There were times that he absolutely annoyed her. In fact, that was most of the time. Whether it was just him sitting around with a smirk on his face, or him recounting his (mis)adventures in dating, or him reading that enigmatic journal of his, or his futile attempts at flirting, he annoyed her. She didn't really know why.
She was used to having boys – and sometimes men – flirt with her, it was a normal thing. (Men flirting with her was something that only happened a few times, and those interactions were cut short when they realized or someone else alerted them to who her father was.) But having him flirt with her and ask her out on dates was something different. It made her angry and flustered and annoyed and sort of giddy and irked and… Well, in short, a lot of things.
But on those rare occasions he didn't annoy the living daylights out of her, he was really quite nice and, dare she say it, sweet. When she was going through that rough patch with Agnes, he was there. He was so…good to her, even after all the insults she used to say to him. It really made her feel bad. He would tell her that nothing was her fault, that Agnes would come to terms with what happened sooner or later, that she was good person.
Although she was pretty sure it was just his way of getting close to her, she let him hug her. It felt like a million degrees in the Eisen desert, but it felt nice to be that close to someone, even if it was him. He didn't say anything about her crying into his chest, or her clinging to him, or her almost falling asleep in his arms. He stayed quiet and didn't say a word of it to Tiz or Agnes.
He would lend her his Spell Fencer robe to help her deal with the Harena and Eisen deserts. A girl who's used to frozen tundra absolutely melts in weather above 80 degrees. He would ask the Proprietress to make her parfaits and ice creams if he saw that she was down. On the nights she couldn't sleep, he was there to keep her company. On the nights she woke up from nightmares full of anxiety and tears, he was there to comfort her. He wiped away her tears, calmed her down, and rocked her back and forth. He was way too good to her considering she was someone who shut him down at every turn, even the one time he was genuine about going out with her.
By the end of their journey together – after all the deception, fighting, tears, mystery – she started to see this charismatic man in a different light. He was no longer the man she once knew; he turned out to be a man she knew incredibly well. He changed from this talkative man to one of few words. He changed from this flirty man that followed any pretty woman around like a lost puppy to a man who barely even looked twice at a pretty woman.
At the end of their journey together, she offered him a place back in Eternia. She was so sure he would take her up on her offer, but he didn't. It actually hurt her feelings. He decided to stay on Grandship, watching as people took up a life on the sea, enjoying the sea breeze and weather. Although she would never admit out loud, she really missed him while she was in Eternia. She thought she was just lonely without having her near always constant companions around, but she missed him the most.
There were times that he annoyed the living daylights out of her. There were times he made her so angry and annoyed. There were times he made her so flustered and red with blush. There were times he was such a great friend. And then there were many times where she wished he was more than that.