Of course Severa would start avoiding her like the plague after that little incident in the Outrealms. Figures, Kjelle thought scornfully, girl's such a priss she can't handle a little flirting from a girl high on a truth serum.
Deep down, she'd known all along it wasn't just booze. Just like she hadn't really forgotten how to fight after Severa forced those proper lady lessons on her. I've always liked her, I don't even know why. She's stubborn and prickly and cheeky and she was even before everything went to hell. But Gods help me, I like her. And even if she'd expected the rejection it still hurt.
Sure, there were a few things she could've done differently. Not grabbing Severa all over like a squeezy toy and trying to yank her clothes off probably would've helped. And maybe she should have told her like a sane person instead of accidentally drinking some strange potion. But what was done was done, and now Severa was acting like she didn't exist.
C'mon, Kjelle, buck up! You're a tough girl, you're stronger than most of the men here! You can't let some prissy spoiled brat get the better of you! Owain liked her, Lucina seemed to like her, why not just go for one of them? Or her best rival, Gerome? Or even Yarne now that he was manning up and facing his responsibilities like a big boy should?
Easy. None of them were Severa, and she wanted Severa.
I should probably force her to talk to me, then. I'm good at force. Can't make her like me but I can at least make her stop being an ass about this. A pause. But if you are, why didn't you just do it before? Don't tell me you're scared of what a little brat thinks.
But she was. Severa's rejection didn't feel good at all, and Kjelle knew she'd handled the initial "confession" badly. This was way beyond the scope of anything she'd had to deal with before; she was a fighter, she struck out at whatever enemy she could see and they went down. Romantic girly crap was a whole different animal.
Maybe if I had some more of that truth drug...no, that's what for me in trouble in the first place. No, I've gotta deal with this the way I'd deal with the enemy. Head on.
Taking a deep breath and steeling her nerves, she set off in the direction of the river. Severa's father had asked her to go fetch some water, and knowing Severa she was using it to put off having to come back to camp for as long as she could.
-x-
She caught sight of the redhead by the well, a full bucket of water beside her as she filled another one. Yep, definitely looking for an excuse not to come back to camp. Severa would sooner drink boiling tar than make herself all sweaty carrying two huge buckets. Without another moment's thought, Kjelle approached her, tapping her roughly on the shoulder.
"Hey, you. You're going to break something carrying both of those at once." Severa gave such a shriek Kjelle was surprised half the army didn't come running. Her hand let go of the pump, leaving the second bucket only half filled.
"Ugh, it's you. Did you already forget everything you learned in Severa's Finishing School? A proper lady does not sneak up on a person and nearly give them a heart attack!"
"We need to talk," Kjelle said sternly. "And don't try to use those buckets as an excuse, either, everyone knows you hate chores. You're just looking for another excuse to avoid me, just like you have been since we got back from the Outrealms." Severa froze, looking very much like a deer caught in a hunter's path. For a moment Kjelle feared she'd been too harsh and the girl would flee, but Severa stayed put.
"W-well...who wouldn't be trying to avoid someone who jumped them and pawed at them like a lech?!" Severa retorted. Great, remind me of why I took so long to come to you.
"Look, I'm sorry about that," Kjelle said. "Drinking that stuff was a bad idea in the first place, I know that now."
"I should say." Severa wrinkled her cute little nose. "You scared a good ten years off my life!"
"And I'll never touch you like that again, I swear."
"Not the touching, silly," Severa said, rolling her eyes. "You drinking that stuff to begin with! It could've been poison for all we knew! Ugh, honestly, what sane person drinks something they find in a bandit's-"
"Wait." Kjelle cut her off. Had she heard that right? "Say that again?"
"What, that no sane person-"
"No. The part where me drinking the stuff was what scared you the most." Her hand, which was still holding the girl's shoulder in an iron-tight grip, loosened a little, and Severa relaxed visibly. "You were really worried?"
"Well...well, duh, you're a comrade and...if you died, we'd be one less against Grima!" Her cheeks reddened. "D-don't get any ideas! It's not like I-"
"Right, not like you like me or anything." Kjelle sighed. "That's fine, really. Just quit avoiding me, you made me feel like a rapist and I already apologized! Twice!"
"I know." Severa pushed her hand away and went back to the second bucket. "L-look, just let me go back to filling this! They'll never let me hear the end of it if I take forever with the water!"
"At least let me help you." Before Severa could protest Kjelle grabbed the pump and filled the second bucket almost to the top, then lifted both of them effortlessly. Her rigorous training did her good in more than just battle, the buckets felt like nothing to her. Severa shrugged and began to follow her back.
"I really don't," she said at length. "I mean, all I did was stare at your abs that time. And it was your own fault for showing your belly off like...like..."
"A whore?" Kjelle shrugged. "Go ahead, say it. You're such a priss I'm surprised you don't get on Nah of Cynthia for showing their legs."
"No! Gawd, Kjelle, you think just because I can't stand the sight of your abs means I'm gonna pick on the other girls for what they wear? What kind of awful bitch do you think I-" She paused. "Don't answer that!"
"Damn it, Severa." Kjelle put the buckets back down with a heavy thud. "I came out to apologize because I thought we could talk about this, and when you didn't want to I stepped off. Now you're the one bringing up my abs and you're being awfully touchy even for you." Severa flinched, even though Kjelle hadn't even touched her, and kicked at a nearby pebble.
"I made one stupid comment about your stupid abs, what's the big deal? It's not like I started going on about how I keep dreaming about them or your stupid boobs or your ass or watching you train all the time or how nice your hair smells when you've washed it or your perfect lance thrusts or how I wanted you to kiss me that time at the Harvest festival but you were totally smashed and you'd just forget it and I didn't wanna be just some drunk girl's forgotten kiss!"
She didn't think, nor did she take the time to make sure she'd heard correctly. She stepped forward, pinned Severa's hands behind her back and kissed her. When one of those hands wriggled free to grab her head and pull her closer, Kjelle knew she'd heard correctly. She would have stood there kissing Severa forever if the need to breathe hadn't come up, and when she pulled away Severa was still bright red.
But she was smiling. Sort of. At least she wasn't scowling, which was definitely an improvement.
"Guess I was wrong," she muttered. "You could handle me for an hour. Or more than that. Or...oh, whatever!"
"So." Kjelle grinned, feeling pretty pleased with herself. "All that time you just didn't wanna let on that you were hot for me."
"It's your fault!" Severa cried. "You and your dumb...stupid sexy body!" She sighed. "Okay, fine, it was long before that. You're just...so strong and pretty and you work so hard and maybe I'm into girls with bad manners! I don't know! I just...like you, okay?!"
"Hey, easy now." Kjelle put an arm around her shoulders. "I like you is good enough for me."
"Well..." Severa's poker face graduated into a lopsided grin. "Much as I'd like to stay here and make out some more they're gonna need that water. You'll still carry the buckets, right? I mean, you are the strong one of the two of us." Kjelle rolled her eyes.
"I have a better idea." She picked up one bucket, then took Severa's hand and brought them together over the handle of the second one. "Teamwork!"
"Right...teamwork." The lopsided grin became a real smile, and they headed back to camp, teasing each other the whole way.
If Kjelle had known it would be this easy, she never would have bothered with that stupid potion in the first place.