Greetings! Small introduction first. Although this is my first fanfic in the Elsword community as Ruri Aimi, my now official pen name, this isn't my first fic here. I used to write under the old pen name PhysicsBreak, The one who wrote an Add x Lu fanfic, then an Add x Ophelia. If you remember me, then hello once again! As for why I ditched PhysicsBreak... Guess I got bored of the name :v I plan on deleting A Servant's Coincidences [Add x Ophelia] on that account sometime later and rewriting it on this one, as well as A Sweet Relationship[Add x Lu]. This is just a side fic to work on while I'm gathering ideas for my main fic The Slow Colors of Love [Raku x Ruri] (Check it out if you're interested :^}) Now, Add x Edel, as if Add x Ophelia wasn't weird enough. But hey, whatever floats my crack-boat, and I hope you can all enjoy this ship with me ^^. So without further Ado, please enjoy Stubborn Hearts!

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Stress. At least once in our lives, we have felt the weight of this to some extent. It is not a pleasant feeling, to say the least, but it is inevitable. We all have to become familiar with it at some point. And to someone who bears such a huge responsibility – and at such a young age, as well – Edel, the Lanox Village Chief, has become all too familiar with it.

"Ugh, all these complaints from the neighboring towns." Edel was currently hunched over her desk, mulling over the several papers spread about. With the current situation of the demon invasion and the missing priestesses, Edel had expected a fair amount of complaints and inquiries about her thoughts and actions. She wheeled herself back, away from her cluttered desk, to get some air and relaxation. "Am I really fit for this job?" Her thought was interrupted by a knock on her door.

"Miss Edel, a moment of your time, please?" Sebastian, her loyal butler, spoke with a deep voice. With her permission, the large rugged man with an eye-patch entered. Despite his looks, he kept an elegant and straight pose, fitting for a butler. "My apologies for interrupting your work."

"It's fine. What is it you need?"

"I have just been informed of some important familial matters back in my hometown, and my presence there is needed for a few days. I understand that the situation in Lanox has worsened, and you require my assistance more than ever. So if you wish, I can reject the summons."

Ever since the sudden death of Edel's father, Sebastian had taken over the care of Edel. Despite her overbearing attitude, he had remained loyal to her. Suddenly losing her father and her ability to walk, and then inheriting the Village Chief title at her age, Sebastian couldn't help but feel sympathy for the poor girl, and thus, couldn't leave her be.

Without her legs, life for Edel had become difficult, if not, troublesome. From bathing to changing, Edel relied on Sebastian to assist her in her everyday routines. Without him, her everyday stress would probably take its toll on her, and she owed him greatly for that. If ever, there was a time for her to repay his kindness, that time would be now.

"Very well. Since it is a matter regarding family, I will permit it."

"My deepest thanks." He bowed deeply to show his gratitude. Since he hasn't seen his family in such a long time, deep down, Sebastian missed his family dearly. But the thought of leaving Edel alone without his assistance brought him discomfort. "However, I am worried as to how you will handle yourself here alone."

"Don't underestimate me due to my disability," Edel said in a commanding tone. Even though she did not marvel at her role as a chief, she sure had a knack for it, evident in her personality. This did not relieve Sebastian in the slightest. He knew firsthand how much difficulty she would have in daily life without him, or at least, without an assistant. But that helped him come up with an idea.

"Miss Edel, I have a proposition." Edel's face lit up with anticipation. "If it is fine with you, would you mind allowing Elsword and his friends to watch over you?" The suggestion came out of the blue. Of course, after all the heroic deeds the gang had done for Lanox and throughout Elrios, Edel built up trust in them. But asking them to take care of her was not only intrusive but also quite a blow to her ego; she never did like showing her vulnerable side.

At first, she was thinking of rejecting the idea, but if she did, Sebastian would have no choice but to stay in Lanox to care for her. After she had realized that she was confining him there, she felt a tinge of guilt. So swallowing her pride, she went along with his suggestion, and the faintest of smiles appeared on the giant's face

Sebastian called the Elgang and informed them of Edel's arrival the next day. Despite the continuous battles they faced in Lanox, they were more than happy to welcome her into their small family. With the whole situation settled, Sebastian could rest easy tonight, sure that his mistress would be fine without him during his absence. Edel spent her night packing her luggage with the essentials, one of which were her beloved books. She looked over at her office desk and, after much thought, packed some of her work, as well – it'd be nice if she returned home with less work than she had now.

