Just a short little one-shot to hopefully rid myself of writer's block. Plus, I really needed to contribute something to this wonderful little pairing. I love it so much, and yet I've only read one story about them. I hope someone happens to find this!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem: The Shadow Dragon.
The day began like every other day, but that was something the healer didn't take for granted. Each day was precious, and it gave her a new opportunity to reach out and help someone.
Lena rose with the sun and felt instantly awake. She was a morning person, anyone could notice that. Her bed partner, though, was not.
She sighed as she looked down at Julian's sleeping face. Lena knew that he would wake for a few hours, but she had learned to accept that. It was just one of their numerous differences that helped their personalities to mesh together.
They had been together for quite a few years, and had even gotten married the year before. Lena was happy, and even though Julian disliked talking about his feelings, she could tell that he was too.
Not wanting the day to slip away, the healer finally got out of bed, ate a light breakfast, and donned her white robes. She was now strictly a healer, ready to cure the sick and ease the pain of the wounded.
While it was probably too early for many of the townspeople to be up and about, she followed her daily routine and took a stroll. The morning air was crisp and cool against her face. She met a few people along the beaten path of the quaint town, and she gave them a pleasant greeting and charming smile. In her experience, if you were kind to people, they would be kind to you in return, and that was how she had been so warmly accepted by so many people across the continent.
Julian, however, had a different story.
The two of them had traveled around for a few months after the war had ended. They had gone town to town, Lena eager to aid the injured. But people had been wary of Julian, and even the young woman had to reluctantly admit that their hesitation was not unwarranted. He was a thief, and no matter how hard he could work to better himself, he would always be a thief.
But that didn't mean Lena would not defend him. She would fiercely defend him, staunchly maintaining that he was her bodyguard and he had to stay by her side. Both had been surprised by that passionate declaration, and that was when they both realized they might actually be in love.
Eventually, they found this village, where the people welcomed both of them. And Lena knew when Julian used the term "settle down" to ask if she wanted to live here, that she would want to live nowhere else, with no one else.
Lena arrived at the small, lax hospital. There she would busy herself with work, of, if there was nothing for her to do, she would talk to some of the patients, hopefully able to ease the weariness of their soul and coax a smile or two from them.
Today, the instance was the latter, so she sat down next to a young girl, no older than eight, eating her meal. They cheerfully chatted about light topics. Lena had seen this girl before many times—she was quite prone to illnesses—and she made it her mission to help make her stay a little more bearable.
After awhile, Lena left the hospital, praying for the recovery of the young girl. She meandered toward the town square, and found her thoughts drifting back to Julian, which was a normal occurrence.
He was about the same as when she met him. The only difference, physically anyway, was that he had cut his hair to an extremely short length. Truthfully, the impromptu haircut was Lena's fault; she offered to trim his hair and he allowed it. Sadly, she had made a few… mistakes, and chopped off most of his uniquely-colored hair.
The thief wasn't mad though. No, he just laughed it off, like he did with most things, she noted. They both agreed that they liked the new look, anyway.
Also, he had stopped stealing money and possessions… for the most part. Occasionally, he relapsed, and would swipe something or nab a small amount of coin. They talked about it often and, for the most part, she understood. She could remember a distinct conversation they had had a year or so ago.
They had been in the village for two months, and married for only one. She had been staying home that day.
Our home, Lena thought, smiling fondly.
Julian had been feeling under the weather for the past few days. Her staves had been ineffective, so she had forced him to go to the doctors.
Eventually, he returned, looking quite forlorn. Lena felt her worry intensify.
Motioning him to a nearby chair, she questioned, "Julian, what is it? What's wrong?" She quickly examined him, taking his flushed cheeks—mild fever, she observed—and pale face.
"The doctor… he told me what I have."
"What is it?" She enquired again, sitting down next to him and grabbing his hand.
"It's Kleptomania," Julian whispered, a few chuckles escaping.
Lena, oblivious, was unable to find the humor in the situation. "Is it curable?"
"I told the doctor everything, and he doesn't think so. Turns out I've it for years." Now he was smirking.
"Well… Julian, what is it? Please tell me!" She could start to feel tears welling up in her eyes. What if Julian was going to… die? What would she do then?
Julian seemed to notice too, for his smirk morphed into a loving smile. He brought his hands up to her face, cradling it. It occurred to the healer that her lover was comforting her though it should've been the other way around.
"No, no Lena, darling, I'm fine. Just a little cold, 'm not dying. Lena, don't cry, I'm fine."
It finally sunk in that Julian was just trying to joke around with her, as usual. While she was relieved to know that he was going to be all right, she was fuming with an anger she rarely showed.
She roughly removed his hands from her face, and harshly scolded him for toying with her like that. Julian seemed genuinely repentant for his misdeed, which did lessen her anger. From that point on, he seemed to consider what may seem amusing to her might not be to her.
She could smile it now though. Reflecting upon it, Lena had to admit that she probably did overreact. But she maintained that she had a right to. After all, who would want their husband to die?
A few hours after that incident, Julian finally approached her. The thief explained the rush he felt whenever he stole something, and that sometimes he didn't even realize that he was. Lena, empathetic as always, nodded her head to his speech, attempting to understand his logic, and the way he felt this need to steal.
The girl did not know much about his past, not even how he became a thief in the first place. She had to make assumptions from the tidbits of his history he would reluctantly say. All she figured was that he did not come from the love, stable environment that she and her brother had.
Lena took a seat on the bench near the small, but flourishing, flower garden in the town square, directly next to an elderly man. She recognized him, just like all the other local citizens, and began making small talk with him, listening intently to his rambling about the increased price on vulneraries.
"I get that they need gold, jus' as much as the rest of us, but what about my son? He of'en goes out of the village and those things 'ave saved his life before."
"Maybe if you tell the shopkeeper your story, he might give you and your son a special price."
She smiled as he thanked her for the advice. She wished him luck, offering to pray for his son on his travels, then began making her way back home. Something was telling her that Julian had yet to get out of bed, even though it was almost noon.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she arrived home. She opened the door to their bedroom quietly, quickly spotting the Julian-shaped lump under the blankets. There would occasionally be those days when he would just lie in bed the whole day. Lena assumed that it was because he didn't need to be on the move the whole time; didn't need to fear he would be caught or captured if he remained in the same spot for too long.
Whatever the reason, she sat on the bed a couple inches away from him. She laughed a little as she watched his eyes blink open in confusion.
"Mornin'," he mumbled sleepily, beginning to sit up next to her.
"Julian, it's after noon," she lovingly chided.
"Well… good afternoon then." He craned his neck to kiss hers.
"Eat anything yet?" Lena questioned, even though she already knew the answer.
"Nope. Wanna eat with me?"
She nodded, then moved over so he could crawl out. Once he got out, Julian grabbed her hand and pulled her into the small kitchen. All of this happened often, but it still caused her to smile.
While her life might seem tedious and repetitive to some, Lena wouldn't trade it in for the world.
Please review!