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Lysithea nibbled on a strawberry cream pastry, her third one that evening. It was already well past midnight, the table covered in documents and books, illuminated by the light of lanterns and what moonlight could seep in through the windows. The only members that remained of their little research group were herself, Linhardt and Ferdinand. They were currently one member short of their usual late night trio as Ferdinand had just left to go get them more tea, and quite enthusiastically. That left her alone, with Linhardt.
Lysithea wondered if it were intentional on Ferdinand’s part after what they had talked about yesterday. But it was fine! Completely fine.. as she soon finished the last bite of her pastry and then couldn’t concentrate at all on the papers down in front of her, her mind clouded in a love struck haze.
She didn’t realize how nervous this would make her, alone with him, squirming a bit in her chair as she crossed and uncrossed her legs. But why would it make her nervous? It definitely shouldn’t have! Her and Linhardt had intellectual debates together all of the time, with Ferdinand there to mediate and help them come to a common resolve. He was very good at that…
Linhardt could sometimes be annoying when he couldn’t see an answer that was clear to her and he often wasted time meddling with certain ideas that Lysithea would immediately dismiss. But he could also surprise her with that mind of his, his intuition and creativity thinking of perspectives that she couldn’t even begin to imagine. He could also be in depth, thorough and analytical to the point that she truly admired him. Just a little! She would never say that out loud though and it wasn’t as if she was admitting that he was smarter than her.
It wasn’t often that she found someone able to meet her intellectual standards though. Actually, she hadn’t ever, until she’d met him. She was fascinated by him and found herself wanting to be around him more often. Lysithea wondered if he wanted to be around her too, a light blush filling her cheeks, her bright pink eyes blinking as she watched him fondly from across the table. Linhardt was hard at work, reading a book and mumbling to himself, with no doubt, the gears moving in his mind as he processed through something.
He’d always join them late at night and would often stay the longest of them all, pulling all nighters as he looked into finding a way to remove her crests. Hanneman had told her this, as the old scholar was usually here early in the mornings, that he frequently found Linhardt in here still working from the night before, and other times passed out at the desk from exhaustion. Of course Hubert had scolded Linhardt many times that he should adapt to a normal sleeping schedule but he would never listen.
Resting her chin on her hands, Lysithea wondered Linhardt’s reasons for working so hard on this, if it was just something that he found interesting or if there was something more behind his actions? Her heart tingled at the thought of it being more. There -had- to be more to it! But.. what if there wasn’t? Her heart sank a little at the latter.
Linhardt was frequently cold and spoke bluntly, preferring the realm of logic to feelings. While she could relate herself, sometimes he prickled her the wrong way. He did have a nice side though, as he’d recently started bringing sweets for them to snack on every night. Lysithea would eat most of them and she did like people more when they gave her sweets. He brought more with him each time and even seemed to notice her favorites too as he included more fruit flavoured pastries in the assortment.
Also, he seemed to stick around her more often during battles lately and even though Lysithea didn’t need anyone’s protection, it still made her feel safe when Linhardt told her to stay close to him.
“Hm? Did you need something?” Linhardt looked up at her from the papers. Must’ve noticed her staring at him.
Lysithea jolted, her face heating up with embarrassment from being caught. How long had she been staring at him? Probably a few minutes at least. “Huh? N-No! I was… just thinking about something…” She saved herself with a stubborn pout. It was technically the truth, she was thinking about ‘something’.
“Oh? What were you thinking about? It must’ve been interesting for you to zone out like that.” Linhardt mused, his deep blue eyes watching her curiously.
“I was actually wondering about ‘you’…” She admitted, her heart thumping oddly in her chest as she clutched her hands together under the table. “Why are you working so hard for my sake? Or.. is there a different reason that you’re doing this?” She figured she’d get right to the point.
Linhardt blinked at the question, surprised. “I don’t think I’m working ‘that’ much harder than anyone else. Perhaps you should ask the others as well..” He brushed off. “But, to give you an answer,” Putting a hand to his chin, he thought about it. “I do find the topic of crests interesting, never thought I’d be looking into removing a crest though… But it’s more than that… I suppose I feel compelled to do something about it.”
