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In the immediate aftermath of the attack, it took roughly four hours to get everything settled, most of that being cleanup and trying to soothe the nervous students, with Rean’s old classmates helping as much as they were able. Elliot patched up any wounds, taking the place of a shaken Kairi, while Laura decided to keep watch to be joined later by Randolph, and Fie went scouting for any leftover archaisms or other nasty surprises. The faculty briefing afterward lasted barely half an hour, ending in Towa checking in on the students, Randolph keeping watch, Major Michael communicating with the RMP, and Major Lechter being contacted and promising to get there by morning with a more in-depth briefing. And with him would likely follow government orders for the Ashen Chevalier to fight again.
Fortunately for Rean’s tired frame, his and Randolph’s room was right next to the conference room, meaning he could go and rest without much hassle. It had been a while since he had ridden a horse, not since his time on the Courageous, and the muscles were sore from going so long without being used. Walking out of the room, he quickly found his way to the bedroom, opening it with a sigh and closing and locking the door behind him, not quite relaxing in case someone needed him, but settling himself from a combat-ready mode into something more neutral, his usual when going to sleep outside of whatever home base he was in at the moment. Still prepared for another attack, but not nearly as tense as when in an actual combat situation or in the field, letting himself actually rest for a bit.
He took off and hung up his coat, removed the black zip-up shirt beneath it and folded it up along with the rest of his combat gear, leaving his tachi propped up at the foot of his bed. He hadn’t felt tired like this in a while, not since his field studies, running around all day, fighting monsters, dealing with some intrigue or another, helping people and retiring satisfied and worn without any war or mission hanging over his head. It seemed today was just a day for nostalgia. Encountering three of his old classmates, only one of whom he had met face-to-face recently, along with two others he hadn’t seen in nearly a year would do that to anyone.
And wasn’t that something to unpack. Fie was here, present in the same area as him for the first time in almost a year. Almost a year and a half of scattered calls and letters and rare visits in the first few months or so when schedule and distance allowed. And then the Northern War, and Aidios what a mess that was, and nearly a year of absolutely no face-to-face contact, just like the rest of the old Class VII save for Machias and Elliot. And now she’s suddenly showed up, seemingly having met up with Laura and Elliot, and he has no idea how to deal with that. He’s not even sure they’re still...whatever they were by the war’s end, and he’s doubly unsure on just how to broach the subject with her, especially when they have more important things to worry about.
Though, throughout the cleanup, he was certain he could occasionally feel her eyes on him, but they hadn’t exactly had much of a conversation yet, and anytime he stole a glance at her in return, she was otherwise occupied. All things considered, it wasn’t the time for it, but he had hoped their reunion wouldn’t be under such dramatic circumstances, as almost all Class VII reunions ended up being, Millium and Elliot so far being the sole examples of otherwise. Still, it had been nearly a year since he’d last seen her, and their limited communications hadn’t really reassured him, much as he loved to hear from her. Was it really wrong for him to worry about the state of things between them, when they had never firmly defined exactly what they were to each other beyond “more special to me than anyone else?”
Letting out a sigh, he sat heavily on the edge of his bed, feeling his shoulders slump. He was probably getting himself worked up for nothing, and his relationship woes could definitely take a backseat to dealing with Ouroboros and whatever he was plotting. Besides, how selfish would it be for him to demand a firm label on things when she still had her hunt for Zephyr to concern herself with, and he was still dealing with the aftereffects of the Northern War and the Infernal Castle? No, better to wait until things are more settled for both of them before doing anything. With a resolute nod, he began undoing and removing his boots, ready to shelve his worries for the time being.
He was broken out of his thoughts by a quiet knock on the door. He lifted himself up, assuming it to be a student or Towa or Major Michael in need of something, considering Randolph had his own key, and his fellow instructor didn’t strike him as one to knock before entering. Thoughtlessly opening the door, his eyes widened, and he almost gasped on seeing who was on the other side. Silver hair and green-yellow eyes greeted him, an outwardly stoic face with traces of mischief and amusement and a flash of something else, and.
“Fie? What is it?” He asked, surprised but not unhappy. But then, he was never really unhappy to see any old Class VII members, her most especially.
“Hey. Can I come in?” She asked in return, and he wordlessly stepped aside and let her in, far too conscious of their very close proximity in the suddenly tiny room, feeling a spike in heat and a swoop in his gut as she brushed against him. Almost a year and she could still affect him like that. Not like it was awkward enough that he had no idea what to say to her, but a grazing touch and he feels seventeen all over again.
She quickly seemed to make herself at home, glancing around with her gaze lingering on his coat and his gear, before sitting down at the foot of his bed, leaning back on her hands and looking at him. He was briefly paralyzed by indecision, unwilling to seat himself on Randolph’s bed, nervous about sitting next to her with such little proximity between them, and not particularly enthused about continuing to stand after being on his feet and on a horse all day. Deciding to bite the bullet before he made things weird, he sat himself next to her, his arm brushing against her shoulder as he did.