The next day, Sebastian dropped Edel off at the Elgang's condo, provided by Edel to welcome the heroes in Lanox. She arrived early in the morning since Sebastian also had to depart for his hometown at the same time. Edel was hiding it behind her strong exterior, but inside, she was shy and nervous. She wondered how they would treat her, or how she should act around them. Her anxiousness didn't go unnoticed by her butler, who reassured her that Elsword and his friends were good people. Sebastian rang the doorbell, and within a few seconds, a spiky red-haired knight opened the door. It was no surprise that he'd still be somewhat sleepy, considering their time of arrival.

Elsword let out a huge yawn as he opened the door. Upon realizing who it was, his face awoke into that of glee. "Ah, Edel, glad to see you made it!" Elsword spoke in an energetic voice, as if his sleepy act had been nothing but a façade. He opened the door wider, revealing most of the gang at the dining room table, ready to start their breakfast. They all gave her a warm welcoming, but that still didn't help her with her nervousness.

Sebastian got on his knees and knelt beside his master, leveling his head with hers. "I will be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, treat this as a small vacation, a get away from the stresses of a Village Chief," He looked at the adventurers behind her. "And perhaps make some new friends." He had managed to calm Edel down, who believed every word he spoke. He was right, this was a good chance to escape her responsibilities, even if for a few days, to get some relaxation.

"I will try. Best wishes on your trip, Sebastian." With their farewells shared, he made his way to the nearest COBO Transpo-Service. Edel entered the condo, escorted towards the dining table by Elsword. Rena and Ciel, the main caretakers of the house, assumed from her early arrival that she probably hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so they prepared an extra plate for her. Although she was shy at first, the way they were so hospitable to her made it easy for her to open up to them.

With breakfast spent with a fair amount of friendly chatter, they all started cleaning up their plates and utensils. As Edel cleaned up her station, she noticed an untouched share on the table. No one took gave regards to it, so she thought that this must have been a normal occurrence at the table. But who it could belong to, she wondered. Before she could ask, a creaking sound of a door opening came from the bedroom hallways, and emerging from one of them was a white haired man sporting a somewhat messy pony-tail.

"Good morning, Add!" Rena cheerfully greeted him. Although he had gotten closer with the Elgang, enough to consider them his 'acquaintances', his lack of social skills made it difficult for the others to interact with him. Nonetheless, Rena went out of her way to treat him nicely, even if he claimed it to be annoying.

"Morning…" He grumbled. With an empty cup which reeked of coffee in one hand, he headed to the table to fetch his share of breakfast and filled his cup with another brew of caffeine. Before he could head back to his room, his eyes caught glimpse of Edel blending into the living room with the other members. "And what is she doing here?" He asked somewhat rudely, pointing at her. His tone alone was enough to tick Edel off. Rena explained the situation to him, and he responded with a dismissive sip of his coffee. "As long as the brat doesn't interrupt my work."

Now Edel was thoroughly upset with him. With a quick flick of her wrist, she turned her wheelchair to face the rude man, but he had already disappeared back into his lab. She was sure she wasn't going to get along well with him. Rena apologized for his manner of speaking but reassured her that Add was a kind person under his cold persona. She explained that it was just difficult for Add to expose that side of him to others. Edel found it hard to believe but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Rena gave Edel a tour of the condo, showing her where her room would be, the bathrooms, and all the other necessities. It wasn't a small living space, by all means, but it was big enough to house all of them comfortably. With the tour over, Edel spent the rest of her day inside her room to catch up on her favorite past time: reading.

As minutes of reading turned to hours, night time had come. When she decided she had done enough reading for the day, it was already midnight, and the entire Elgang had already gone to sleep. Reading her favorite stories always invigorated her, allowing her to stay up late nights. With not much else to do, she decided completing some of her office work would be a productive way of spending time. However, after she pulled out some of her papers from her luggage, she realized her room didn't come with a work desk. She did recall the living room having a small living room table, wide enough for her to do her work on. Silently, she snuck out of her room, making sure to wheel herself as quietly as possible so as to not wake up her hosts. When the living room finally came to sight, she saw a figure laid on the sofa. Upon closer inspection, she recognized the figure to be Add, who appeared to be reading from a holographic screen.

"Add, why are you still up?" Though he had left a bad impression on her, she remembered what Rena told her and decided to give him another chance. Since she would be staying at their house, she figured it would be best if she could at least get on their good sides, Add included.

"Oh, it's you." He said without even taking a single glance at her. She was ready to give him a chance, and that was his response? She mentally apologized to Rena; there was no way she could see the kindness she spoke of in him. "My dynamos are going through repairs in my room. The process is kind of noisy, so it makes reading there strenuous. And so, here I am." He finally averted his eyes to her, his cold gaze piercing her for the first time. "And you?" It wasn't that he was interested in her or her plans. It was simple curiosity, nothing more.

