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The evening air was cool and thick with the promise of rain, but Hector hardly noticed. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he hefted the last of their cargo onto the convoy, where a nervous Merlinus was stuttering his thanks. It had been this way for the past few days; he told anyone who'd asked that he was taking on double his share of work so that Eliwood could rest, in light of recent events, but the reality was that keeping busy with physical labor was the only thing that put his mind at ease.
They were swiftly nearing Ostia's border and Hector's apprehension at meeting with his brother was growing by the day. He was known to disappear with little to no warning, but this latest excursion had taken things to an all new level. He could only imagine the cross words Uther would have for him. He had to mind his image and think of his country, and so on and so forth. It was a lecture he'd heard many times before, but it wasn't the scolding he dreaded. Though he'd never admit it, he hated feeling as though Uther was disappointed in him.
Regardless of his motives, Hector had worked until the sun was far below the horizon, quartering firewood and hauling equipment and ensuring that they were ready to depart early the next morning, and most of the troops had long since retired to bed by the time he finished up and sought out the tent he and Eliwood shared.
When he entered, Eliwood was seated facing away from him, his figure a soft silhouette in the low light cast by the lamp that burned near the center of the room. His sword lay across his lap and he appeared to be trying to clean it, but his movements were slow and inefficient. His mind was clearly elsewhere.
"So," Hector said to make his presence known, letting the tent flap fall closed behind him, "Ninian, eh?"
Eliwood startled and turned to look at him sharply. "Is it that obvious?"
Hector merely shrugged and busied himself with removing his armor. The two of them were far too close for Hector not to have suspected something. He was too aware of his friend's mannerisms and perhaps too observant for his own good. There was no mistaking the fondness in Eliwood's eyes or the gentle tone that crept into his voice when he addressed her.
"I never could keep a secret from you. You always seem to know just what I'm thinking."
"What else are friends for?" Hector grunted, yanking a boot free and letting it drop to the floor. "Besides, it's not as though you're the only one entranced by her." A wolfish smile split his features. "You should hear the way the men speak of her around the fire."
"Oh, don't be crass."
The admonishment was a common exchange between them, but Hector knew he'd struck an unfair blow. Eliwood turned his back to him once more, shoulders heaving in a sigh.
"It's not just that she's beautiful or a talented performer. I've really grown quite fond of her." Eliwood's voice was low and smooth, and Hector's throat felt suddenly dry. "I think I may even be in love with her."
Swallowing an emotion that he dared not put a name to, Hector belted out a laugh. "You hero types are all the same! Falling fast for any fine maiden in need of your help—hopeless romantics, the lot of you."
Eliwood didn't seem to find humor in that.
Hector frowned. Tact had never been a strength of his; anyone who'd met him for even a brief time knew this to be true. "It's just—you're so young, Eliwood. What could you hope to know of love?"
Eliwood whirled on him then, lamplight casting deep shadows on his face. "You are scarcely two months my senior, Hector. You think you're in a place to lecture me about romance and women, as though you've more experience?"
Hector's ears burned but, for once, he let such fighting words go unchallenged. "You've been through a lot recently," he said simply. "I don't want anything else to hurt you."
Silence hung in the air between them as his words sunk in.
"Oh, Hector." Eliwood's anger melted away, just as it always did. "You don't have to worry about me."
He was wrong, of course. Hector had every right to be worried. If he knew anything at all about love, it was that it could be just as painful as it was sweet.
"Someone has to look after you and until you get your head out of the clouds, lover boy, it seems like that job falls to me." Hector reclined on his bedroll with one arm folded behind his head.
"That should be quite a change of pace."
"What do you mean?"
"You, looking after me?"
"I do that all the time!"
"Oh, like the time you set fire to my father's favorite tapestry? Or the time you convinced me to let loose all the horses from that innkeeper's stable?" Despite his harsh words, Eliwood was grinning. "If not for me and your brother, there's no telling what sort of trouble you'd get into."
"Look, I never said I was the responsible one." There was a stubborn set to Hector's jaw. "I look out for you, that's all."
"If you say so."
Hector's pride was more than a little wounded, but he doubted his ability to get his point across any more clearly and, reluctantly, he let the subject drop.
Neither of them spoke for a while and Eliwood returned to tending his weapon, properly this time. The quiet buffing was a pleasant white noise that filled the space between them.
Just when Eliwood was sure that Hector must have drifted off to sleep, he spoke.
"I apologize for laughing at you earlier. That was... insensitive." Hector's brows were furrowed with the effort of choosing his words. "You have a heart that is loyal and true, and the lady you choose to give it to should consider herself lucky."
Eliwood smiled earnestly and openly, in typical Eliwood fashion, his eyes crinkling ever so slightly with the gesture. "Thank you, Hector. That means more than you know."
"Yeah, well..." Hector had to look away as embarrassment set in. He could only stand to feel so vulnerable, even with Eliwood as his only witness. "I wouldn't say that sort of thing to just anyone, so don't go telling the whole camp I've gone soft or anything."
"Don't worry," Eliwood murmured, chest blossoming with sympathetic warmth as he watched his friend roll over and withdraw into himself, as he so often did. "I won't."