And he had no idea what to do now. No clue what to say, or how to say anything without sounding as awkward as he felt, or how to avoid sticking his foot in his mouth. And the longer he stayed silent, the more unbearably awkward the silence between them would become.
“...your hair’s longer.” Oh Aidios, kill him now. Almost a year without seeing each other and that’s what he opens with? He might as well have said “Nice weather we’re having.” It was such an obvious, stupid thing to say, but then, he had no idea what else he could say. It had been nearly a year, after all, and he wasn’t quite able to fall into rhythm with her like he used to.
“And you’re taller.” Thankfully, he could tell by the amusement dancing in her eyes and the laughing undercurrent in her voice that he hadn’t completely screwed this up. But also...yeah, he was always a fair bit taller than Fie, but it seemed he had jumped to almost an entire head taller than her. Not that he really minded, and he sincerely doubted she did.
Relieved that he hadn’t managed to stick his foot in his mouth too much yet, he took a moment to really take in her changes. She seemed to have gotten a bit taller too, but not nearly as much as him considering he stood almost a head above her, and while clearly filling out a bit more, she maintained her lithe, muscled frame, covered by light clothes similar to what she wore during the civil war, though the lack of shorts in favor of a skirt was definitely different. From what he’d seen during the attack, she was stronger than ever, but he had expected that, and her usual apathetic expression was present. The biggest change was obviously her hair, once not even reaching her shoulders, and now cascading down to her mid-back, though still as wild, untamed and messy as ever.
Of course, his observation didn’t go unnoticed, as evidenced by the small smirk on her face, and was repaid in kind. He almost shifted in his seat on the bed, feeling a bit uncomfortable, but didn’t say anything. It was only fair, after all, and it had almost been a year. It’d be no stretch to say she was as curious about how he’d changed in their time apart as he was about her. And while he thought that her changes truly suited her, he wasn’t so certain about what she thought about his own, if she saw how tired and worn he was from grief and service, if his aimlessness was as obvious and off-putting to her as it was to himself.
He needed to say something before the extended silence became too awkward between them. He treasured the quiet moments shared between them, he really did, but those usually came with silent understanding and no need for any further words between them. It had been almost a year since he last saw her, and there were plenty of words he needed to say, plenty of worries and fears to express, plenty of things to listen to her say, plenty of things he wanted to know. Letting things between them stall like this was the exact opposite of what he wanted, and he worried that if it kept on for much longer, he’d ruin this chance.
“How’s bracer life treating you?” He finally asked, hoping to get something a little more than “good” or “fine.” Much as he cared about her, a master conversationalist Fie was not, especially over a call or through letters, and he was curious about how she was doing in the occupation that he turned down three times. More like he was curious about how she was doing in general, because if he knew Fie, then any major events would end up glossed over with a few understatements. Even her becoming the youngest senior bracer was something he practically had to pry out of her, and he only learned the true extent of it from one of Instructor Sara’s very few calls.
“Fine. Can’t complain.” She stopped there for a moment, but as if sensing his desire for elaboration, continued on. “Not too different from what we did. Help people, fight monsters. Deal with things. It’s...nice.” And that was a bit less than he had hoped for, but more than he expected. And if he didn’t know better, he’d almost say she sounded nearly as strained as he did, but that had to be his imagination. Outside of the situation with Laura, Fie had never cared about an awkward atmosphere before, always blunt and unrestrained, so there’s no way she would start now, no way he affected her like she affected him.
Really, he thought fondly, it was probably just that Fie was awful at talking about herself outside of a face-to-face conversation, and even those moments were rarities, though he had never held any of that against her. But still…it had been over a year since he’d last seen her, and he wanted to be involved in her life, even if just hearing about it. Though he himself wasn’t exactly much better, even if he was certain anything he had to talk about would only amount to desperately studying in order to graduate and a litany of missions from the government. And now desperately trying to act as an instructor would and not screw everything up.
“Ah. That’s good.” He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been a bit worried about her future, back when they had both been in Thors, but he was glad she had found something that seemed fulfilling. Though he wished he could express that sentiment instead of letting out a stilted, strained sentence. Wished he could just say what he wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t take shape.
It was dead silent afterward, and slightly awkward. Barely a few sentences exchanged between them, and he was already floundering. Great. Everything he wanted their reunion to be, really.
“...hey. Relax.” Her voice cut through the silence like his tachi, a small smile on her face as she looked up at him before resting her head on his shoulder. “We can talk more later.” And... Not everything was settled, not by a long shot, but that really did manage to calm him down a bit. The fact that there would be a later, and that they would talk then, managed to soothe a fair few of his worries. And thus far, it really did seem as though nothing regarding her feelings towards him had really changed, which was itself a relief. After all, his own feelings hadn’t changed in the slightest.
