Fire Emblem: Never-Ending Love
"The Birds and the Bees"
Zack Finley

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and characters from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, or any other Nintendo/Intelligence Systems Copyright. However, I do own this story, which I think is enough.

Warning: High likelihood of lemons in later chapters... Will place additional warnings on said chapters.
Status of this Chapter: Clean (Small discussion on puberty)

Author's Note: This is what I shall call my Christmas/Chanukah or Hanukkah/Kwanzaa present to all of you. It should be, as in, I have planned it to be, a full-length story, so consider it on-going for now. Further, I have just spent three hours working on this chapter, starting at about 2:30 AM, since I cannot sleep. Please, do not leave reviews citing any spelling or grammatical error within this story, or the horridness of the story itself. Thank you.

This story is especially dedicated to my inspirations of its writing; Bethany (who I was recently discussing similar topics with, and have promised the attempt of a fanfiction to), Rose (my reason for not being asleep, I think), and all of my readers (who give me the courage and willpower to continue reading). Enjoy.

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It had only been about eight or nine months since the war between nations ended; Crimea was just finishing its restoration, with Elincia at the head of the country. Ike, although declining to remain a General in the army, still took many job offers from the palace; he had reclaimed his former life as a mercenary. His sister, too, had joined him, along with Titania, Soren, and many of the others at the core of the company. Things seemed to be returning to normal.

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"Sister, where have you been? It's getting late…" Ike had worried about his sister; that had never changed, even throughout the war. He had been forced to take the role of her father, as well as he brother, and he seemed to do his duty well. There were a few uncomfortable talks that he had to give his sister; things that their father had a hard time in confiding to Ike. Talks about girls, or in Mist's case, boys, were among them.

Mist was a new woman; no longer the girl she once was. She had experience with battle, and her powers with a staff were amazing. It was for this reason that she had been offered a position as a Healer, and a Royal Retainer, at the castle. Although wary at first, her brother had pushed her to accept the position, advising that the new queen had needed someone she could trust when her other servants were busy.

"Sorry, Ike; I got caught up on the way back, when I stumbled upon an innocent and wounded young child." Mist's new demeanor seemed much like that of Rhys, but she had developed a steadfast behavior, like that of her brother. Indeed, it seemed the whole company had worn off onto her a bit; the only thing she did not seem to adopt was Soren's conceit.

"Don't forget, Sister; you asked that I speak with you about… well, you know what. I have set aside some time for us later this evening." There was an easy-to-identify, yet hard-to-believe sense of unrest in Ike's voice; he had actually been nervous about the conversation he knew he was going to have to have with Mist one day; somehow, he had believed she would speak to Titania about boys and such, but as a daughter comes to her father, Mist came to Ike.

And, in reply, she gave only a simple nod, slightly fearing the talk they were to have that evening; afraid of why she bled… scared that she might be abnormal, or possibly dying. Normally, she thought to herself, she would have brought it up with Titania, but she was afraid that the older woman might find it amusing, or think her stupid; her brother, she knew, would not judge her. She had begun to remove her over-shirt, a thin parka she had worn to the castle, the warmth of the fireplace emanating throughout the hall.

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Oscar had made dinner that night, taking his newly-appreciated, simple lifestyle's time to study cooking some more. He had prepared and served the evening meal that night, as he had for almost every other night now, feeling that Mist may not get home until late, as she usually did when she went to the palace. It was nothing fancy; some form of vegetable stew that he had been able to cook easily. It had, in his opinion, been an excellent meal for the winter nights they now faced; Ike and the others were quick to agree.

Soren began, as he often did, to criticize the manner in which the meal had been cooked, offering more efficient and "Beneficial" methods to this meal's preparation; he had not given up his former attitude, and without any war to fight, looked to preach about how, with anything he could find an imperfection with, it could have been better, though he never made any action to help make it better himself.

Ike exited the hall, heading for his quarters, a small, cozy section of the dining hall, which he had converted into a small bedroom; he disliked sleeping in the barracks with everyone else, and had often offered to his sister a bed at the opposite side of the room, not quite trusting Rolf at this stage of his life.

Titania, too, had been given special quarters, an add-on to barracks which was built by everyone, willingly and otherwise; they had restored everything since they burned down the fort and left, and making an addendum to the previous living situation was not hard to do. Boyd complained about having to help with this work when he was not getting any benefit out of it, though Ike suspected that he and his co-commander, Titania, had been sharing a bed most nights.

He had no proof of this, and made no accusations, but he was almost certain he had walked by the small building a few nights, to hear one of two things: their restless sleep, filled with sleep-talking, most of which had been agreements about something he knew not, or it had been the two of them performing actions that Ike cared not to imagine in his head. He was happy, as long as the two of them kept these things secret, and did not allow them to affect their performance on the battlefield, unless, of course, this effect was positive.

Rhys was happier these days as well. He had managed to master staves, and was becoming quite adept in the skill of light magic. He and Mia had written to each other often, and it had quite pleasing to hear of her exploits as a mercenary, traveling with a different company, placed under the command of a former Begnion Captain. She seemed happy, and promised to visit one day, soon, assuming the company could get a job in Gallia, a Laguz nation which had allied itself with the larger theocracy fully. Both nations' people respected their alliance, and the rift between the two breeds had seemed repaired.

Lethe sometimes visited as well; she was one of a few ambassadors between Gallia and Crimea, sending word of her King and Husband, Ranulf. The two of them had been wed only a fortnight after the end of the war, and planned to adopt a child sometime in the near future. Her hatred of Beorc had all but been absolved, but it was rare she said anything negative about their race.

And, although Ranulf was unable to visit in person, he often sent word of his exploits as a Gallian General through Lethe. He was quite proud of his service to the King, and declared himself "Protector of the Trees." He rarely spoke of anything outside military talks and diplomacy these days, dedicating his service to his wife and nation's military.