“You feel compelled?”
“Indeed. Research is my strong suit after all.” He smiled lightly. “If there’s a time that I should step up, it should be now. Plus, I quite enjoy spending time with you and I think it’d be a shame if that came to an end…” His brows furrowed sadly at the thought.
“Linhardt… I.. like spending time with you too.” Lysithea admitted. Somehow it felt awkward after she said it, a beat of silence between them.
Linhardt smiled again, none the less. “Just wait a little longer, Lysithea. I know I.. I mean, we can figure this out.” He reassured her, tone sincere. “Here, you should have more of these.” He passed her the plate of sweets down the table.
“Mhm. Thank you.” Lysithea replied bashfully, grabbing another pastry while her heart fluttered from his statement. She wanted to believe in him, that they would solve this together, that the heavy weight that had been on her shoulders all this time would finally be lifted and she could then be free to have a future like everyone else. A shimmer of hope in the painful darkness that had almost consumed her. But was it wise for her to get her hopes up, even a little? She wondered.
Ferdinand returned shortly after, looking at his two friends as if trying to figure them out. They were just the same as when he’d left them, Linhardt scribbling something down in his notebook and Lysithea with a light blush on her face, nibbling a pastry as she watched him.
“I’m back, with this freshly brewed tea!” Ferdinand exclaimed with a smile, graciously refilling their tea cups. “It’s a berry blend. I think you’ll like it, Lysithea.”
“Ah, thanks Ferdinand.” Lysithea smiled, taking a sip of the sweet fruity tea and feeling a bit more at ease that he was back. Her and Ferdinand had became fast friends recently and she confided in him about many things, including her crush on Linhardt. It was kind of juvenile, but she thought of Ferdinand as a big brother figure to her.
Ferdinand had also told her about his own budding relationship with Dorothea. Apparently he’d just came out with it and exclaimed his love for her one day, pulling up on horseback and giving the songstress a bouquet of red roses in front of the whole kitchen. While Dorothea was embarrassed with his public display of affection, she had accepted his feelings and admitted her own. It was a cute story and Lysithea was glad it worked out for him.
Though, Dorothea had eventually wondered why Ferdinand and Lysithea spent so much time together. In which case, Ferdinand had let it slip about her crush on Linhardt, to ease his girlfriend’s worries. He’d admitted rather apologetically to Lysithea for spilling her secret but she didn’t mind it. Apparently Dorothea thought it was really cute.
Lysithea had also told Edelgard during one of their tea parties together, so that made three people that knew. Edelgard had also seemed delighted and spoke of how cute it was. Lysithea wondered why, if it was because they never thought anyone would ever like Linhardt romantically? She couldn’t help but be amused by that and it made Lysithea feel strangely happy that the others were on her side. If she wanted to, she could get caught up in how her and Linhardt were meant to be together. Though, she could also make herself feel guilty thinking like that…
“It’s getting quite late so I’m going to call it a night after this last cup of tea.” Ferdinand announced, taking another sip as he peered to Lysithea to gauge how she felt about that. As much as he tried for his friends’ sake, he was more of a daytime person.
Without looking up from his notebook, Linhardt raised a hand and waved, an acknowledgement to send him off. They were used to his quirky nature by now.
Lysithea exchanged glances with Ferdinand worriedly. She was supposed to tell Linhardt her feelings for him tonight. It was what her and Ferdinand had talked about yesterday. But she found herself feeling guilty about it once again. How could she ever hope to pursue a relationship when she didn’t know how many years she had left to live? Ferdinand had told her not to worry about that and as long as she could still draw breath, she could still do something, have friends and relationships.
Ferdinand gave her a reassuring smile as he got up from the table. “What about you, Lysithea? Are you going to stay?”
“Yes, I think I’ll stay a bit longer…” Lysithea decided quietly.
Ferdinand nodded, about to make his leave. “Very well. Have a goodnight you two.”
