Wedding bells rang, their melodic chimes enrapturing the people of Pherae as they celebrated the union between two childhood sweethearts as well as the bond between their nation and Ostia that was forged long before the days of their current lord, but from when Lord Elbert befriended Lord Uther in the days of yore. That friendship would only prove to last for multiple generations and maybe even forever.
As much as the two wanted to argue, Roy and Lilina couldn't stop Eliwood from throwing the most lavish party for their wedding once they came of age. The pride he felt during that day was only rivaled by the day Roy came home following the war against Bern, so he had to take the chance to invite everyone he could from the three generals of Etruria to even his own allies when he was still a capable warrior.
Of course, not everyone could make it. Lyndis was travelling the world and much too far from Pherae to make an appearance and the world was still wondering wherever Nino and Jaffar could be. But that was okay. While Eliwood did want to see the faces of his old friends again, there was no one he wanted there more than his best friend since childhood and his son's future father-in-law: Marquess Hector of Ostia.
The two had their own designated table to watch the ending ceremony. It was rather lonely seeing as their wives did not live long enough to see this faithful day, but part of Eliwood could not help but feel it was better this way. There was hardly anyone else that he can afford to be nostalgic with than Hector after all.
Going from their childhood escapades to the final fight against Nergal, the two lords scarce ran out of topics to converse about. Of course, Eliwood could also attribute the excitement they felt to the drink they were having as he remembered each event being far more dull than they were describing them to be. Once everything was said and done, however, the conversation fell to their current dilemma.
"You know, I'm surprised, Hector. I remember how much you were against the idea of Lilina marrying anyone. Much less my son." Marquess Pherae chuckled. "We were only in our late teens when you developed your protective father shtick."
"Can you blame me? Your kid reminds me too much of you. That's the last thing I want for my little girl!" Hector bellowed in good mirth.
"If Mark told me correctly, you actually expected to have a son instead." The larger man could practically hear the redhead smirk despite the fact that he was taking another swig of his drink. "Even wanted to name him after your brother!"
"Haha, sure. Let's all have a good laugh at dumb ol' Hector." Of course, in spite of his sarcastic tone, the blue-haired man knew why he couldn't be mad. After having Lilina come into his life, he wouldn't have had it any other way.
Several minutes passed in silence. Eliwood glanced at his friend quizzically in between sips and calling Marcus over for another. Even at their old age, seeing Hector so quiet felt off to him. He remembered their first meeting in years as they discussed the tensions in Bern as well as introducing each other to their children. Hector never lost that flame of his that drove him beyond of what a normal man should be capable of doing. But this felt different from any other time Eliwood had interacted with him.
"Is something on your mind?" The question broke the larger man out of his stupor. Eliwood followed the Hector's line of vision to see what exactly he was looking so heedfully at: the sight of the newly wedded couple having their first dance as husband and wife. "You know she's still your daughter, right? No need to worry about something like that."
"Oh shut up, you." Hector retorted. "And no, that's not what I'm thinking about."
"So there is something on your mind?"
"Guess you can say that."
"What is it?"
Hector hesitated, carefully planning his words before speaking again. "I… I can't exactly put my tongue on it. This feels really nice, but some part of it just feels… unreal. As if none of this is really happening."
"How do you mean?" It was rare for someone like Hector to act like this. If Lyn was here, she'd probably smack him and say that he's thinking far too much.
"How do I put this? Like, I'm looking at them. Roy and Lilina, I mean, and something about it just feels… nostalgic. I remember Uther's stories of his old friends Tristan and Eliza and even something about a lover named Eiry or something. Then I think of the time you, me, and Lyn all teamed up against Nergal and the Black Fang. And of course, don't forget about Mark, that bastard." Hector laughed.
"Those are weird memories to come up with at the sight of our children." Eliwood deadpanned, taking another drink.
"Well, you know me. Not exactly the most logical thinker. But ultimately, it reminds me of when we were kids. Of course minus all the romantic tension and everything."
Eliwood had to suppress himself, lest he spit out anything in laughter.
"And now we're here, seeing our little ones united in matrimony. It's about time too! Ever since that day, Lilina has only ever been 'Roy this, Roy that'! Nothing against your boy, Eliwood, but let's just say that didn't do him any favors! Anymore of that, and I'm sure I would've objected!"
"Oh, come on! You know you love him! There's truly no one better for your little girl after all!"
The two shared another laugh as well as another drink. In all honesty, the whole tirade made very little sense to Eliwood. Hector was a phenomena to him, even after all these decades of friendship. Sure, he understood him better than most people, but there are times where he felt he needed a multitude of dictionaries to translate his thoughts.
"So, what exactly was your point?" Eliwood asked, finally gaining the courage to truly see into his friend's head.
"Well, let me ask you this first. Have you ever drank this often, Eliwood? I'm positive you never really held your liquor down that well."
The aging marquess shrugged. "I've gained some tolerance, I suppose. Ever since my illness passed, I've needed some down time for the post war effort. Roy has been helping when he could but I couldn't bring myself to make him do all the work when I was beginning to become able."
"Yes, but have you noticed how much you've drank? I'm still on my first one." Finally taking the chance to look at his friend's glass, Eliwood did notice that not much of Hector's drink was consumed. It even looked untouched if it weren't for the melted ice. "Is there something on your mind that I should know about?"
