Author note: I don't own Bravely Default or Bravely Second.

So this is another fanfic I'm putting up for the sake of Bravely Ship Week, which is running from August 1st to 7th this year!

Warning: References to "Things We Cannot Undo" and "Of Injuries and Memories," some headcanons for both Kamiizumi and Geist (mainly Geist), MagnoliaxYew, TizxAgnes, EdeaxRingabel takes place post-Bravely Second so beware of spoilers, some mention about PTSD and coping mechanisms, possibly mildly nsfw due to some implied conversation.

Please also note: DISREGARD RINGABEL NOT BEING WITH EDEA BY THE END OF BRAVELY SECOND BECAUSE IN THIS FIC HE'S HERE WITH HER.

Of all the misconceptions…

Day 3 prompt used: Camping

Main ships: MagnoliaxYew, KamiizumixGeist

Other ships: TizxAgnes, EdeaxRingabel

Summary: Takes place after Bravely Second. After Magnolia, Yew and the others end up eavesdropping on two asterisk bearers and make a horrible misconception of what is actually happening.

"A la vache. I wasn't expecting this."

All eyes peered from the bushes at the two certain asterisk bearers. Or at least, they tried to.

The bushes were a little thicker than Magnolia, Yew or the others had expected, but they could still hear the Swordmaster and the Exorcist. They'd been setting up camp not too far from this part of the woods when they heard the noises. They came to investigate, and…

Well…

"Um," Agnes fidgeted, "I-I don't think this is acceptable, listening on them like this…"

"Yeah," Tiz agreed, looking to his wife and then Ringabel, "Probably not."

The Planeswarden (now on vacation from his duties thanks to a lot of Bambi eyes and passionate talk about wanting to be with Edea towards his superiors) simply chuckled under his breath, trying to peer through the bushes. "I never thought that the Swordmaster and Exorcist would get so close." He remarked.

"Damn it, yes. Yes."

Geist muttered from beyond the bushes, and something like a grunt came afterwards. Was it from Kamiizumi? Yew had no idea, but he felt himself blush. Looking to Magnolia, he saw her eyes go as wide as dinner plates. Possibly bigger than those, even. Yew didn't blame her for it—if what Kamiizumi and Geist was actually, well, what they believed it was, then….

"Are you kidding me?" Edea managed in return, looking to Ringabel, shaking her head. "I found out from Master himself that he and Geist were already at it even before they got into their relationship! This has been happening since about a few months ago!"

"What? Really?! And you didn't tell me!?" Ringabel struggled to peer through the bushes, but Edea pushed him a bit. "H-hey! I want to see!"

"You're blocking my way with your hair." Edea managed, also trying to see.

Tiz and Agnes exchanged looks with each other, their faces also red by now.

"Maybe we should get back to setting up the camp." Tiz managed.

"I concur." Agnes returned, and she shyly grabbed Tiz by the hand before the two snuck off.

"Uh, sir?" Yew managed, starting to look to Tiz, but then realized the other had already left with Agnes. "Uh…" He looked to Ringabel, face flushing, "I really don't think we should stick around here…"

"Mmm…well," Ringabel chuckled again, "I suppose we should give them their—"

"Fuck! …I messed it up again, Nobtsuna. That's the third one, now."

That was Geist swearing. From what it sounded like, though, it was more anguished than passionately caught up in the moment. Edea, Yew, Magnolia and Ringabel all gave each other weird expressions, before trying to look more.

"Fuck!"

Geist growled at the third broken brooch. The Swordmaster sat with him, a soft sigh escaping him as he handed the Exorcist another small piece of chipped wood while Geist kept glowering at the broken brooches.

"I messed it up again, Nobutsuna. That's the third one, now."

"I'm sure you'll get it this time." Kamiizumi reassured him. "Just take a deep breath, Geist. You need to keep a relaxed hand when getting to the fine details."

"What if I can't?" The Exorcist frowned, red eyes looking up at the Swordmaster. "I…I don't know if I can do this right."

The Swordmaster gazed at him in thought, moving a little closer to him. The two were sitting right next to each other, and Kamiizumi looked to the wood in Geist's hand before looking up at him.

