Lissa could vividly remember the day that her sister died, as if it had been earlier that week, not over three years before. She remembered that the teachers at school had to break the news to the students, and while everyone was sad that the woman that had put their entire education system together was gone from mysterious causes, it hit her hardest of all, simply because that was her older sister. Emmeryn may have nearly been a walking goddess to most of the students, but she was a goddess to Lissa, and that day was one that rested heavily on her mind whenever she so much as set foot in the school building.

Which was why that, when her well-meaning brother told her that he was going to get her a job at that very same school after she graduated, it was a bittersweet moment. Yeah, she had loved going there, and she still had friends who would be attending while she was working there, but that was the school her sister built. Everything about that place had Emmeryn's hand in its creation, and those memories were hard to shake off, no matter how much Chrom told her that it was just a family thing for her to work there too. He had taken up their sister's position after she died, although he wasn't prepared for such a role and had many other things to be focusing on aside from running a school for under-privileged high schoolers (even though most of the student body had been made up of students whose parents sent them there because the education quality seemed so much better), but he had managed to handle his new work life and, eventually, his family life fairly well for those first three years after Emmeryn's death. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep everything together on his own, and that's why he needed Lissa to come back to the school in some capacity.

She had just graduated that spring, though, and there wasn't going to be much she could do—aside from take on a position as a school nurse. Even then, she wasn't going to be able to get qualified over the course of a summer to become an actual nurse, but she could take enough classes to be registered to do something of use. And that something was plenty for Chrom to bring her aboard the sparse staff at the school, because she was family and had enough skill and wouldn't be too hurt if her pay wasn't the greatest. (That was a lie, she was very hurt, but he sweetened that deal by allowing her to stay living with him, his wife, and their daughter, and she wasn't going to say no to that.)

Since she wasn't a teacher, she didn't have to go to the training sessions that took place over the summer, which was fine because she had been attending her own classes to be able to actually hold her new position. However, it did leave her at a slight disadvantage going into the school year, because all of the teachers had gotten to know each other, and she, the new pseudo-nurse, didn't know anyone aside from the people she recognized as Chrom's friends, and even then, it had been years since she had talked to them. Almost as long as it had been since their sister died, she realized, but those sad memories had no place being on her mind, not when she needed to make up the ground she had lost by not attending summer training in the few weeks before the semester actually started.

A lot of that time was spent setting up her office, though, and that meant that the only real time she had for socializing was when everyone was having meal breaks—and even then, she chose to sit with her brother because he was a perfect person to have around for socialization purposes. People came to him to say hello, and they'd end up meeting her in the process, always introduced as the "spunky little sister and new EMT" at the school. She beamed when her real position name was used, because it sounded so professional and real and so much more than a girl who had just graduated from the very school months ago should have as her title. No one that she met really seemed impressed, even with her cheerful smile and Chrom's insistence that she was a perfect fit for the position.

The only people who even stayed to talk to her were some of Chrom's closest friends, ones that she'd known for years and years; they weren't there to get to know her, they were there to refresh their memories of her. To move past her being that awkward twelve-year-old that had accidentally ripped Chrom's bedroom door off at his sixteenth birthday party. To forget all the other embarrassing things she had done when she was younger. To see that she was older, more mature, and ready for what the school year would bring.

But then there was one person who she did vaguely recognize that came up to her and didn't say a word, mostly because someone else was talking to her when he arrived. He just watched, muscular arms crossed over his chest, and it made her slightly uncomfortable because he was so big compared to her. Was he sizing her up for some sort of battle? But the active conversation ended and he stuck his hand out for her to shake, something that Chrom saw happening and shook his head at. "Aw, c'mon man, it's only polite," the guy said, noticing the displeased reaction he was given. "Want a handshake too?"

"No, I want you to remember that this is my sister. I'm going to be protective of her, especially around boneheads like you." The guy sighed and dropped his hand right as Lissa went for it, something else Chrom noticed. "And you, Lissa, I know you're your own woman now, but please don't get involved with him. Last thing I need is for him to corrupt you."

"I can handle myself and my own decisions, thanks," she replied, smiling at her brother before turning to face the new guy, her hand still outstretched. "Now, I think introductions are in order! I'm Lissa. Obviously I'm this guy's sister, but don't think that I'm anything like him. At least I know how to not be so uptight about people giving me handshakes."

As Chrom grumbled something about how unprofessional his sister was acting, the other guy's face lit up and he about shoved his giant hand into Lissa's tiny one. "Nice t'meet you, Lissa! The name's Vaike. As in, the Vaike. Your bro probably told me lots of stories about you from back when we went here. Man, we ruled this place with an iron fist. Or something."