"O-of course not. It's nothing."
Unconvinced, Hector let the subject go and excused himself from the table. The party was beginning to come to its end and he mentioned that he wanted to meet with Generals Douglas, Perceval, and Cecilia before they start heading back to Etruria. Eliwood had to admit he was feeling rather tired himself and even felt his eyelids closing. Maybe just one more drink.
"Marcus, may I have another-"
"Father, I think you've had enough for tonight."
Looking up from the table, Eliwood made eye contact with his son and his worried bride. The marquess felt his face grow a little hot in embarrassment, wondering if Roy had heard that exchange between him and Hector about his recently developed drinking problem.
Of course he did, you idiot! That's why he stopped you in the first place!
"I-I'm sorry, Roy. I suppose you're right." The stern look in Roy's eyes almost made him afraid, as if his own son didn't trust him to not get another swig in before bed. "It's been a long day, so it's best for me to return to my quarters."
Before he could get up, the young lord immediately stopped him. "Not on your own, you're not. Marcus will take you back."
"O-of course. Though I'd wish you'd trust me a little with a simple walk to my quarters."
"Please don't think ill of Roy, Lord Eliwood." Lilina spoke up, slightly calming the tension between the father and son. "It's only to make sure you get back safely while we handle things here. I'm sure Marcus would be relieved if he brought you back personally as well."
The older man sighed at his daughter-in-law's reasoning. "Very well. Once Marcus finishes up, I'll let him lead me back to my room. I promise."
Satisfied, Roy released the tension in his expression and gave his father a reassured smile. "Thank you, Father. Now if there's anything I could do for you before you retire, consider it done."
"Ah, of course. If you could, can you go tell Lord Hector that I'll be going? It's unlikely that I'll be able to see him again before he departs back to Ostia in the morning."
The young couple stole a glance at each other in confusion. "Lord Hector, Father? You two were speaking to each other all night?"
The older lord laughed in merriment, as if their recent conversation was just some far off memory. "Sure did. The two of us reminisced about quite a lot about our time together before you two were born. I should tell you some time when I'm a little less inebriated."
Signalling Marcus to hurry up to bring his father back to his room, Roy excused himself and his wife away from the table. Lilina noticed him tensing up the moment his father mentioned her father. However, Roy looked to have released some of the pressure in his body in a regretful sigh.
"So he was talking to him…"
"Roy, you noticed as well?"
"Yeah. My father isn't usually the boisterous type, so it felt odd to me that he was having such a loud conversation. It's almost baffling that he didn't think we'd take note."
"Yes. It appears Lord Eliwood is still not over the war."
"I can't say I blame him. Part of me still carries responsibility on myself for not being there on time."
"Roy, you know you shouldn't blame yourself for my father's death." Lilina clasped onto her beloved's hand tightly. "He was a warrior and he knew he would die on the battlefield. It was only a matter of when."
"...Thank you, Lilina. I just… I wished I could've been there so you and my father could speak to him one last time before his passing. I can't bear the thought of telling my father that his last conversation with his best friend didn't even happen."
"Then I shall you trust with this. When you inherit the title of Marquess Pherae, you shall work together with Princess Guinevere, Prince Elphin, and the all of the other friends we've made along the way to make sure Elibe doesn't fall into disarray again. Have the memory of my father serve as a motivation to make for a better tomorrow. And know that I'll be by your side when you achieve that goal, my love."
Roy's eyes widened. Even after the war, Lilina had always been a rather soft spoken girl, but she still carried with her a compassionate heart. Frankly, none of her words should've surprised him. In the end, Roy just returned her sweet words with a soft smile.
"Of course, Lilina. Together, we'll pave the way towards a brighter tomorrow. Not just for Elibe and our countries. But for our fathers as well. They deserve at least that much."
AN: So I came up with this idea last month when the Love Abound banner hit Fire Emblem Heroes, hence the title. Just this minor headcanon I had if Roy and Lilina end up together at the end of Binding Blade, Eliwood becomes saddened that Hector never gets to see his little girl be the bride of the boy she fell in love with. I just had to write it for myself once I got the basic idea down.
But I have some clarifications I want to set down. You know when I was listing Uther's friends earlier? Tristan, Eliza, and Eiry are all characters from the fanmade game Fire Emblem 7x: Immortal Sword, a prequel to Blazing Blade. It's completely done using RPG Maker I believe and it's really fun, taking the groundwork of the GBA games while putting in features from the newer games like skills and the base from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. They even have their new sets of classes and I highly recommend checking it out. Hell, there's even a chapter where you take control of a drunk Uther! That's friggin' hilarious! But I just wanted to say that since the game is technically not finished, I have no idea how Uther's relationship with Tristan and Eliza are really gonna end up like. Eiry is present in Uther's story and in their support, they tend to flirt with each other a lot so I had to include her somewhere. Bwdyeti, if you're somehow reading this, I apologize if I misrepresented your characters.
But anyway guys, really take a chance at playing this game. It currently has like 10 or so chapters completed with several trial maps for some extra content and even a ranking system to challenge yourself. Thanks for reading!