A/N: written for someone who has had an uncomfortable fever for the past few days; I can't say this is one of my more polished works, but I'm trying to channel a some empathy into writing. Also, this is in companion to an idea I have for another fic revolving entirely around the idea that Jakob is having a hard time living a different kind of routine as royalty, so the OC in this fic is an experimental addition to the dynamic I wanted to set for that fic. Regardless, I hope some enjoyment can be garnered from this little prompt.

Dwyer had forgotten how fast years can go by, and was grateful that it hasn't been much past a year since the war was won. Without having to wait tiredly for the next visit of his family, like he did in the deeprealms, he now wished for time to go slower, instead of faster.

Though it didn't take very long for him to find a routine in the Vallite Castle, he was no longer subject to the stagnant boredom that came with waiting. The new life came with a mess of its own, and he welcomed that more than the idea of ever going back to the past.

The First Prince of Valla liked to be immaculate in dress but did not care for over-fanciful styles. Though Valla was a bright place with a partial to calm colours, Dwyer himself still preferred the darker colours in contrast to his brother, Kana. (The talk of succession has not been discussed, though Dwyer already made up his mind that he was in no position to accept responsibility of the throne should something ever happen to his mother. He hopes it would never come to that, but it was a bridge to cross if they ever came to it.)

On this particular day, he woke feeling amused and dressed in somewhat more comfortable clothing...not too extravagant, not too plain. Those not familiar of him may think him a royal retainer, as he refuses to break the habit of honing his skills in serving others. But speaking of that habit, all residents of the castle knows of someone more troublesome when it comes to "settling into life of royalty."

As Dwyer made his way down the hall, he noticed someone turn the corner with a tray of hot tea...and something else. The smell wafting down the hall told Dwyer that it was herbal medicine...the bitter, piping-hot kind.

That reminded Dwyer of the reason why he woke up feeling amused.

Jakob, the Queen's Consort, came down with a fever the night before. And knowing his father's attitude and stubbornness, his recovery was going to be difficult only in the fact that he did not take well to being told what to do, and that could often include suggestions for the betterment of his own health.

"Good morning." Dwyer greeted the servant.

"Morning, your Highness."

The smile the servant wore held a different kind of amusement. In a sense, Dwyer could say that he and Corvus have become friends, though it was still a work in progress. The friendship was somewhat required, as Corvus was one of the few residents of the castle who had the temperance to remain patient with Jakob, and as a result, was somewhat coerced to become a retainer to the consort by 'outside intervention' by the label of 'concerned family.' Needless to say, Jakob insisted he did not require a retainer of his own. (It did not change the final arrangement.)

There was a moment of silence as Dwyer waited for Corvus to speak. The dark-haired retainer glanced at the steaming medicine on the tray. Like Dwyer, Corvus preferred darker colours, and his long hair was braided into a single long braid. Dwyer decided to break the silence instead: "Isn't the fastest way to the Royal Quarters down that way?" He pointed in the direction he spoke of.

Corvus sighed. "Take a guess, your highness..."

"He's not resting in bed like he's supposed to, is he?" While there was certain delight to know he would be right, Dwyer is all too familiar with the exasperation that comes with dealing with his father.

"Care to help me convince my lord and liege that this is the opposite of productive? I will say I'm pleased that he at least knows to not try and work in the kitchen when sick. Though I am not in the position to judge what he does."

Dwyer sighed. The jest would have enticed a chuckle if it weren't for the fact that Jakob's still his father, and his health is still a concern for him. "I think you can imagine how that would end up. Even when mother tries to talk sense into him, it doesn't always work. But mother is and probably will always be the best 'remedy' for his problems." He took the tray from him anyway. "She's probably worried in her own way right now. I would suggest finding her and telling on father." He chuckled a little. "This is more work for me...but I'll put in some effort just to see mother come drag him back to bed."

Being relieved of the tray, Corvus bowed. "Last I saw him, he was dusting the bookshelves in the private library. I shall go see if Her Majesty is in her study."

And so Dwyer made his way to said library, unsurprisingly finding Jakob organizing one of the shelves that had been emptied a few days prior when someone was looking for a specific collection of books.

"Father?"

"I'm fine." Was the immediate response from Jakob, who didn't even turn around from his task. "My fever is gone. There's a lot to do-"

"I'm glad that you have at least restricted yourself to only work on rooms of immediate importance to us instead of the whole castle like you did when we first arrived, but you know as well as myself that your current condition is only temporary. At least take a moment to drink your tea, and take this...horrid smelling medicine." Dwyer wasn't going to lie. Herbal medicines were the worse. Midori probably cooked this up, though that is also a reassurance that it will work well.