"I am sure that you can do it." Kamiizumi managed. "It takes a lot of patience for this activity, as well as focus. And," He hesitantly moved his hand so it was overtop Geist's hand that was holding the whittling knife. "A steady hand produces the best results. If you let your worries overcome you, it won't end up that way."

"O-okay." Geist tried his best to take a deep breath, but he felt his own face flush slightly. Partially it was due to embarrassment that he just couldn't get whittling a brooch right without breaking them, but also the touch of his lover's hand over his too.

Calm. He needed to be calm. To focus. Kamiizumi had told him that doing activities and spending time with people could help one when they were feeling very much down. Geist recalled that spending time with his son had kept him calm after his wife, Rev's mother, had died.

And then when he lost his son, he…well, even after getting his son back by binding his soul to that suit of armor, it hadn't been really that calm. Of course, there were still times when he was grateful to still have his son with him when they joined the Grantz Empire and such, but the calm times when he could truly feel at peace lessened significantly.

It did not help at all when he and Rev failed to get the compass because Yew and the others downed them in battle. He still recalled Rev collapsing after he'd been hit so many times. Too many times for Geist to undo the injuries fast enough.

"D-don't worry Daddy, I…"

"REV! NO!"

Geist had sincerely believed that Rev had died. Thank goodness, after the battle, that it turned out that he was simply knocked out and wounds easily healed thanks to "Undo." But that had still terrified him. Terrified him so much. He had nightmares about his son actually dying in the past. There was a feeling that just didn't go away, this feeling of dread, and he felt himself getting smaller and smaller, diminished until he was a little speck in some world full of almost nothing to live for, doing nothing but anticipating someone to attack and try to hurt his son or anyone else he cared for.

Kamiizumi had noticed Geist's frequent nightmares. Hence the trip to the forests of Florem in the first place. The Swordmaster had his share of losses and trauma from fighting, too. Also, he happened to have knowledge on hand as of how to cope.

Apparently whittling brooches had somewhat worked for Kamiizumi, other than making sure to spend time with those he cared about.

Taking a deep breath, Geist tried to clear his mind and focus again. He focused on carving the basic shape out of the piece of wood in his hands, the steady but gentle weight of Kamiizumi's hand still resting over his.

Kamiizumi watched Geist get to work with rapt interest. It was always interesting seeing Geist get further and further into focus. He seemed much more calm and peaceful. The Swordmaster was aware that Geist had gone through horrific events, just like he had, and if teaching him to whittle brooches was going to do anything to help the Exorcist get through a few nightmares at least and maybe give him some peace of mind, then he was going to try to teach him.

"How does this look?"

Kamiizumi looked to Geist, who was showing him the brooch.

It was shaped like a pretty flower. A very simple-looking flower, but a flower nonetheless.

The Swordmaster smiled at the brooch, then at Geist.

"It's…it's beautiful, Geist."

Geist's face seemed to redden. "N-not as good as yours.."

"It takes time, patience, and experience. You only just started." Kamiizumi pointed out. "For a first try, it's quite good."

Geist turned his face towards the Swordmaster, saying nothing as he leaned forwards to kiss him. Kamiizumi seemed to jolt slightly, surprised, but kissed him back in return. He could sense a calm and peace in Geist that wasn't present enough. Maybe showing him how to whittle brooches had helped, after all.

"Yew?"

Yew looked to Magnolia. "What is it, Magnolia?"

The two were still in the bushes watching Kamiizumi and Geist together, or at least trying to. Ringabel and Edea had snuck off to grab a camera and maybe try to record this all for blackmail later on. And who knew where Tiz and Agnes had run off to?

"I was thinking…" Magnolia looked to Yew, frowning. "You know, I really don't think this is a good idea to be listening on them like this. From what it sounds like, I don't think they were even having sex from the beginning."

"Yeah…I know." Yew looked through the bushes, and then to Magnolia again. "I mean, what if the roles had been reversed? They'd never do this to us, so why are we doing it to them?"

"I think we should just leave." Magnolia managed softly, looking through the bushes and then to Yew again. "If they catch us like this, they're going to be mad."

"Agreed." Yew managed, just as Geist spoke up again.

"Do you hear something…?"

Yew silently slapped a hand over his own mouth as Magnolia did the same. Both of them looked to each other, hoping that

"Other than your voice and mine, yes." Kamiizumi managed. "If it's another Maneater, I swear I'll just go and cut it down. I think we can agree that we're sick of being hounded by all the monsters in the forest."

