. you raise your sword up as if to warn him to back off. “i… i wish you could be at my side, but… edelgard is right.” 

   “well… if i can’t talk you out of it, i guess i’ll just have to show you what you’ve been missing, my friend” he flashes a fake, cheeky smile, his honeyed voice spitting venom as he says the old pet name he had for you. “[name], you’ll see the errors of your ways.”

Chapter 74: burn. (sylvain x reader/byleth)

Chapter Text

   all the love sylvain once had carried for you turned to blind hatred the minute he saw you fighting side-by-side with edelgard, the two of you bantering almost as if you were lovers. it sickened him as he thought of how many days he spent waiting for your return, that maybe, just maybe something in his life would go right for once. it was as if the goddess herself decided to mock him by taking what was just within his reach and pulling it away from him last second.

   sylvain grips the lance of ruin tighter, the rain on the battlefield chilling him to the bone. he knew he was going to die here, or at least he hoped he did, but if he was going down, then so were you. if he couldn’t live with you, then you would both burn in the flames together. 

   he locks eyes on you, and you seem to freeze under his stare. for a moment, he thinks he spots guilt in your eyes, and he has to force back a laugh. here you were, fighting beside the same woman who murdered his friends and family, and you dare look at him that way? 

   “funny meeting you here, after years of me waiting for you to come back.” sylvain doesn’t even try to hide his malice, “do you know how many nights i searched? how many times i prayed and begged the goddess to bring you back to me?” you can’t meet his eyes, your sword hanging limply at your side. “but you knew that didn’t you?… and yet…” he swallows the lump in his throat. truthfully, he wished nothing more to rush to your side, embrace you affectionately, cry and scream his frustrations at you, tell you how fractured the blue lions were without your leadership, but he can’t. he couldn’t, he had convinced himself that he hated you by now. (so much so that he almost believed it himself).

   “sylvain, i’m sorry, i could say it so many times and it still wouldn’t be enough to express what i feel.” the sword glows in your hand, “but i can’t go back now. my path is chosen.”

   “your words mean nothing to me anymore,” he bites, “your path ends here.”

Chapter 75: expectations. (mercedes x reader/byleth)

Chapter Text

  dimitri had lead them all to gronder field, the few who still followed the boar prince stationed at his side as he fought recklessly to kill edelgard. they didn’t account for the alliance army to also be there, a fact dimitri seemed to pay no mind to as he staggered across the field after edelgard’s head. mercedes was asked to follow him and heal him if need be, escorted by dedue, who was making sure no harm could befall his highness.

   she couldn’t help but wonder if this was it. if she was going to die on the battlefield following her old friend who had lost himself in grief. last night, she had sent up extra prayers to the goddess, praying to keep everyone safe but she couldn’t help the pit of anxiety that grew in her gut, telling her that something awful was going to happen today.

   mercedes doesn’t notice you until claude drops you from the back of his wyvern, setting you on the ground in front of dimitri, sword of the creator meeting areadbhar with a sickening crunching noise as bone meets bone. she covers her mouth in shock, why were you here, fighting beside claude instead of beside her, no, dimitri? you were the blue lions’s teacher, you had promised to meet up with them on that fated day, but you never came. mercedes took that sign to mean you were dead, but seeing you now showed that you were in fact very much alive. even now, you looked as if you hadn’t aged a day – just as beautiful as she remembers you being, all those years ago. 

   she shakes her head, breaking out of her daydream as she hears dedue yelling for dimitri to retreat. reluctantly, he grits his teeth, shouting curses at the man as manuela warps him off the battlefield. dedue thanks her, before readying his axe to take on edelgard in his majesty’s stead. you don’t engage dedue, instead felling a few of the empire soldiers that start to encroach on your ground. like a moth to the flame, mercedes uses her magic to cut through the battlefield to you. once at your side, she smiles softly, holding her stave up to heal the small cuts on your body. 

   she realizes she could never resent you.

   “mercedes, i–” she holds up a hand, not needing to hear your explanations. 

   “it’s okay, professor, i understand.” you both just had a different worldview, and that was okay. “no need to say anything. i’m just glad you’re okay.”

   “thank you…” you trail off quietly, the world stilling for a few moments as you look at your old crush. “you could always join us, you know.” your gaze is soft as it falls upon the older woman. “dimitri is… not in the best place, we want to end this war through peace. you’d fit right in.”

   mercedes shakes her head: “someone has to watch over the others. dimitri, felix, sylvain, annie… everyone is so broken, they need someone like me to help hold them together.” same old mercie, you realize, always putting what others wanted before herself. 

   “and after the war? once this is over we could–” annette calls for her, and time seems to unfreeze, and the horrors of the battlefield around you seem to sink in once again.

   “once this is over, we will see.” she says, turning to go find her friend, “i just don’t want to get my hopes up again.”