Instructing someone from afar was no way to properly learn how to fight, and shouting commands on how to fix your form wasn't always effective. You could yell all you want, but if they didn't see or feel how it was supposed to feel, how could they know. And yet still he stood a good 10 feet away from her.

"You're too tense! Relax your shoulders."

"Right."

And yet she didn't complain despite the amount of times he had given her the same instruction. Not once had she dared to ask him to leave his comfort zone. What an odd woman.

Lon'qu stared at Cordelia for what seemed like an eternity, getting a once over of her so he could fully assess her posture. And yet he couldn't help but stare a little too long, taking in her form for what it was, her slender yet strong arms, long flowing red hair, and softly contoured face. A blush crossed his cheeks as he realized what he was thinking. Had she noticed? It didn't look like it.

He was getting the feeling that this wasn't working.

But...did he dare get any closer?

"Is something wrong?" Her voice suddenly rang out in the air, causing him to stiffen.

Damn. I must have been lost in thought for longer than I'd imagined. "Nothing's wrong... I just..."

Swallowing back his nerves, he breathed deeply, steeling himself for what he was about to do. Cordelia only stared at him, confused as any normal person would be.

With much reluctance and hesitation, Lon'qu slowly - very slowly - inched his way toward her. The confusion on her face turned to shock once she realized what he was doing. Of course, the shock soon faded because he was certainly taking his time in closing the gap between them. Not that she blamed him. In fact, it brought a smile to her face.

Why is she smiling?! Does this amuse her?

Biting back his pride he continued on his long journey toward her. Something that would've taken a normal man 30 seconds seemed to take him 10 minutes. But he was no normal man was he? Eventually, he did come next to her and she looked up at him expectantly. Right, now he was here, red faced, and shaking like a leaf in the autumn wind. Damn his crippling phobia.

He began to model the proper stance for her, but she still seemed to be getting it wrong.

Did he dare to take it a step further? To reach out and place a hand on her. It was bold for him, indeed. But there was a voice in the very back of his mind encouraging him to go through with it.

When he did finally muster the courage to place his hand on her shoulder and forearm, his whole face was a bright shade of crimson and he felt sick to his stomach. Gently he pressed on her limbs, avoiding eye contact with her at all cost while he continued the lesson. "There. Just like that."

"...Thank you." Her voice was soft as if right next to his ear and he began to shake more visibly, heart thudding painfully against his chest.

"R-Right."

The lesson continued until he felt it was time to stop - and just in time for if he had spent another 10 minutes like that, he might have passed out.

She thanked him for what seemed like the thousandth time within the hour as she left to do whatever it was Chrom needed her for.

One thought continued to burn in his mind. When had he fallen in love with Cordelia?

It seemed fairly pointless to even try. Her heart longed for no one but Chrom, or so he told himself to keep from getting his hopes up. Though - to be perfectly honest with you, she never once brought him up in conversation with Lon'qu.