Sighing, Jakob set down a stack of books, and turned to face his son, who had just set the tray down on an empty coffee table. Dwyer could tell that despite the rest, Jakob still showed sighs of sickness. Nothing that he couldn't get over, but only if he took proper care of himself. Still...

"You're not exactly fine if you woke up this morning and fell straight back into the habit of wearing your old clothes..." Dwyer pointed out. It wasn't uncommon, but Jakob was well known for showing up around the castle in his Nohrian butler's clothes and busying himself with tasks that should no longer be his problem. Corrin had resigned to the fact that she will never break him nor Dwyer of the habit of bringing her refreshments, but he certainly didn't always need to have a hand in the dinner menu and everything else, either.

"I was restless. This was more suited to the task I wanted to finish up here." Jakob did not wait for Dwyer to pour the tea for him. He did so himself, and took a sip. Frowning, he continued: "If you wanted to make something that was supposed to help with my recovery, you could have done better than this."

"Hmm, well...I'd like to say your sense of taste is probably off from being sick, but I didn't make this tea." Dwyer shrugged.

"Ah, Corvus, then." He set the tea down and didn't touch any more of it. "If I take this medicine, will you stop peppering me about lying back down in bed?"

"Father, you can never take someone else's concern to heart, can you? Plus, one of the servants could easily finish the task. Why put in so much effort?"

"Yes, says the little prince who spends his free time either napping or also playing butler." Jakob scoffed.

This was an entirely old dance, and the two of them knew very well that it was simply the most familiar way to interact with each other. "Someone did tell me once that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Surprisingly, Jakob didn't retort back. Dwyer could tell that he was tired. As he watched the patient begrudgingly down the medicine, he now had to wonder what was the best way to convince his father to just drop everything and get some extra rest. If he continued, it wouldn't be long before the fever returned.

During the time in which Dwyer was putting in the effort to make sure Jakob didn't work himself to oblivion, Corrin was finishing up with reading the last of her letters of the morning. She had gotten up early, and was quite pleased that today's workload was light. Important decisions and discussions were done the day prior, and no new reports of importance had been turned in yet.

"Lady Corrin." Kaze's voice seemed to have come from nowhere, as he came out from her blind spot and bowed politely to her. "Corvus is outside the study's door." The ninja then chuckled. "I can only assume that Jakob did not stay in bed to rest, like you had asked him to."

Corrin only smiled, and shook her head. "Oh dear...well, let him in."

Kaze nodded and opened the door. Corvus remained outside of the study, bowed, and intoned: "Good morning, Your Majesty."

The Queen of Valla pursed her lips as she regarded the dark-haired servant. "Can't a friend drop the title and just call me Corrin?" Indeed, as per her usual self, she made effort to befriend anyone new in the castle, especially those who were to work closely with her and her family. Truth be told, she was probably the first to get Corvus to warm up to, however...

"The less reason I have for my liege to complain about, the better. I dare not be that familiar with you." He stepped into the study anyway, and sat down in one of the chairs. Corvus was tall but very fair-featured, though his scarred hands under the gauntlets tell a different story. "That aside, I'm at a loss. I can only hope that he took the medicine Dwyer brought to him." And yet he would address the prince by name. At this point, the talk of titles was more like an inside joke. Corvus purposefully never failed to call Jakob his lord or liege to remind him of his position, as a way of teasing. "Heavens know that he won't listen to a word I say. Not to mention, I'm ill-equipped for taking care of the sick. He already complains about my tea."

Any sense of regal being evaporated from the queen as she scooted her chair, back, and brought her bare right foot onto the edge of her seat, her knee close to her chest. her right hand resting on her cheek, she tilted her head in thought. "I'm sorry he's so difficult. To be honest, he didn't get sick very often, and when he did, there often wasn't much I could do for him. I would visit him a lot, and Felicia and I would sometimes move our book club activities to his room where we could all spend time together while he was sick, but it was usually Gunter who sternly kept him from over-exerting himself." She wistfully sighed. The Great Knight had left without a word, though Corrin could understand why. Even so, she had wished he stayed...they were family, after all.

But Corvus did not have a history nor attachment with the Queen's caretaker, whom he had never met. "Well, Your Majesty, since you appear to have no further obligations today, perhaps yourself and the royal siblings could do something in place of the care in the past."

She smiled. It was indeed on her mind. "I just don't know where to start."

"If I may..." Kaze softly made his presence known. "He has taken care of you in the past when you have fallen ill, right? Why not start there?"

Corrin was thoughtful for a moment. Then her smile grew. "You two are such wonderful retainers. Corvus, go keep an eye on Jakob for me, and make sure he doesn't over-exert himself. Kaze? Let's go find Kana. Oh, and please tell Dwyer to meet me in the kitchen." She redirected her last statement to Corvus. "I'll come find Jakob when we're done preparing!"