"Office work. My room doesn't have a desk, so I'm using this one." She pointed to the small table at the center of the living room. With his curiosity satisfied, Add returned to whatever he was reading. Edel pushed herself off her wheelchair and dragged herself along the carpeted floor to the small table. Organizing her workspace, she pulled out a pen from her pocket and prepared to start her work. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't interrupt my stay here." Now Add could sense the spite in her voice. Not like he didn't expect it.

"I don't care how long you stay here. As long as the room stays quiet, I'm content." And with that, the room went dead silent. The only noises audible were probably the sound of pen on paper and light, holographic hums, both of which quickly became white noise to them.

As time went on, sleepiness grew on Edel. Even as she tried to focus on completing filling out forms and responses, yawns would escape her mouth. At first, Add could shrug them off. But as they grew more frequent, the more it got on his nerves, until he finally decided to bring it up.

"If you're tired, just go back to your room and sleep. You're going to stay short forever if you keep this up." Edel's writing suddenly came to a halt.

"Why does it matter…"Add noticed that her voice sounded sort of melancholic. Judging from her personality type, he was expecting her to have some sort of comeback. "I'm always in a wheelchair anyway…" For once, Add felt a tinge of… pity for her. He shifted his eyes to take a small peek at her, but when he saw that she had stopped moving her pen, his head turned slightly to face her. Her head was downcast, her bangs shadowed over her eyes to hide their emotions. "I get it. I'll leave as soon as I complete these last few. I'll finish the rest tomorrow." Her hands started moving again, somewhat faster this time.

Add knew what he said had upset her. Normally, he'd just chalk it up to her insecurities about her height, as he does with Aisha. But this wasn't about her height, it was about something else. It was the fact that she was stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. It was the fact that, in the same incident where she had lost her legs, she also lost her father. It was the fact that she could never live the life of a normal 17-year-old girl anymore. He didn't mean it, but Add was sure he had unintentionally brought up horrible memories for her. Add could easily be considered cold and rude, but not cruel – at least, not to innocents.

He sighed as he switched off his holographic screen and walked over to the kitchen. It seemed like Edel didn't care about what Add was doing. She was completely set on completing her assigned work as she lost track of her surroundings. So it surprised her when a hot mug of creamy brown liquid was set beside her on a coaster; more so, when she saw who offered it to her.

"This'll help get rid of your sleepiness for a bit. You'll be able to finish all your work now, right?"

"I thought you wanted me out of this room. Why are you helping me stay here?" She was untrusting of Add and his intentions. It was unlike him to just offer something without a catch.

"I never said I wanted you out. Your yawning was getting rather annoying. Drink this coffee, you can finish all your work with no rush, and I can go back to my quiet reading. Win-win, right?" Add explained. Edel couldn't tell if this was a sign of his kindness or just self-interest. In the end, it didn't matter because if it helped her be more productive in her work, she wasn't going to refuse it.

"Thanks, I guess." She took hold of the coffee mug, letting its warmth radiate throughout her hands.

"Don't mention it." Add walked back to his spot, and resumed his past activity of laying on the sofa and reading through his Nasod notes and discoveries.

Edel had never drunk coffee in the past. Surprising for someone who has such a stressful life and often stays up late to finish their work. She has heard from others about coffee's awakening effects and bitter taste, but has never actually experienced it nor tasted it. With a sense of curiosity, she took a small sip from her mug. "It's… sweet?" So sweet, in fact, that she couldn't help but take another sip. The hot water brewed with fresh coffee beans almost instantly rejuvenated her mind, while the sweetness of the sugar and the creamy taste of almond milk sent her taste buds to heavenly bliss. It helped replace her earlier bad mood with that of delight. She thought all that talk about bitter tasting coffee was just mindless propaganda. Who knew coffee could taste so good. She was sure she might get hooked to it.

This whole time Edel thought she was talking in her head, she had actually been mumbling to herself, loud enough for Add to hear. Rather than being annoyed for having his reading interrupted yet again, he felt his already inflated ego get fed even more for having his coffee be praised. He had never made coffee for anyone else besides himself since everyone was capable enough to brew their own to their suited taste. Perhaps this one time, he'll let her off easy.

Edel, now fully awake, was able to easily power through her work. She estimated that she should be done with all her papers within a couple more minutes. Just as she was getting to the last few pages, she went to take another sip of her mug, only to find out that her mug now sat void of her now-favorite drink. She could ask to Add for another cup, but she was sure he was just going to brush her off, or worse, mock her for whatever reason he could find. And she had zero ideas when it came to making coffee, so it seemed like the only thing left to do was…

"Add." He responded with nothing else but a sigh to show that he heard her.