News from Kilvas and Phoenicis was rare, but it seemed the two countries were having open hostilities with each other. Kilvas continued to pilfer from Begnion ships, and Phoenicis did not like the crows hunting in their waters. While Phoenicis seemed to have the upper-hand, everyone knew how Naesala was, and there was little doubt he had a trick or two up his sleeve.

Lastly, the country of Daein was all but blown off of the map. Crimea had aided in its restoration, but Begnion refused, blaming the war, and thus, placing sanctions upon them. There was no one to take over the country from the Royal bloodline, so the country was at a stand-still while Begnion decided what to do with it; it seemed likely that it would be placed back under the control of Begnion, assuming neighboring Crimea did not wish to claim some of their lands.

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Mist headed for Ike's room, wanting to learn what was wrong with her, and what was causing it. She strode in, having eaten at the palace, and thus declining Oscar's offer of leftovers, and there was only about ten minutes left until lights out. As she approached, his door open; he motioned her in, willing this conversation be less awkward than they both knew it would be.

She sat down on his bed, wearing only a light blue skirt, a white shirt, and her undergarments, her hands at her sides. Mist wasn't sure if she should try to start the conversation, or if Ike would start by himself. He closed the door as she sat, and approached her, sitting at her side, wearing a dark blue shirt, and breeches of brown doe skin.

"Sister," he began, also unawares of how to bring up a subject like this; "Father never taught you about the birds and the bees, did he?" His question was purely of curiosity; a way for him to ascertain a starting place. If their father had never had the time to bring it up, or thought Mist was too immature to hear the story, he would not have told her. And, according to their father, when he recited the story to Ike, that story was the fundamental basis of all sensual studies – the one place to start.

Mist simply shook her head, for she had never heard the phrase "The Birds and the Bees." She was not quite sure if their discussion would be about nature or her problems… perhaps both? She had no way of knowing what her brother would say next, but her curiosity was outweighing her fear of it all, and she wished for him to continue.

"Well… We'll start with that then… When father taught me of this long ago, our conversation was awkward. Now, for me to be the one explaining… It's even more awkward; bear with me, Sister. Do you remember when we used to bathe together as children?" A slight blush appeared on his face; it had been this image that their father had imprinted in Ike's memory as well; this was how he had explained the difference between girls and boys.

"Yes, Brother;" Mist nodded, blushing as well at the memory as she started to get a sense for why he was asking this question.

"You remember how we are different… Down there?" He pointed towards her pelvic region, signifying exactly what he had been talking about as he felt himself getting more nervous with each passing second, despite being only barely into their conversation; this was going to be a long night.

"Kind of;" she reddened more, her hands coming up to rest on her waist. She found the conversation to be rather embarrassing, and she only hoped it would explain everything later on. For now, she felt, she would just have to live with it.

"Good. That's a start… Guys have what you remember me having, though I must say, it has grown since then…" He gave a slight chuckle before continuing. "Girls have what you have… and breasts…" He pointed to her chest, which supported, at the moment, breasts of a B-Cup. "You see… when a girl and a guy love each other… They take what I have, and… put it inside of what you have…" This conversation was making Ike rather flustered. How do you explain sex to your own sister, for heaven's sake?

"Are you saying you do not love me, Brother? You've never put that inside of me!" She truly didn't comprehend the meaning of this statement, but Ike blushed a bright red; he had to make this clearer, apparently.

"Sister, it is different for brothers and sisters, as well as mothers and sons or fathers and daughters… it is called sex… it is 'where babies come from.'" He reached a hand up to rub his forehead a bit, his thumb tracing his eyebrow.

"Why can't relatives do it with each other?" She was past her embarrassment, though Ike was not, clearly. He had to think a moment, trying to remember what father had told him on the subject. That was when he realized… his father had never explained that to him. He had simply said it was a practice forbidden amongst members of the same bloodline; Ike had never questioned his father before, and, thinking back, had no reason to question it then.

"Honestly, I do not know… Father never explained that to me; he simply said it was forbidden amongst members of the same family."

"Brother… I have a question… Maybe you have the answer… Why do I bleed down there?" Her voice was nigh on that of a whisper, and she practically whimpered when she asked it, not positive he would have an answer. She buried her face in her hands, expecting to learn that she was dying, or that she had a disease; she had been on the verge of tears as he wrapped an arm around her waist to comfort her before speaking once more.

"Well, Sister, father called that a 'Period.' It is, according to him, completely natural, and happens to all females. He said it should happen for about a week, every other fortnight, and that I should try to avoid women who are having their period, as they get very angry…" He pulled her closer to him. "Why? Have you had yours?"

"You mean I am not dying? I thought for sure I was… I had my 'Period' a fortnight ago… and, I was very uncomfortable during that time… Not angry, I do not think; worried, perhaps." She laid her head on his shoulder, happy to hear that she wasn't plagued by some weird illness, and that it was natural, although it did not feel very natural to her.

"Sister, I think it is time for bed… You've just heard quite a bit of information, and I think you should sleep on it… Besides," he let out a yawn, "I am tired…"

She nodded, lay back on his bed, and pulled his blanket over herself, wanting to sleep in his comfort this eve. Ike simply blinked twice, and lay down with her, his arm wrapped around her waist tightly as he dozed off. He did not even tell her he loved her, or goodnight; he fell asleep as soon as his back hit the bed, the blanket being pulled over him as well.

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Author's Note: I was going to add a lemon there, too... However, I decided to keep the first chapter clean (for Bethany, who does not read lemons), and because I am bloody tired (5:32 AM at the time of this posting)... I shall try to update soon, while I have this small spark of creativity. Perhaps I can get a second full-length story out, eh?