"Of course, your majesty." Corvus stood up and bowed. "Though, just out of concern...I do hope your plan does not involved another attempt of playing at being a maid..."

The Vallite Queen laughed in a light and pleasant chime. "I think we can all agree this is not the time and place for that...I will even admit that it was one of the sillier things I've tried. It was fun while it lasted though!"

Soon, Corrin had made her way to the courtyard with Kaze to find Kana taking a break from his sword practice. The young prince was starting to grow into his teens, and was beginning to hit his growth spurt. Still, much of him was a child at heart, and Corrin only hoped that he will be able to enjoy that innocence a while longer before the responsibilities of adulthood started to pile on.

"Papa is still sick? Okay! Let's try to make him feel better!" Kana all but dropped his training sword to the ground right then and there, but he knew better than that. By the time they had put away the training equipment and made their way to the kitchen, Dwyer was already there, heating up a kettle of water. He was in the middle of cleaning the tea set that was on the tray Corvus had meant to take to Jakob, while the current two kitchen staff stood to the side, left with little to do now that the prince had once again commandeered the kitchen.

Dwyer making use of the kitchen for tea, baking, and cooking had become something the kitchen staff were used to. The arrival of Corrin and Kana, also, was a bit of a surprise. She kindly told them that assistance wouldn't be required as Kana went up to Dwyer immediately: "Dwyer! Can I make the tea this time?"

"Huh? Well, sure, if that's what you want to do."

Moving to bring out a tin of tea leaves from the cabinet, Kana replied: "Papa sometimes will let me practice and tell me if I'm doing well. I wanted to make tea for Mama..."

"And they were always lovely, Kana-bean." Corrin smiled and patted Kana on the head.

"...but today I want to make tea for Papa. He always does so much for Mama and us already. Do you think it would make him happy?"

"If there ever was a thing you could do that didn't make him happy-" Dwyer started, but his younger brother cut him off:

"Transforming in the castle made him very mad."

Dwyer shook his head and changed the subject: "Use this tin instead. I bought it from the market two days ago, and it's more fresh." He switched out the one in Kana's hand for the other, and then closed the cabinet. "I guess I'll bake something...Kana, don't start on the tea just yet. It'll get cold by the time the sweets are done." He moved the kettle from the heat.

"I'll help with that. Where's the butter..." Corrin immediately went to find the baking supplies, but wasn't as familiar with where they were kept. As the three of them gathered things up, they tried to decide what to make.

"Something buttery and light?" Dwyer offered.

"He likes fruit. Maybe something with berries..." Corrin eyed a bowl of fresh-picked berries from the morning.

"I think those are going into dessert tonight." Kana also eyed the fruit, wanting some for himself.

"Then that's a no. We do have some strawberry preserves still. Maybe shortbread cookies topped with some of it after baking..." Dwyer pulled out the jar of preserves in question.

"That sounds delicious. Let's get started on that." Corrin brought over the mixing bowl. By the time they had the cookies in the oven, Kana and Corrin had flour splotched on them in several places, and at one point in time, Dwyer had to remind his brother that he should have taken his cape off before they started baking. The cape in question was going to need some light washing. All ended in laughter. It wasn't often that they spent time together like this.

"So...we will bring him tea and cookies. What else can we do for papa?" Kana wondered. "He doesn't seem to be sick the same way I get sick. I would feel very warm and uncomfortable, and wouldn't even be able to get out of bed. Sometimes people would sing or read to me. Would papa like that?" Kana recalled some of his experience back in his deeprealm, during the times when Corrin and Jakob couldn't visit him.

"Adults endure sickness a little differently, but I can still remember times like that..." Dwyer mused. "No...what does one do for an adult who's sick?"

Corrin just shook her head and answered brightly: "I think just being there would be nice. When I got older, even when I had a fever but couldn't go around doing much else, I would read, or maybe play a bit of piano. Your father and my other retainers, Felicia and Flora, would often spend time with me, chatting and often enjoying chess or more reading material. Gunter and Jakob would often head out to the market and bring home something nice for me. Maybe we should bring him some fruit? I think he'll be more inclined to stay in bed if we stay around and make it less boring for him."

"Okay! We should all read a book together then! I'm going to the library!" Feeling like he had a great idea, Kana raced off out the kitchen.

"Wait! Clean the flour and butter off yourself before you touch anything! Kana? Kana!" Dwyer called after him, and went down the hall to catch him before he made a mess of anything else. Corrin chuckled as she watched her older son lightly chastise his brother to bring him to the sink first. Despite how demure Dwyer may seem, many would be in for a surprise if they thought they could outrun him.

"Let's meet up in my room when we're ready then!" Corrin called after them.

So the time went by, and soon, Corrin asked Kaze where Jakob and Corvus would be. Surprisingly, he was already back in their bedroom, though he was not resting.

