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Felix Hugo Fraldarius had never been good with words, especially when it came to talking about his own feelings. He had always taken out his anger and sorrows on sword practice, but this particular feeling was something he couldn’t deal with even if he tore a thousand training dummies to pieces. As unbelievable as it was, Felix had fallen in love.
Naturally, Sylvain was the first one to notice. Although Felix was a master at keeping his emotions hidden, his small mistakes during training and occasional absent-mindedness at strategy meetings made his childhood friend suspicious. And when Sylvain managed to distract Felix with a simple move during a sparring session at the training grounds, he had to speak his mind.
“Felix, have you finally met a girl?”
Felix looked startled for a moment but composed himself quickly.
“Of course not!”
He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes.
“I know the signs when a man is head over heels for someone and you, my friend, are a walking example,” Sylvain said. Felix felt a prickly heat on his cheeks.
“It seems I was right,” Sylvain grinned.
“No, you’re not.”
“Why are you blushing then?”
“I’m not blushing!”
Felix looked away, trying to hide his face from Sylvain.
“Wait until Ingrid hears that our little Felix has a girlfriend!”
“She’s not my girlfriend!” Felix spat out, realizing that he had just blown his cover. “If you tell anyone about this, I’m going to use you as fishing bait!”
“Relax, we’re friends. Your secret is safe with me,” Sylvain said. “But tell me, is the object of your affection aware of this?”
Felix bit his lip.
“Sort of…” he mumbled looking at his feet. “I haven’t said it to her directly, but…”
“And what does this person think?”
“I… have no idea,” Felix admitted.
“So that’s what this is about. You’re not sure about her feelings.”
“I’m not even sure about my own feelings,” Felix said. “I should just let this be, but I can’t get her out of my mind. I don’t understand what’s wrong with me! We’re fighting a war, for Goddess’s sake, and all I can think about is…” Felix buried his face in his hands. “Ugh, why am I even telling you this.”
“Oh boy, you really are smitten,” Sylvain said. “But worry not, your old friend Sylvain is here to help you in the matters of the heart.”
Felix rolled his eyes. Considering how long Sylvain’s romances usually lasted, he was not sure if he wanted to trust his advice. On the other hand, his own experience was next to zero and if he had to take into account someone else’s feelings in addition to his own… Felix had to admit, it was beyond his capabilities.
“So who’s the lucky lady?” Sylvain asked and Felix glanced at him.
“It’s none of your -”
“If you want me to help you, it’s very much my business. How else am I going to come up with a perfect plan to sweep her off her feet?”
“I don’t want to sweep anyone off their feet,” Felix snapped. “I just… want to tell her how I feel and ask her if her thoughts are the same.”
“You still haven’t given me a name. I’m dying to know who’s your type!”
Sylvain was way too enthusiastic about the situation, but Felix had already told him too much, so he gave in.
“…It’s Annette.”
Sylvain whistled.
“Well, she is pretty cute. And tiny. Easy to throw on your shoulder and carry to your room.”
“You are not speaking from experience, are you?” Felix said angrily. He didn’t like the tone in Sylvain’s voice one bit.
“Of course not! Besides, she’s way too occupied with her studies to even notice my flirting.”
“So you have tried to make a move on her!” Felix yelled and almost took out his sword, but Sylvain managed to calm him down.
“Easy now Felix, it wasn’t anything serious. And now I know for sure what doesn’t work with her.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Felix sighed but the redhead ignored him.
“Now listen to the expert.” Sylvain cleared his throat. “You just wait for the right moment and when she’s alone, you pin her against the wall, look deep into her the eyes and make a confession. Simple as that.”
Felix raised an eyebrow.
“That sounds more like a way to question your enemies.”
“Girls love men who act manly and dominant,” Sylvain reassured. “Besides, citing poems and handing roses is probably not your style.”
Well, truth to be told, Felix had no idea what kind of gesture Annette would find appealing. And as annoying as Sylvain’s antics sometimes were, he did have some luck with women after all.
“Maybe I will give it a try then,” Felix shrugged.
“Trust me, it will work!” Sylvain said and patted Felix on the head, receiving an annoyed look in response.