"Agreed." Geist wryly replied. "I'm thankful I have the Eradication spell…"

Yew gave Magnolia a look that said They think we're monsters. WE'RE GONNA DIE!

Magnolia shook her head, giving him back a look that said If we stay silent and slowly creep away, we should be okay.

Okay.

Cautiously, slowly and steadily, both Magnolia and Yew began to back up.

One step.

Two steps.

Three…

"Hey, Yew!" Edea whisper-shouted as she and Ringabel crept right up to them.

"Boo."

Yew screamed, and the sudden scream of his caused Magnolia to scream, both of them toppling forwards. Both of them ended up breaking through the bush, just in time for Kamiizumi and Geist to turn around and see them.

"You!" Geist growled, getting up instantly and taking out his sword. "What are you doing here!?"

Magnolia gasped, looking to Yew and helping him up. "W-we weren't listening, we swear! We…"

She looked to Edea and Ringabel for help, only to realize that the two had run off. Probably to escape Kamiizumi and Geist's wrath. Good for them, but not so much for Yew and Magnolia.

"We…what?" Kamiizumi asked, frowning at Magnolia's lack of finishing the sentence.

"Okay," Yew looked down, face full of mortificiation, "We were eavesdropping…"

Geist looked to him. "You were eavesdropping?" He repeated.

"Yes." Magnolia felt her own face go red with embarrassment. "And we initially thought you two were going at it."

"Of all the misconceptions you initially could have had regarding what we were doing," Kamiizumi stated bluntly, "You thought we were having sex?"

"Uhhhh…." Yew felt himself go pale as he grabbed Magnolia tightly be the hand, "Yes?"

Geist was shaking his head in disappointment. "And just when I thought," He muttered, "That we could have a relaxing vacation."

"I…" Magnolia cleared her throat, looking to both men, "We're really sorry about eavesdropping on both of you like that. And if the whole situation had been the other way around, Yew and I both know that you two would never have done this."

"Please don't kill us." Yew quickly added in, looking up at Geist and then to Kamiizumi again. "We won't do again, we swear!"

"Well…" Kamiizumi took a deep breath, looking to Geist, who looked back at him. "I don't take either of them to be liars."

"Neither do I." Geist managed. He paused, putting his sword away. "I suppose we will spare you both, this time."

Yew and Magnolia both exhaled in relief. "Thank you…" Magnolia breathed.

"But we're not sparing my pupil or Ringabel." Kamiizumi ended, looking to Geist. The Exorcist seemed to grin slightly, both men taking out their weapons. "Do either of you have any idea where they are? I believe we'll need to give them a lesson in eavesdropping. Tiz and Agnes we'll spare, given that they ran away early on."

"Wait, so…" Magnolia looked to the bushes, then to Kamiizumi and Geist, "You two heard all of us the whole time!?"

"Yes." Geist managed, a slow grin going to his face. "Also the reason for why I screwed up that third brooch. You kept ruining our concentration."

"And I think that'll help to justify our wrangling of those two." Kamiizumi seemed to chuckle slightly. "Hopefully they'll take the hint after we're done with them."

Yew stared. "You're…not going to kill them, are you?"

Geist shook his head. "Oh, no…" He had a menacing grin on his face. Yew felt himself freeze, before grabbing Magnolia's wrist as if about to use her as a shield. "Don't worry. I'll just use "Undo" after we're done. Now, where did they go?"

"Uh…" Yew and Magnolia both pointed behind them. "That way."

"Thank you." Kamiizumi and Geist immediately rushed off (after gathering their brooches and such of course). Yew and Magnolia watched them go, before the Ba'al Buster spoke up.

"Do you think we should avoid the camp area and just walk around for a bit for a while? To avoid the mess?"

Yew gave her a sheepish grin. "Ah..yeah. We probably should."

"Hmm…" Magnolia seemed to be deep in thought. "Who do you think might win between them, anyway?"

Yew winced. "I don't think we should really think too deeply into this. Let's just hope everyone makes it out okay."

Magnolia nodded grimly in agreement, taking Yew's hand in hers. "Agreed." She managed, before dragging him off to go on that hour-long walk to avoid all the fighting in the woods.