“W-wait! Ferdinand… Can I talk to you about something first?” Lysithea called out to him in a panic. “Outside…”
“Of course, let’s go.”
As soon as they were out of ear shot, Lysithea began speaking, “I don’t know if I can do it, Ferdinand.” She admitted, unable to look him in the eye, fiddling with her dress as she felt unsettled. “I asked him why he works so hard on the research but he told me he’s working just as hard as everyone else… Maybe we’re misreading this…” Was it that? Or was it something else holding her back?
Ferdinand still seemed confident, his expression unshaken. “Ah, while I can’t refute the rest of us are working hard as well, I’m sure he is just being modest. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have made so many strides! Honestly, I’ve never seen Linhardt work so hard before. Call it a nobles intuition, but I know that he cares for you.”
“Perhaps…” Lysithea considered, a light blush, although her eyes still wavered with sadness, having other things on her mind. “Maybe I should just give up on this whole idea of me and him being together though… I mean, I have to look after my parents and settle things in Ordelia territory after the war is over... I don’t really have time for matters of love… I-It’s just.. when I think of a future where I don’t get to be with him, it makes me sad, but.. I also don’t want to hurt him by getting too close. As you know, my demise might be a lot sooner than all of you.” She admitted sadly.
“Lysithea…” Ferdinand was empathetic, his brows furrowing sadly, a warm look in his amber eyes.
Lysithea let out a gasp then as Ferdinand suddenly went forward and hugged her tightly in his arms. Normally she didn’t like being so close to others but she felt comforted now by his embrace. It also tugged her heart strings, feeling the urge to cry as she clutched her eyes closed, hugging him back as she tried to control her breathing.
Ferdinand spoke softly, “You’re still here, Lysithea. Even if you return to your territory after the war, we’ll all still be friends. We’re all here for you, whenever you need it, and I’m sure Linhardt feels the same way.”
“Right, thank you, Ferdinand.” She said, her voice wavering as she choked out a sob. It was kind of embarrassing that she let herself get so worked up but her tears weren’t entirely those of sadness, also feeling grateful that she had found friends, people who cared about her.
Ferdinand rubbed her back comfortingly as she got it all out. “Just tell Linhardt how you feel, from the bottom of your heart like you did just now. I know he will have a positive reaction and you’d probably rather ‘him’ hold you like this than me.” He laughed lightly.
“I suppose so.” Lysithea agreed, having calmed down as she pulled away from him. Her face heated up as she thought about Linhardt embracing her instead, but she didn’t want to be some damsel in distress! The feelings had just sorta overtaken her this time. “Alright, I’m ready to go back in now. Thank you, and I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.” She reassured, a small smile as she regained her confidence.
“That’s great! I will be looking forward to it.” Ferdinand assured her.
When Lysithea returned inside to her seat at the table, she wasn’t expecting Linhardt to speak right away.
“Lysithea,” Linhardt peered up from the research papers. “If you need someone to walk you back to your tent later, I can do it.” He offered kindly.
Lysithea’s heart thumped, picking up speed. What was he even saying? He cared about her safety? “Oh, alright. That’s nice of you.” She supposed it would be scary to walk back in the night by herself, thinking about what could be out there lurking in the dark. Her mind liked to wander to all sorts of places when she was alone. Usually Ferdinand would walk her back to her tent and during those times, she hadn’t given the ghosts a second thought.
Linhardt smiled lightly. “There’s also a bed in here if you want to use it.” He casually mentioned.
“Huh?” Now her face was burning bright red, her mouth slightly agape, eyes widening in shock. What did he mean by -that-?
“I just meant if you get tired and want to take a nap later...” He explained, confused why she was getting so worked up.
“Right…” Of course that was what he meant! She pouted with embarrassment, her cheeks still beaming red.
“By the way, what were you talking about with Ferdinand out there?” Linhardt asked curiously, resting his chin on his palm. “Was it a secret you don’t want me to know?”