The next day, Felix realized, that executing Sylvain’s plan was easier said than done. Whenever he ran into Annette in the halls of Garreg Mach, she was always surrounded by friends. Either she was talking to Mercedes, studying with Ashe or having lunch with Dimitri and the professor. Felix didn’t want the whole monastery to witness his confession, so he casually kept his distance from her. It wasn’t until evening when he happened to walk past the library and hear a familiar voice humming a tune. If there was one thing he had learned about Annette, it was the fact that she only sang when she was alone. Felix looked over his shoulder, made sure that no one was around and sneaked into the library.
Annette was so concentrated on browsing the bookshelf that she didn’t even notice when Felix came in. She was already carrying a small stack of books in her hands and a few others laid on the floor behind her. Annette was an exceptional mage, but Felix had never really noticed how hard-working she was. She studied spell books long into the night and her devotion to her training matched his own. Except that Annette was talkative, outgoing, a little scatter-brained, and… exceptionally lovely. The way she moved while humming her song and reaching for the books on the upper shelf, her ginger hair flicking around her head, and even the ridiculous bow on her white dress made Felix feel warm inside.
What was he even thinking? He sure wasn’t used to these things and at that moment he would have given anything to be at least half as smooth as Sylvain. He should just back away, go to his room and get on with his life. But then again, Felix never withdrew from a fight and this situation was the same. All he had to do was to sneak up to Annette and make his move.
And at that moment, Annette turned on her heels. Her bright blue eyes widened when she spotted Felix standing in the shadows.
“Felix? What are you doing here at this hour?”
Felix didn’t answer. He had stiffened in place, looking somewhere past Annette, his cheeks bright red.
“If you’re searching for a specific book, I can help you,” Annette continued, but Felix still couldn’t get a word out of his mouth.
And then, after an awkward silence that felt like an eternity, he finally forced himself to move and leaped towards Annette. His arm already extended, he tried to lean smoothly against her and the bookshelf, but stumbled upon the books on the floor, resulting him plunging forward. Annette managed to duck under his arm just before he hit the bookshelf, which fell over anyway, taking him down with it.
For a moment, Felix lay still under the fallen shelf, his face buried in dusty old books. A miscalculation. The shelf had been a lot more unsteady than he had anticipated and he had even failed to notice potential obstacles.
“Felix, are you alright?” Annette squeaked, hurrying over to his side to check on him, but Felix was quickly back on his feet.
“I’m fine. I just… lost my balance.”
“I’m so sorry I left the books on the floor,” Annette said, looking concerned. “I didn’t think anyone would come here this late.”
“It wasn’t your fault. I was being clumsy.”
Annette giggled.
“It’s comforting to know that I’m not the only one who stumbles over my own feet sometimes.”
Felix looked away in embarrassment.
There were books scattered everywhere. The fallen bookshelf had knocked another shelf down as well and a few others were barely standing, leaning against each other. Felix let out a heavy sigh.
“I guess I have to clean up this mess before going to bed.”
“Don’t worry, I can help you,” Annette said. “I’m on cleaning duty today anyway.”
She started to take out the remaining books from the fallen bookshelf so they could lift it up again.
“What was the book you wanted to borrow?” she asked. “Maybe we can find it while cleaning.”
Felix scratched the back of his head.
“Actually… I wasn’t looking for a book. I was… looking for you.”
Annette placed a pile of books on the floor and stood silent for a moment.
“The things you told me at the greenhouse,” she said then. “About being my captive and all that. Did you, um… mean that you like me or is it just my songs?” Annette continued before Felix got a chance to answer. “Because I’ve been thinking and… I kind of like you too.”
Felix almost dropped the books he had just picked up.
“You do?”
“Well, obviously you are still a grumpy villain. But I think you are a lot nicer than you make yourself out to be.”
“You have no idea how glad I was to see you alive and well after five years,” Felix said suddenly. “It was the memory of your singing and dancing that kept me sane during that time.”
“I’m happy that the silly food song I made up on a whim meant so much to someone,” Annette said. “And speaking of songs, I came up with a new verse for the library song.”
“Does it answer my question about the books?” Felix asked and Annette nodded in excitement.
“Would you like to hear it? It’s quite long but it might take a while before we clean up this mess anyway.”
Felix smiled.
“Sure. The song could even help us finish the task faster.”
“You should smile more often,” Annette said. “It makes you look cute.”
“Cute” wasn’t really the word Felix would have liked to hear, but coming from Annette, it actually made him happy.
“I save my smiles for special occasions,” he said, and this time it was Annette who blushed.