*blows the dust off of this 100 prompt series* Hello yes I have not abandoned this I swear lol I just got distracted by my Octopath hyper-fixation . Anyway, I saw some really good Libra/Tharja fanart on twitter and I just needed to write something for them, so here it is!
"Goodnight, children. Sleep well."
"Aww, not yet!"
"Yeah, we're not sleepy!"
Libra chuckled softly as he gazed around the room at the six children pouting at him from their beds. His eyes flicked briefly to the window, where the sun was just disappearing under the horizon.
"Now, now, getting enough sleep is important to your health, and will help you all grow up big and strong." Libra said, and he barely resisted the urge to smile when one girl shook her head and stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh please, Libra! Please tell us a story first!" she said, and the other children nodded excitedly.
"A story! A story!" the other children chimed in, and another girl crawled across her bed to the end, looking at Libra with wide eyes.
"Tell us how you and miss Tharja fell in love!" she said, and the other children gasped excitedly and beamed at Libra, who just shook his head.
"I promise to tell you a story, but it will have to wait until tomorrow night. It is far too late now." Libra said, and the children groaned with disappointment. Libra chuckled and went to the door as the children blew out the candles on their nightstands. "May the gods grant you all a good night's sleep." Libra stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him, a content smile crossing his face as he walked down the hallway.
Libra used to have a bleak outlook on the future. He had thought that he would have been stuck in the clergy for the rest of his years living a lie. He had never dreamed that he would be running an orphanage, giving homeless and abandoned children a chance to grow up in a loving and stable home. And he most certainly did not think he would be doing so with the love of his life.
Stepping out into the brisk night, Libra paused just outside the door of the orphanage to admire the view. Tharja was standing at the bottom of the stairs, gazing out at the beautiful twilight sky. Her ebony hair looked almost purple as it reflected the light of the moon and retreating light of the sun simultaneously, and Libra was amazed that her beauty could still give him pause and leave him completely breathless.
"Hey, Libra, are you going to stand there gawking at me all night?"
Libra was pulled from his thoughts as he looked at Tharja, who was smirking at him over her shoulder, but he did not fail to notice the look of admiration in her eyes. He chuckled and descended the stairs to stand at her side.
"I am sorry, my dear. I fear you will always find a way to captivate me with your beauty, no matter how hard I try to resist. Although, I really do not try hard at all." Libra said, his hand finding hers and their fingers immediately entwined.
"You always find the most nauseatingly sweet things to say, don't you?" Tharja said, her cheeks flushing as she averted her gaze bashfully. Libra smiled fondly and reached up with his free hand, cupping her cheek as he gazed deep into her eyes.
"Do you not like it?"
"I-I didn't say that." Tharja quickly protested, her eyes locking on his as she frowned, "I just thought you'd have run out of that kind of stuff to say by now." Libra laughed as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.
"On the contrary, dear Tharja, I could never run out of things to say to express how much I adore you." Libra said, his voice dropping to a whisper as he lovingly caressed her face with the back of his hand. Tharja rolled her eyes and let a rare giggle slip out. She reached up and snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer so that their noses touched.
"Yeah, well, I'd prefer to just show you how much I adore you." she said, and Libra raised an eyebrow, his face being the one to flush with color this time.
"Oh?" he said, and Tharja just smirked and closed the distance between them, her lips pressing firmly against his. He smiled and moved a hand to the back of her neck, tilting her head up so that he could deepen the kiss. Gods, he was a lucky man. He had always thought that Naga was playing some kind of trick on him, when he, a man of the cloth, found himself falling head over heels in love with a Plegian dark mage, but now he realized that Naga was only leading him right where he belonged in life.
Libra's eyes snapped open when the sound of loud giggling and a chorus of 'awws' hit his ears, and Tharja immediately pulled away from him, her face turning as red as a tomato. Libra smiled and looked back at the front of the orphanage, where six little heads were poked out from behind the front door, ear-to-ear smiles on each of their faces.
"Children, you are supposed to be in bed." Libra scolded halfheartedly, and they just giggled and shook their heads.
"We told you, we're not sleepy!" a girl said, tilting her head, "You need to tell us that story now that we've seen you being lovey-dovey!" The other children loudly voiced their agreement, and Tharja raised her eyebrow at Libra in confusion.
"What story?" she asked, and Libra just chuckled and shrugged.
"They wanted to know our story, my dear. Our love story." Libra said, and Tharja sputtered and covered her face.
"Oh gods, how embarrassing…" she mumbled, and the children giggled. One red-headed girl ran out from behind the door and ran up to Tharja, smiling brightly as she took her hand.
"Miss Tharja! We want to know how you and Libra fell in love! Won't you tell us, please oh please!" she said, blinking owlishly as she started up at Tharja. Libra watched as Tharja tried to feign annoyance by huffing and turning her head away, but he caught the smile that she was trying to hide.
"I could just hex you all so that you'll go right to sleep." Tharja said, shrugging nonchalantly. Instead of scaring the kids like she had probably intended, the rest of the children squealed in delight and rushed out the door, surrounding her excitedly.
"Oh! Miss Tharja! Can you hex me so that I can fly! I think it would be so cool to be like a bird!"
"No! Hex me so that I talk to animals!"
"Turn me into a frog!"
"T-That's not how hexes work!" Tharja tried to say over the children's chattering, but they ignored her as they continued to make their outlandish requests. Libra couldn't help himself as he burst out laughing so hard that tears started running down his cheeks.
"It's a bit late for hexes, children." Libra said when he composed himself. "Let us just go back inside and tell you that story you all want to hear so badly."
"Yay!" the children yelled, and they scrambled back inside, eager to hear the story of how their caretakers fell in love with each other. Tharja watched them run off, and she sighed as she rubbed her hands over her face.
"They absolutely adore you, my dear." Libra said, taking her hand in his as they walked up to the door. Tharja did not hide her smile this time, and Libra swore it got more beautiful every time he saw it.
"Yeah, I know. I never really spent much time around children before, you know? It's a little strange. Didn't think someone like me would really be popular with the little runts." Tharja said, and Libra shook his head.
"You are more lovable and endearing than you think, my dear. I am not the only one who knows this." Libra said, leaning down to place a kiss on her cheek. Tharja chuckled and rolled her eyes, stepping through the doorway.
"C'mon, loverboy, let's not keep them waiting."
Libra smiled and nodded as he followed her, making a mental note to pray extra long to Naga tonight for blessing him with this wonderful life he lived.
*sobs* I forgot how much I love these two, like god damn it. I think their ending is my favorite one in the game, just Libra opening an orphanage for kids like himself and Tharja being adored by the children and I just...I'm love :')
So yeah, I don't know when the next prompt will be written, as I really want to try and finish my Octopath chapter fics before really seriously getting back into this project. But I will finish this damn thing, damn it!