"Jakob?" Corrin lightly entered the room. Her husband appeared to have done laundry...which was, again, something he needn't worry about. He was placing everything into their closet while Corvus sat at the tea table, begrudgingly flipping through pages of his magic tome. Jakob had the habit of not allowing people to do things for him as some sort of 'I'm very capable' statement.

"You should be resting, dear."

"I'm fine. Not a worry, my love. I can't every do anything in just half-measures, after all." Seeing Corrin certainly brightened his attitude, however...

"You perform 'resting' in half-measures, milord." Corvus stated bluntly from his seat. "I'll be nearby." He stood up and left out the door, meaning he was going to be standing guard. Like Kaze, he was more suited for protecting his master, though Corvus relied on magic and presence, whereas Kaze was all about stealth and surprise. That was irrelevant to the situation, however. Corvus left and closed the door lightly behind him.

Jakob sighed. "Remind me why-"

"Because you don't want to admit that you see him as a friend. If I had my way, I would have liked for Silas to stay around, but his family is still in Nohr, after all. Admit that you probably wouldn't want anyone else as a retainer anyway, because I will not allow you to go without one." She brought a hand to his forehead. "You're starting to feel a little warm. You haven't rested at all since getting up this morning, have you?"

"I'm restless." Jakob admitted. "Being sick now feels different from back when there were only six of us living in one small fortress."

"Come on, then. Don't worry about the rest of the castle. That's the job of the castle staff, not yours. Today, we'll just focus on this small space right here, and relax." She gently pushed him towards the bed, urging for him to shed some layers and try to get comfortable.

"...If that's what you wish."

"Of course! Let us take care of you once in a while."

Jakob had to admit, by the time he was forced to finally lay down again, he could feel the fatigue crashing down. He knew that his fever had been slowly returning, but stubborn as he was, he tried to ignore it.

It wasn't long before Dwyer and Kana showed up with cookies, tea, books, and board games. Usually critical of anything that was served to him, Jakob sat up and actually regarded the display with some awe.

"Mother helped put all of this together. It's probably the only way you were going to take any of our advice at all." Dwyer mischievously taunted. "Kana made the tea. Mother and I baked. Will this convince you to get some rest?"

Jakob glanced back at Corrin, and now noticed a smudge of flour on her cheek that she had missed. How could he have missed that? He realized with defeat at how tired his body actually was.

"This is..." He gently took one of the cookies from the tray, "...a pleasant surprise." He took a bite, and thoughtfully chewed and swallowed. It was warm, sweet, and buttery. Something about it felt both foreign and familiar.

That's when it hit him. It felt like a long time ago with Corrin and the rest of her retainers, in their fortress that they made into their home, as a makeshift family...the nice gestures and the time they spent together when one of them was sick. Someone always had something small that they would endeavor to do, just to make the patient feel better. The reading, the extra bit of favorite foods, the little get-well-soon gifts...

But the foreign feeling was one that couldn't make him any happier. This was a little different from his days with just Corrin, Gunter, Flora, Felicia, and Lilith. This castle may be bigger, and their previous family may have parted ways, but this...

Was his family.

And that made all the care even more meaningful.

"Papa? Tell me how I did on the tea!" Kana gleefully interjected and poured Jakob a cup of tea. From the colour alone, he could tell that Kana had done well. A smile was on his lips as he sampled it.

"You've improved, Kana. It's wonderful." He was so touched, and feared he may cry at any moment, but didn't want to go through the embarrassment of having to explain how meaningful this was to him.

To the side, Corrin felt relieved and joyful. She could tell that this will mean a lot to him, and in all honesty, it meant a lot to her, too. All of them, here, showing care as a family. She couldn't have asked for a better family.

She sat down on the bed beside him. "I'm free from obligations for the rest of the day. You should be free to rest, so I'll keep you company, too."

"Can I do some of my studies here, too? So that we can spend more time together?" Kana asked. Upon glancing at the pile of books, Jakob noticed that he had actually brought some of his coursework with him.

"I thought you wanted us to all read something together?" Dwyer picked up the book on the very top, which was some kind of fairy tale.

Jakob relaxed a little, and chuckled. "...Do anything you wish. I will certainly enjoy the company."

"Alright!" Kana exclaimed, and pulled two chairs close to the bed, forcing Dwyer to sit down in one of them as he took the other. "Should we start with this one, then?" He opened the book in his lap. "I really liked this story! I want to share it!"

Looking at the title, Jakob knew he had already read that one, a long time ago, with Corrin. But it wouldn't hurt to enjoy it again, this time with his children.

In between the readings, Corrin leaned over to whisper: "When you're with your family, nothing seems like it's in half-measures anymore, does it?"