Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Awakening, but I do own my OCs Angel and Allen. This is a marching band AU. Hope you enjoy the story!
Videogames are a godsend.
They have so much work put into them, and they are sparkling gems of the digital world once they are finished.
They bring people together (and sometimes break them apart), and help pass the time.
Now is such a time.
Ylisse High School's assistant drum major sat in the midst of her fidgeting band, still dressed in her uniform.
Her thumbs were pounding away at the weathered buttons on her 3DS. If one looked closely, they could see the small beads of sweat that rolled down the young lady's head, but you couldn't tell if it was from the heat or from nerves.
However, this was from nerves.
It was never easy for Angel to simply sit around waiting for the results of a competition. She had to do something in the meantime, even if that meant pacing around the stadium to get her emotions in gear.
This time, she was able to conserve enough battery life to play The Pedestal of Flames during the awards ceremony. In these times, the thrill of outsmarting the enemy was enough to keep her mind off her nerves.
Angel sighed.
This really sucks.
"Gods, that was a big one."
Angel stiffened up, then glanced to the side and saw her drum major's shoes.
"Yep, I'm known for my sighs," she laughed as she made room for him.
Chrom sat down beside her, a slightly nervous smile on his face.
"You're nervous too?"
"More than you can imagine."
"Heheh. The life of a drum major is harsh."
"Mhm. You mess up once..."
"And before you know it, the judges already deducted points."
"Exactly! How does that work?!"
The two laughed, then quieted down as Angel returned to her game.
"...What are you playing?"
When Angel glanced back at him, Chrom stared at the small console with a sort of fascination.
Huh?
"Oh, this? It's just something I like to play now and then. It's called the Pedestal of Flames."
She could've sworn she felt her heart skip a beat.
Okay, calm down. He's just asking you about a game. That's all.
"How does it work?"
"Well, it sort of goes like this," Angel started. "When you start a level, the game assigns a task for you to complete in that stage. You're supposed to use your army to complete the task."
She pointed here and there on the screen, unsure if Chrom was even paying close attention.
"Then you sorta just go through with it. I've gotten pretty used to it, but you're supposed to use a lot of strategy with it apparently. It's never become a problem for me, though."
She heard Chrom hum slightly in response, then shift a bit to a more comfortable position. After a while, she continued her flustered explanation.
At some point, Chrom started asking more questions, like who the main character was, who Angel thought was the best in the group, if there was any way for the two armies to solve things peacefully, and just why on earth the Pedestal of Flames wasn't even made of fire.
At that last question, Angel nearly choked and went on a long explanation that involved worshipped dragons, a sword, and a shield the two armies called the Pedestal of Flames.
For some reason, everybody wanted it.
Chrom sort of tuned out the reason why.
As Angel kept talking, she closed the stage she was playing and started showing Chrom these different characters that went by so quickly he didn't have a chance to think about them.
He thought about Angel, though.
Throughout her lengthy talk, she had a sort of fiery passion in her eyes, the kind that people would have when they talked about something they really set their heart and soul on.
It was like when he talked about music, actually.
He hadn't really seen this side of his assistant drum major, just the side that tried her best to bring the band to glory, or the side that was extremely insecure going to social events, but was willing to go if he was.
But gods, did he love seeing this side.
He might have lost track of just who the main character was, or why exactly the armies needed the Pedestal of Flames, but he didn't care.
And before he knew it, he had taken Angel's 3DS out of her hands and pulled her close.
He could've sworn he felt her stiffen up at first, but then she relaxed and hugged him.
As if on cue, Chrom shifted and kissed her, right there in the stands.
...with the entire band watching.
With Allen glaring daggers at him.
Gods, he was going to pay for this.
But for the moment, he didn't care.
He didn't even hear the awards ceremony begin, and wouldn't know about which place they got.
And it was completely fine with him.
Videogames are a godsend.
They have so much work put into them, and they are sparkling gems of the digital world once they are finished.
They bring people together (and sometimes break them apart), and help pass the time.
And this time, it brought two people together.