They sat there for a while in the quiet, Rean hyper-aware of her heat at his left side and the weight of her head resting on his shoulder. But this time, he didn’t find the quiet so stifling, so strained, so miasmic. It was that old, familiar quiet between them, with no need to be broken by words, and he had missed that, especially after the chaos of the attack and dealing with the disparate and clashing personalities of the students for nearly a month now. He thinks he really needed this moment of peace, when he’s hardly had any in maybe two months, and lets himself relax a bit. Not too much, in case someone needs him, but…enough where he wasn’t on high alert the entire time, feeling his shoulders slump a bit and letting out a breath, venting some of his stress with it.
After a few more minutes, he hears the sound of buckles unfastening, a rustle of clothing, and glancing down at Fie, he almost chokes. She was in the process of removing her left boot, revealing an expanse of skin covered in light scars, lean muscles shifting under the flesh as she did so. Before he could be caught staring, he quickly snapped his eyes away, scratching his cheek and letting out a strained chuckle, trying desperately to distract himself and not clue her in that he had noticed anything. Unfortunately, judging from the faint snicker he could hear from her, he was unsuccessful, and really, he had no idea why he was so flustered. Goddess, he’d seen her in nothing but a hot springs towel before, this shouldn’t affect him like this! The sound of a boot hitting the ground broke him out of his thoughts, though he could still feel a faint flush on his face, shortly followed by the other, and when he glanced down, he noted their haphazard placement. Hopefully Randolph wouldn’t show up soon, otherwise he’d probably trip over them.
Out of nowhere, he feels lithe arms wrap around him, letting out a grunt from a weight knocking into his left side and quickly maneuvering him so his back faces the bed, only just recovering enough to end up on his elbows. His eyes are wide as he looks down at the hands pressing into his chest insistently, the body resting on him and the heat seeping into him, a look like a cat that got the canary. Stunned, he felt her hands press into him again, and finally getting the hint, carefully leveraged the two of them down, leaving him laying on his back and keeping his hands carefully away from any dangerous areas, and her stretched out over him like a cat on a windowsill.
“Fie! What are you...?” He trails off as she meets his eyes, the yellow-green irises alight with mischief and soft with fondness, arms loosely wrapping around his neck and a faint smile playing on her lips as he soaks in her heat. He’s far too comfortable like this, and it makes him uncomfortable, because even though it’s not like he’s unused to a girl being on top of him, that disastrous encounter with Alisa instantly coming to mind, it was always a complete accidental mishap, and wasn’t nearly so deliberate as this clearly was. Fie never did anything by accident, certainly not something like this.
“I said I’d hug you, remember?” She reminded him as she turned her head and pressed her cheek into his collarbone, closing her eyes as she did, leaving him feeling her messy hair against his neck, seeming to be surprisingly soft as ever. Sudden though it may be, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it. And really, he probably should have predicted this, considering how she’d greeted him during their civil war reunion, though this situation was a bit more...compromising than that had been. Their other embraces had been tender, sure, and almost always when they were alone, but never in a bed, which carried certain connotations that a rocky path or a classroom or even an empty dorm just didn’t.
But it’s been nearly a year since he saw her, even longer since they could just quietly be like this, and he’s just...missed her, a lot more than he thought he would. In light of all of that, a moment of weakness could probably be forgiven, right? And they definitely wouldn’t be doing anything salacious, so it would be fine to be like this for a while, right? Goddess, he hoped none of his students found him like this, he thought as he wrapped his left arm loosely around her waist, pulling her in tighter, his other hand coming up to stroke through her messy hair, a familiar gesture made unfamiliar by the new length of her silver locks. All things considered, he wasn’t entirely sure if the newly long hair was a conscious decision of hers, or if Fie had just decided maintaining her hair that short was too much of a hassle.
As he ran his hand through her hair, he could all but feel her muscles start to relax, the tension in her limbs slowly slackening, fully shifting from battle-ready to resting, and he could have sworn that if she was physically capable of it, she’d be purring by now. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who needed this respite, this moment of calm between them where a little of the weariness in the two of them could be soothed and drained away a bit. Really, he thought, she must have been running herself ragged, especially if she had slipped back into her habit of constant light naps instead of an actual night of sleep like in the early days of Class VII, before she had settled enough to manage more than three hours of sleep at a time. Even if this peaceful moment held no benefit for him, it would be completely worth it if it benefitted her, if it gave her even a fraction of the peace it was giving him.