“Oh, uh.. it wasn’t anything that interesting. I can tell you later, okay?” She promised him with an innocent wave of her hands. Of course he would want to know…
“Why can’t you tell me right now?” He blinked, honestly curious. “You’ve got my attention.”
“Huh? W-Well, it’s because I don’t ‘want’ to tell you now...” Lysithea said stubbornly. She hoped it didn’t sound rude.
“Hmm…” Linhardt’s attention was back to the research then, looking down in front of him deep in thought, apparently having given up on questioning her.
Feelings were too difficult to talk about at this moment so Lysithea figured she could save those for later and in the meantime, they could get some work done. “So Linhardt, what are you working on? Let me help you.” She urged, pulling her chair up beside him. When it came to logical things, she felt more comfortable speaking her mind.
Linhardt seemed happy to have her near him and began to explain in detail. The two of them worked together for quite awhile, exchanging ideas.
Until, Lysithea dropped her pen accidentally. “Ugh, I hate that.” She snapped, brows furrowing.
“Let me get it.” Linhardt offered at the same time that she was beginning to reach for it, her hand brushing by his arm. She retreated, letting him get it as he passed it back to her.
“Thank you.” Lysithea said, feeling herself getting tired, having a bit of a headache and her eyes were heavy. But she didn’t want to leave just yet, not until she’d told him her feelings. The words were just too hard to say though! Maybe she could build up to it somehow? But what had she been doing all along?
Linhardt yawned then and stretched out his arms above him. “It’s time for a nap, I think.” He admitted, his eyelids drooping.
Wait, he was going to sleep? She blinked at him.
“You.. want to join?” He asked her.
“Eh? But you said there’s only one bed in here…” She fretted.
“Indeed, and we could share it… Don’t worry, I won’t try anything on you.” Linhardt declared as if it were absurd. “I’m not interested in that anyways.”
A vein popped on Lysithea’s temple and she glared at him, beginning to speak without thinking, her feelings getting the better of her. “What do you mean you’re not interested? Am I not attractive enough for you? Or perhaps you think I’m not mature enough to think of in that way?”
Linhardt was taken off guard. “What? No.. I mean, you are attractive and mature too, relatively speaking…”
“Now, what the heck does -that- mean?” Lysithea continued to fume.
Linhardt shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing. “I’m.. confused. I was just trying to ease your worries. Do you -want- me to try something on you?”
Lysithea squirmed, blushing harder. “W-well, if you wanted to then… I probably wouldn’t reject. Probably…” Wait, what was she even saying? Now he totally knew that she had a thing for him!
Deep in thought, Linhardt rubbed his chin as he watched her freak out before him. “Are you telling a joke? Is that it?”
“Ah, yes! A joke! Ahaha…” Lysithea laughed nervously. This was horrible…
“Okay, though I’m not quite sure if it landed how you intended.. I’m going to bed now.” He announced nonchalantly, getting up from his chair and taking one of the lanterns.
She followed him to another room in the small fort house and sure enough, there was a bed there. Linhardt set down the lantern and then laid down on one side of the bed. Lysithea went and joined him on the other side, a few inches of space in between them so that they didn’t touch. In just a few seconds, Linhardt was already snoring, fast asleep. How did he even fall asleep so fast?
Lysithea felt a strange thrill as her heart thumped in her chest, a tingle through her body, her cheeks beating red. This was the first time she’d ever shared a bed with a boy! And the one she’d grown to love at that! Although, he was currently asleep…
Peering over to him, Lysithea felt a bit odd to watch him sleep but he was so handsome and he looked peaceful like this. His features were soft, skin smooth like one of her porcelain princess dolls at home. Admiring him, he was so pretty, almost feminine but still boyish. She never realized how long his eye lashes were and his long dark green hair looked soft, tousled against the pillow in a messy bun. She had the urge to touch it but that would’ve been too much.
His mouth was slightly agape and she couldn’t help but think about how easy it would be to kiss him right now but.. that also would’ve been too much!
Instead, she rolled over, her back facing him as she tried to sleep.
Suddenly Lysithea awoke into the night. She didn’t know how long it’d been but there was a loud thud sound from outside and she instantly felt panic stricken. What was that?!
