Hello! I wrote this in the middle of class because I'm the best student ever.
Disclaimer-- I don't own FE:A.
Onwards.
"Through lips made of yarn
That fragile Capricorn
Unraveled words like moths upon old scarves
I know the world's a broken bone
But melt your headaches, call it home"
- "Northern Downpour" by Panic! At The Disco
i.
"Hey, what are you drawing?" another girl asked me. I scribbled some more with my crayons and kept a serious expression.
"A wedding," I answered after a moment. The other girl seemed fascinated by the drawing. Her eyes were alight with a quick imagination.
"You're really good," she breathed, her chin settling on my shoulder. She was content to simply watch me draw for hours. We didn't really talk, but I managed to find out eventually that her name was Tharja. She was also in the other kindergarten class, which caused me to wonder what she had been doing in my classroom at the time. I never actually discovered the answer to that question, however. It became unimportant.
And as I grew up, my drawings became paintings and digital pieces. Yet Tharja remained, still sitting with her chin on my shoulder as I drew, and at first it was difficult. It felt like she was in the way, and I wanted to complain, but I never got around to it. And then, I started to notice that I didn't like drawing without her there as much. I missed the warmth and the constant compliments. Sometimes, after particularly long projects, I would feel lopsided without her there. Other times, I'd just feel lonely, sitting there in the quiet of my dorm room, and I would start wishing she was there to curl around me.
I started trying to restrain myself though. I knew she was studying to be a doctor. I couldn't act so needy, even if she pretended to be unbothered by it. Surely she didn't have the time to sit with me all the time like that. So I felt lonely.
ii.
"Robin!" Tharja called, waving at me from down the hall, and it was surprising because I had never seen her at this part of the building before. She usually stuck to the one where most of her classes were at. I completely forgot the canvas I was holding for a moment, and almost, almost waved back. I smiled though, walking quickly over to her.
"Hey," I grinned, "What are you doing here? Your classes are all the way across the campus." Tharja smiled hesitantly at me, looking a little embarrassed.
"I missed you, and I was a bit worried, you know… You never talk to anyone in your class, in fact, I think you talk to me more than anyone else," she responded, "And we haven't spoken in a week, so I was worried…" I blushed. I couldn't believe she had been worried about me! It was kind of embarrassing…
"I'm… I'm alright," I responded slowly, "I won't die if you leave me alone for a little while." Tharja looked a little surprised.
"O-oh… you're probably right," she said, tucking a loose hair behind her ear. It was then that I noticed that it was drawn back into a ponytail. I hadn't seen her with her hair pulled back before. It looked nice. I could see her face better, even if she did look a little hurt and like she was going to run away on me.
"It's okay to worry though," I began, "But your studies are more important. I don't want you to worry so much about me." Tharja looked at me with a sad expression, and for some reason I felt like I had said the wrong thing. She turned heel and ran off on me. I fidgeted in place for a moment before running to class to put the canvas down.
I was running down the hall, and I knew I probably shouldn't have been, but I was trying to catch up to Tharja because I really hadn't meant to hurt her at all. As a result of me paying little attention to my surroundings, I turned a corner and ran straight into a professor. He was rather young for a professor, but the nameplate on his chest gave him away. It was the professor that several girls talked about (using his first name "Fredrick" as if that made it more low key).
"E-excuse me," I said, moving around him and going right back to running.
"Don't run through the halls!" I heard him yell after me, but it wasn't like I was actually going to listen anyway.
I found Tharja outside, sitting on a bench in the shade. She seemed so preoccupied by her own thoughts that she hadn't even seen me approach. I hurried over, seating myself beside her.
"I'm sorry if I hurt-"
"Let's not talk about that," Tharja cut me off quickly. I fell silent then.
"How has class been then?" I asked, and she turned toward me slightly.
"Stressful," she sighed, "We took three tests this week, and I dropped to second in the class." I gasped in surprise.
"What?" I started, "What happened? Do we need to murder the first rank?" I stared at Tharja seriously, and she laughed at me.
"No… I was worried about something else," she answered, her eyes fell to her hands.