Without warning, she slinked up his body a bit, and oh was that dangerous, and buried her face into the crook of his neck, pressing a smile into the skin there when he froze up. The heat in the room suddenly spiked, and he was pretty sure his hands were shaking even as his movements stilled, because that was very new and doing terrible things to his heart rate. And he was also pretty sure he knew the certain instructor who was to blame for that newfound boldness. He wasn’t sure whether to curse Instructor Sara or...no, he’d curse Instructor Sara. And he felt like his heart was beating out of his chest, and he was dead sure that she could feel it, considering she was stretched all over him, but slowly he felt it start to settle down, hesitantly resuming carding his fingers through her hair. He could have sworn that her smile widened against him, but he couldn’t be completely sure, considering he was still more than a bit distracted from her actions.
But he was able to shelve the unease, made easy by her presence and her embrace, and simply allow himself to enjoy staying like this with her. After all, it’s been almost a year since he last saw her, and who knew how long it would be until he would again, so for now, he would let this go on for a few minutes more, let himself indulge in this a bit more before returning his focus to going after Ouroboros. But before he could say anything, he felt her begin to yawn tiredly, because normal sleep schedule or no, Fie had never been one to shy away from a quick nap, and she had ended up asleep leaning on him more times than he could count.
“Let’s just stay like this.” She yawned into his neck, “Just for a while.” And he should probably say no, because if he knew her she’d fall asleep the moment he agreed, and there was propriety demanding he ask her to room with Towa or Laura and not where a student could walk in on them in such a compromising position, and he does share this room with Randolph, and his fellow instructor, laid back though he may be, probably wouldn’t be too pleased to have her here after the day they’ve all had, but. It’s been almost a year since he last saw her, and her weight and warmth on him are far too comfortable and far too soothing, and his eyes are growing heavy, and he doesn’t want to let go just yet.
“Okay. Just for a while.”
They fell asleep not even ten minutes later.
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Randy, tired as he is after the attack and his psychopath of a cousin showing up, almost doesn’t notice the second occupant in his fellow instructor and bunkmate’s bed, even when he almost trips over a pair of thigh-high boots very clearly not meant for a man. When he does finally take note of the silver hair spread all across the Chevalier and the lithe form laying on top of him and the head buried in the crook of his neck, he has to do a double take.
They looked surprisingly comfortable, even without the covers over them and Sylphid with all of her gear still on save the boots and her gunswords, Schwarzer with his left arm loosely wrapped around Sylphid, the rest of him splayed across the bed, and Sylphid herself all tangled up with him, entangling their legs together and her hands on his shoulder and collarbone, their breathing steady and relaxed. There were plenty of rumors about Rean Schwarzer, most about his deeds as the Ashen Chevalier, but a fair few were also about his love life, and it seems he just got a front row seat to the answer to all of them.
Looks like all the guys betting on Reinford’s heiress or that Arseid or the princess or even the Icy Maiden got it wrong, he chuckled to himself. Of all the possibilities, he doubted anyone would guess the Jaeger King’s kid. Himself among them. But hey, shows what he knows. And he was genuinely happy that Sylphid had not only managed to get out of the jaeger business, but also find work and a relationship that both seemed legitimately fulfilling. Too many jaegers, especially the young ones, ended up so maladjusted that they just couldn’t fit with other people anymore, Shirley coming to mind as the best example, so it was nice to see she hadn’t ended up one of those types, that she’d found a new home like he had managed to, and that Schwarzer didn’t seem to have any issues with her past.
He debated waking them, reminding Schwarzer about setting an example for the students and all that jazz, and how sleeping with a girl, even if just sleeping, in a communal space was kind of a bad move, especially when they might have to comfort shaken up students plagued by nightmares, and how keeping ready for a follow-up from Ouroboros was a bit more important than private time with the girlfriend, haven’t seen each other in a while or not. But...he thinks this might be the first time in all the time he’s known him that he’s seen the Ashen Chevalier almost at peace, the usually composed, guardedly polite, and occasionally harried lines of his face softened into an expression that seemed at once open and deeply private. Not meant for the eyes of anyone outside of a certain circle.
He looked away. He wasn’t Schwarzer’s friend, and considering the distance they both kept, probably never would be. But hell...he wasn’t one to deprive a man of what brings him happiness, especially when it’s not bothering anyone, and especially when that man isn’t even twenty. Even more so when that man was used as a tool by his government more than anything else, then shunted aside to the so-called trash bin that is the branch campus along with a Crossbellan person of interest under watch, a frankly terrifying ex-general, a girl who, of all things, actually seemed to want to be there, and an RMP officer monitoring the lot of them as thanks.
So if he finishes getting ready to sleep as quietly as possible, if he shakes his head and smiles when Sylphid briefly stirs and then settles almost instantly when Schwarzer instinctively wraps his other arm around her, if he lays down and thinks for a brief moment that the Ashen Chevalier is a person after all…
Well. That’s nobody’s business but his.