Linhardt however slept through it, mumbling something unintelligible in his dreams as he tossed over to his side towards her.
“Linhardt!” She whined in fear, pushing herself into his arms as she got closer to him in the bed. She couldn’t help it, she was just so scared, her heart thumping quickly.
“Hm?” His blue eyes opened groggily, looking down at her hugging onto him. “What’s wrong? Are you.. coming onto me?”
“W-what? No! T-There was something outside that made a noise!” She explained, her voice shaken in terror.
There was another noise outside, scraping and then another loud thump.
“Hmm… noises happen. It’s probably just someone outside.” Linhardt said, his eyelids drooping halfway as he was about to fall back to sleep. “I think… we’re safe in here.” His eyes closed completely, about to drift off again before Lysithea shook him.
“S-Someone?” She squeaked, shaking him harder until his eyes opened up to look at her. “But who would be out there making noises this late? Unless it’s…” She put her hand up to her face, her pink eyes swirling in terror. “a g-ghost?”
“Doubt it. Can I go back to sleep?”
“No! You have to stay awake to protect me!”
“And what would you like me to do about it?” Linhardt asked, sounding annoyed yet defeated to give in to whatever she’d asked.
Lysithea’s brows furrowed. “Well, check it out of course!”
“Let’s go together.” Linhardt declared, getting up from the bed and to her surprise, taking her hand.
The fabric of his glove was soft and his hand felt big and warm around her own, making hers feel small and dainty in comparison. Their hands fit perfectly together and it was so comforting to her that she forgot to protest as he took her outside. Looking around frantically, Lysithea found herself getting closer to him, hiding behind him.
“Don’t worry, Lysithea. I’ll protect you. Well, if I have the means to that is.” Linhardt tried to reassure her, clutching her hand a little tighter as he smiled lightly.
“I don’t know if I’m supposed to feel better from that or worse…”
“Ah.” Linhardt came to a realization as he noticed the cause of the noise, pulling her over by her hand. “A tipped barrel that had been pushed back into place. Someone probably knocked it over as they were passing by.”
“I guess that makes sense…” Lysithea pouted, still feeling a bit uneasy. “It could also be a ghost messing with us.”
“Hm, if such a thing existed with that intention, it could probably do much worse to us than this...” He pondered, putting his free hand to his chin.
“A-anyways, let’s go back inside now!” She insisted.
“I wanted to stay inside all along...” He mentioned as they made their way back in.
Lysithea blushed as they were still holding hands but she didn’t want to pull away if he wasn’t going to pull away.
Suddenly the remaining lantern went out at the table, causing the whole room to get darker. Lysithea shrieked and hugged onto him in fear. “Linhardt!”
“You sure are jumpy in the dark.” Linhardt observed, picking up the lantern. “I’ll need my other hand back now. Regrettably.” He said, looking down at their hands that were still interlocked between them.
“Oh, yes. Go ahead..” Lysithea agreed awkwardly, letting go of him so that he could re-light the lantern with fire magic, casting the familiar warm glow around the room. She nibbled her lip, feeling embarrassed for how she’d been acting, hoping that he didn’t think of her as some sort of child now that feared the dark.
“Whelp, that sure woke me up. Time to get back to the research…” Linhardt announced with a quick stretch, sitting down at the table to resume his reading.
Lysithea sat down next to him, peering over at what he was looking at. She really had to come out with her feelings soon but at the same time, it left her with a dreaded feeling inside. The future… What did it hold for her? Maybe she couldn’t confess to him because she’d already resigned herself to a life of solitude. That was the way it should be. She’d live out the rest of her days with her parents and nobody else would have to get involved in their tragedy. It had been a personal choice she’d thought but she knew it wasn’t what she truly wanted deep down. She wanted a relationship, someone to be with, a family of her own and it had to be with Linhardt. Her heart ached for him like she’d never felt for anyone else before.
“Lysithea, I want to tell you something.” Linhardt announced suddenly, looking over at her.