"What?"

"Teach me how to brew that type of coffee." It sounded more like a command than a request. Add was about to say no until he gave it a second thought. As the saying goes: Give a man fish, he'll be full for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll stop bothering you for fish; somewhere along those lines.

"Fine," He got up from the sofa and walked back into the kitchen, this time, Edel following right behind him. He prepared all the necessary items and ingredients to brew his coffee. "It's honestly not that hard, so pay attention. I'm only going to teach it once." With Edel's brain currently working at full capacity, she took thorough mental notes of Add's instructions.

His hands moved from action to action gracefully, masterfully, without pause or hesitation. One moment, his hands would be working on grinding the coffee beans, and the next instant, he would be already be brewing it in a filter. When the coffee was ready to be flavored to one's taste, Edel was shocked at how much sugar Add had poured into the drink. She had no idea if that was a normal amount or if Add really went all out with his sugar. Finally, as the last step, he poured milk into the coffee, turning its dark brown shade to a lighter tone.

"And that's how it's done." Just as Edel was about to accept the cup, Add pulled it away from her. Pulling another mug elsewhere, he poured more than half of its contents into his own. "I noticed you're almost done with work. Therefore, you don't really need that much coffee." He handed her the cup he had brewed, which now contained less than a quarter of what it originally was. She hated to admit it to herself, but he was right.

She wheeled herself back to the living room and crawled back to her work space. Add had placed her cup beside her as both of them went back to their activities. In a matter of minutes, Edel had completed all of her work. But before she could even celebrate her small victory, her body suddenly felt weak. Her eye lids felt heavy, heavier than they did before the coffee. She started suspecting if Add had somehow tampered with the coffee. In a mumbling voice, she asked Add what was happening to her. Through her half-closed eyes, she could see a small smirk grow on Add's lips.

"Looks like you have a low tolerance to caffeine. That explains why you got energized so much and so quickly after the first cup." He turned his head to face her, the smug smile now fully visible to her. Oh, how she wanted to smack that smile off his face so hard. "That also means the crash is going to hit you even harder." With those last words, Edel's visions blurred as she fell into a deep sleep on top of the table. Add thought he could finally get some reading done with her asleep, but was alerted by his screen that the repairs were complete. With his usual cup of energy in hand, he started to make his way back to his lab but stopped midway when he took a look back at the living room. There laid a small, paraplegic girl, sleeping atop a bunch of messy papers. Add lightly chuckled at the scene, which somewhat reminded him of himself. "Night." He closed the lights to the living room and walked away to the bedroom hallway.

The next morning came, and it was quite a sight for the Rena and a few others to see Edel huddled over her papers sleeping peacefully. Guessing that her bed was probably more comfortable, they lightly nudged her to wake up. It took a bit of effort, but Edel managed to wake up. Judging from her state, everyone could guess that she stayed up late.

Edel was slightly embarrassed, letting them see her in such a pathetic state. They simply brushed it off, saying they didn't mind it at all. Since it was still quite early in the morning, Edel wanted to continue her much-deserved sleep in her own room. With the help of Rena, weight was lifted off her shoulders as she was wheeled back into her room and onto her bed. After sleeping on a hard surface, the soft embrace of her bed felt heavenly against her. Before she could fall back asleep, her door opened once more as Rena entered with a blanket.

"Oops~, you forgot your blanket outside." Her blanket? Outside? She couldn't remember bringing it with her last night. "Well, it's a good thing you covered up. It can get quite cold in the living room at night." She tucked Edel in bed with the blanket now on top to keep her warm. Edel could just feel the motherly aura emanating from Rena. With Rena off to prepare breakfast, Edel couldn't sit well with a thought in her head. She could remember everything from last night, from Add's coffee lesson to the stupid smile on Add's face just before she passed out, so she would know if she covered herself with her blanket. There was only one explanation for it, and at first, it was hard for her to believe; near impossible to comprehend.

"I guess there's some truth to what Rena said yesterday." Perhaps there was more to Add than he let on. She left that matter for another day, prioritizing her sleep over her curiosity. After all, she still had a few more days to grow closer with everyone.

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That wraps the first chapter! I hope y'all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Ah~, I feel like I'm gonna have a hard time with these two getting closer. But, just like the title, I'm gonna be stubborn and keep going! I'm open to constructive criticism, so feel free to post any opinions or advice in the reviews, and if you enjoyed this chapter (Yep, more chapters to come!), then favorite and follow this story, it's always greatly appreciated. Welp, until next chapter!