"Was it me?" I questioned, feeling my heart seize up. I was already beginning to feel bad for distracting her.
"I just study better when I'm with you," Tharja responded in a soft voice. She wasn't really looking at me now. I furrowed my eyebrows.
"But all you do is watch me paint," I pointed out. She smiled slightly.
"I have a photographic memory. I'm happiest studying near you," Tharja told me in a gentle tone. I felt my face flush red.
"Well, that's…" I didn't know what to say. Tharja laughed at me.
"Are you embarrassed?" she prodded me with the question, and I shook my head slightly.
"It's just that we don't sit in the most… comfortable positions," I responded slowly. Tharja's lips spread into a cheshire grin.
"What do you mean? I'm always comfortable with you that close. I love you, after all," she informed me in an almost teasing manner. I felt my cheeks burn hotter.
"L-love?" I squeaked.
"Of course. Why do you think I try my hardest to monopolize you?" Tharja responded, her fingers brushing against my cheek and pushing my hair away from my face. I couldn't look her in the eye. I couldn't believe she was doing this, and in public no less! I took her hand away from my face.
"I never noticed," I replied. Tharja shook her head slightly.
"That's because you're gullible," she told me. I laughed in spite of myself.
"You're so mean," I said.
"It's not mean if it's true," Tharja rebuked. I pulled away from her.
"I hate you," I responded in a frustrated tone, and she merely smiled as I stormed off. I still had one more class that day after all. I had to go to it.
iii.
I opened the door to Tharja's apartment slowly, even though I knew she wasn't there. I still felt a bit anxious. I wasn't used to doing this sort of thing after all. I took my shoes off in the entryway and set my bags down in the living room. My breath was taken away by the look of the apartment. It was pretty big. I was amazed by it. I should have come here more often before.
I pulled off my jacket, draping it over the back of a chair. I wandered into the attached kitchen, rummaging through the fridge. I didn't find anything particularly exciting. Tharja didn't seem to have much, but then again, she was always eating with me…
I walked back out into the hallway, and found her room. I loved the smell of that room in particular. It smelled the most like Tharja. I fell onto her bed, curling into the sheets and sucking in a deep breath.
"I didn't expect to find you here," an amused voice spoke. I opened my eyes, looking over my shoulder at the beautiful woman standing in the doorway. I grinned.
"Tharja!" I called, stretching my arms out toward her. She moved quickly toward me, sliding into my open arms.
"Hey," she rumbled, pressing a kiss to my lips. I smiled into the kiss.
"Did you miss me?" she asked, sliding into the bed next to me.
"Lots," I responded.
"Enough to marry me?" she inquired, and I raised my eyebrows.
"What are you talking about?" I asked in a tired voice.
"Well, Robin, I've got this ring," Tharja began, shifting slightly to reveal the black box to me, "And I was thinking we could get married in the next state over… It's legal there now."
"Are you serious?" I whispered, breathless at the sight of the box. I opened it slowly. The ring took my breath away. It was gorgeous.
"Of course," Tharja giggled, "I'm rather convinced you'll move in with me if we're married."
"Babe," I breathed, "I'd love to marry you." Tharja grinned at me, cupping my face with one hand.
"So, that's a yes, right?" she teased. I stuck my tongue out at her. She leaned down to take it into her mouth, which surprised me so bad that I jumped. Tharja burst out into laughter.
"Gods, don't do things so suddenly!" I cried, clutching my chest.
"Well, my lady, I couldn't resist with you suddenly showing up in my bed like this," she replied, lowering her voice to a whisper. I blushed, feeling my heart speed up.
"Babe, you know I can't-"
"Hush, mi'lady," Tharja cut me off, pressing a finger to my lips, "We don't want anyone to find us." I licked her finger in response. Tharja grinned, pulling her finger away and kissing me properly. Tharja pulled away, sighed and rolled over onto her side, curling into me.
"I'm so tired," she whispered into my ear.
"Then go to sleep," I responded, setting a hand over hers. She smiled into my shoulder and went to sleep.
Thanks for reading! A review would probably make my day.
~Minatu