“Oh? What is it?” She asked, her heart beating faster as she wondered what he had to say.
“There is one more reason that I’m working so hard to remove your crests…”
“Another reason?”
“Yes. The truth is, I care about you a lot. You’re like family to me and I want to do everything that I can for you.” He declared to her, tone sincere.
“Family?” Lysithea blinked, blushing lightly before it occurred to her. “Wait, if you say I’m like a little sister to you, I swear to the Goddess, I’ll hate you forever!”
Linhardt made an amused sound. “What? Am I not dependable enough to be your big brother? Although, I’m sure Hubert and Ferdinand are much more dependable.”
“Linhardt… Really, that’s all you…?“ Lysithea’s face fell, not even able to fight back as she felt so crushed, tears whelling up in her eyes. So she was just little sister zoned by the man she loved? That was it…
“Lysithea,” Linhardt got her attention, taking her hands in his own. “I can be whatever you want me to be, but if I had to choose, I’d want to be your husband.” He admitted, smiling lightly.
Lysithea was shocked momentarily, letting that sink in before she brightened up. “Oh Linhardt, I love you! Of course you can be my husband! Please make me your wife, I’d like that very much!” She flung herself at him and hugged him, a happy giggle as she nuzzled against his chest.
“Wow, that really made you happy.” He commented, hugging her back. “I’m glad for it though and I love you too. Thank goodness you accepted… I’d been thinking about telling you all night but then.. I either couldn’t find the words or got distracted.”
Lysithea laughed, amused by the situation. “Really? I was trying to tell you all night too. That’s what I talked about earlier with Ferdinand actually...” She pouted, looking up at him. “There, I promised I’d tell you.”
Linhardt seemed surprised, raising an eyebrow. “Ferdinand had also told me that I should tell you tonight, while I was drawing him earlier.. I guess it was double the odds that one of us would confess in the end…”
“Wait, why were you drawing Ferdinand?”
“He wanted a realistic portrait done of himself, don’t ask me why.” He shook his head, still confused with the whole ordeal himself.
“I won’t.” Lysithea reassured him with a smile. “Now, let’s stop talking about Ferdinand and you can kiss me instead… I-If you want to that is…” She blushed, averting her gaze. Although she now knew that he loved her back, it was still nerve wracking to say such things.
Linhardt gave a small smile as he leaned in and caught her lips in a gentle kiss. Lysithea’s heart fluttered as his soft lips pressed against her own, his hand cupping her face lovingly. She clutched his sleeve, kissing him back as she hoped to convey her feelings for him. The kiss didn’t last very long but she felt so warm during those few seconds, like the comfort of home that she didn’t want to let go of.
“I hope that was satisfactory for you. I haven’t kissed anyone before.” He admitted as he pulled away.
“I-It was! Totally satisfactory and then some!” Lysithea exclaimed eagerly, trying to control herself as her cheeks beamed red, her heart feeling like it was going to beat out of her chest. She’d just kissed him! It was suddenly hard to look at him without feeling like she was going to pass out. “So… do you want to work on this some more?” She peered down at the book, frantic to get away from every feeling that was currently overwhelming her.
“I really wish I could but I’m suddenly feeling exhausted again...” Linhardt admitted, his eyebrows drooping sadly at the limitations of his own constitution. He took her hand beside him, squeezing lightly as he fell against her shoulder, his eyes beginning to close. “Once I get some rest though, I’ll save you, darling… I promise…” He mumbled, already half asleep.
“L-Linhardt.. what are you even saying?” Lysithea questioned, her eyes widening and her heart a flutter. He was snoring soon after so she didn’t get an answer but that was okay. She smiled lightly, letting her weight fall to the side as she cuddled up against him, feeling happy and content. She kissed the top of his hair lovingly and then spoke softly, “I don’t know why you’re shooting in the dark, but I’m glad that you are…”
The next morning, Hanneman walked in on the two of them asleep together at the desk. He chuckled to himself and turned to leave them be, figuring the research could wait a bit longer. “Ah, young love, sure brings me back.”