Hi! This is a sort of redo of Sacrifice, but more thought out. One of these days I'm actually going to write something for a pairing I support. Oh, and I don't own Fire Emblem.

A Questionably Romantic Walk

Matthew ran. He really didn't know where he was going, but he knew it had to be somewhere else. Then he heard the demon cry.

"Matthew! Get back here!" Serra. The pink-haired devil. Matthew shoved Oswin aside in a vain attempt to block her path. Dashing through the tent city, he soon saw the lunch line, and he knew that he had found the perfect escape route. He quickly weaved his way through it and hid behind a tent.

Matthew let out a breath. "Finally. I lost her." Then, in a flash of pink, Matthew knew that he had, in fact, not lost her.

"Matthew! There you are!" Serra squealed.

Matthew groaned. "Yep. Here I am. So... What do you need?"

Serra gave a mischievous grin. "Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go for a walk sometime?"

Matthew's face lost all emotion. "Go on a walk. With... you?" Matthew asked, rather irritated that she had chased him all this way for that.

Serra gave him a wink. "I know. You're speechless. Be at my tent at eight. And make sure you look presentable." And she skipped away, leaving Matthew confused.

Matthew decided to just head to his tent. It was the best place for him to think in peace. She just asked me to go on a walk. And I didn't say no in time. And quite frankly, that's more than enough for Serra. Well, she'll be even worse if I don't go on this walk... So I might as well get ready. He put on a new cape and shined his boots, but that was it. He really didn't think he actually had to make himself look better for Serra. It wasn't that Matthew didn't like Serra, it was just that she was... very overbearing. She always got what she wanted, and that really didn't work for a lot of people.

He looked at the sundial outside his tent. Five minutes to eight. He sighed and walked over to Serra's tent. She was already waiting outside. And she looked... better than usual.

She wore her regular robe (which he was pretty sure was way tighter on her than it was supposed to be), but her hair was down instead of put up in her signature ponytails. She evidently noticed his confusion and grinned.

"My, Matthew. Are you so taken with my beauty that you cannot even find the words to convey your thoughts?"

Matthew had no real reply to that, which annoyed him. "Yeah, that's it. Let's just get this walk started, shall we?"

Serra giggled. "Whatever you say." She grabbed his hand and took him on a walk around the camp, pointing out all of the people and what she knew about them. "See Raven and Fiora sparring? Look closer. Notice anything... odd about it?"

It took Matthew a moment to see it. "Wait... Are they... Um... Getting intimate? While sparring?"

Serra grinned. "Yep, though they don't seem to realize it. They still think they hate each other. I've been trying to put them together for months. Well, I've been trying to get Fiora to do something. Raven... I'm not attempting that."

Matthew chuckled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Sain once gave me dating lessons- he's actually not bad at it- and I tried it out on Priscilla. She seemed like she would be easy enough. Unfortunately, I didn't really count on Raven being... Anywhere nearby. I didn't sleep for three days."

Serra frowned. "He kept you up that whole time? That's not very honorable! I'm going to go give him a piece of my mind!"

Matthew immediately held her back. "No! Do NOT do that! Who knows what he would do to you!"

Serra huffed. "Fine, fine. Let's just keep walking before I go any way."

They continued walking around the camp for a while, Serra pointing out various romances, some of which surprised Matthew significantly. "Wait, seriously? Kent and Lyn have been together for how long?"

Serra giggled. "About four months. I know, it's surprising. Kent's just so chaste." Serra stuck out her tongue.

Matthew shook his head. "Aren't you supposed to support chastity, little miss cleric?"

Serra laughed. "I am! I supported Kent in his attempt at courting Lyn, and he's being very formal and un-romantic! Ergo, I am supporting chastity!" Matthew only shook his head at that, allowing her to take his hand and lead him forward again.

After much walking and talking, Matthew and Serra realized that they were the only two people awake. "Hey, Serra. I think it's about time we ended this little walk. Everybody else is in bed..."

Serra put her hands on her hips in a defiant manner. "Why should we? Don't be such a follower, Matthew! But, I'm getting kind of tired myself... Very well. Matthew! Escort me to my tent!"

"Wait, what!" Matthew sputtered. "Why should I! We're safe!"

Serra looked at Matthew with a sly grin. "Who said it was for safety purposes?"

Matthew slowly stepped backward. "Oh... Um, well... Bye!" And with those questionable parting words, he bolted away.

Serra yelled after him, "Matthew! Get back here!"

After finally getting back to his tent, Matthew shook his head. He knew that was probably the first time he had ever been around Serra and not completely despised it. And though he didn't know it yet, it was not to be the last.

oO-Oo

Rawk: Alright, I had to do it. I kept thinking about this, and finally I decided to change it. A lot. Now it's more of a pre-romance fic than anything else.

Erk: Yeah. Look at it, you pretty much doubled the length. That's double the time I have to deal with some cocky thief taking a walk with my girlfriend.