"He might have mentioned you a time or two." His enthusiasm was almost contagious, because Lissa could feel herself getting pumped up about meeting this guy. However, she couldn't remember if she'd heard much about him. Some of the other people she'd been reintroduced to that day, like Frederick (who was the only person aside from her brother who she actually had seen more recently than Chrom's graduation) and Miriel (who she only remembered because she was the reason Chrom had even gotten to graduate in the first place), she could name a time and place where she'd seen them. But this Vaike guy? He just looked familiar. "Or maybe he didn't. It's been a while since he's told me high school adventure stories."

"Well don't you worry one bit! Ol' Vaike here is gonna remind you of all the things he did back when he was a student, and it'll be fun." He winked at her. "Mostly because if I'm not in the gym with my classes, I'm with some student getting ice or something. Kids like gettin' hurt when you play rough sports."

"Which is why I don't want you getting involved with him," Chrom interjected, noticing that his sister was getting a bit starry-eyed at what Vaike was saying. "In his semester of student teaching that he did, he ended up having sixteen students with broken bones because of his…extreme methods of playing."

"If he's such a hazard, why'd you hire him then?"

Lissa's question caught Chrom off-guard, and he sputtered a bit before finally replying with, "Because he's an old friend and I had to do him a favor. Now promise me you won't get involved with him!"

"I make no promises," she said, grinning from ear to ear. Just from that, she had a feeling that the school year was going to be a fun experience. At least, if she didn't have to deal with broken bones, anyway.


The first day of school was by far the most sobering experience Lissa had ever had in her life up to that point, fueled greatly in part by the fact that she was standing with the teachers and staff greeting all of the students as they came in, seeing familiar faces that she had gone to class alongside just months before. A lot of the students recognized her and she had to remember to keep it professional, that now as a member of the staff of the school she had to distance herself from the personal relationships with the students, unless she had been really close with them before then. That was the rule her and Chrom had set for that circumstance, and she had every intention of keeping to it.

That meant she only hugged a handful of people that she considered herself "close" with, including one of her best friends who was honestly surprised to see her there. But she couldn't explain to him the entire story as he was being pushed past her and the other greeters by the flood of students being let in the building, and she figured that she'd get her time to tell him the story later. It turned out that the story would be told for her not very long after that, though, because of the first-day assembly the school held to introduce everyone to the new people who would be guiding them through the year.

That was where the day got incredibly sobering, because she was standing with all the other new staff members when the lights in the small auditorium dimmed and the video explaining the reason for the school existing came on. Unlike every other time she saw the video, there wasn't a friend nearby to cling to as she heard her sister's voice talking happily about the school, and she couldn't exactly run up to Chrom, who was at the podium beneath the screen showing the video, because then everyone would instantly assume she was nothing more than a clingy crybaby. And that just wasn't true. She had to stand there, alongside some of the new teachers, and try her hardest not to cry over hearing her sister's voice—which was doable, except she knew a few tears got through despite her attempts to stop them. Once the lights came back on and Chrom started talking about how great the year was going to be and all that sort of nonsense, before handing the microphone off to someone who the students would see on a daily basis.

It was then that people started getting introduced, starting with the teachers who had been there since the beginning, and going in order of when they had joined the teaching team. Several of the names that were said, and the people who waved when they were announced, were met with applause and Lissa couldn't help but smile at that, because those were the teachers she had gotten to know in her time as a student at the school, and the realization that she was now working alongside them was enough to bring that smile to her face. But as the names got newer and the applause dwindled, because not as many students had gotten to know those teachers, it did hit her that when it got to her, there wasn't going to be that sort of reaction. There was no way. These people had been her peers but now she was their superior, and very few of them, if any, were going to appreciate that.

The thing she hadn't accounted for was that she wasn't the only ex-student who had been added to the staff, and she was definitely one of the more memorable ones simply because she had just graduated that spring. She also had assumed that the person at the microphone would have remained at that station through the duration of the introductions, and she was dead wrong about that; once the last person who had been there the previous year had been introduced (one of the two people who manned both the office and the library), Chrom had taken place at the podium once more and actually called for all the new people to stand next to him, so that he could give them a more in-depth introduction for everyone.

Six people moved to the position he asked. Five of them were people he had known while he was in school, and the sixth was her, his little sister. And he made sure to embarrass the hell out of all six of them, but her especially. That was okay, because that was what he liked to do, although doing that in front of an entire student body was a bit overwhelming, but the roaring applause that was delivered after he was done telling everyone that the new person in charge of keeping their cuts covered and their medication allotted was none other than his recently-graduated sister, it more than made up for that. It didn't, however, make up for the fact that everything was so strange and weird to her, but she figured that the resolution to that problem was come as soon as she accepted that she was actually working at her old high school. Either then, or when she wasn't friends with some of the people in the crowd.


"May I come in?" It was lunchtime for the students, and that was the first time all day that Lissa had actually been in her new office, just sort of evaluating everything that had happened so far in the day. The person at her door had knocked before speaking, and when she saw who it was she enthusiastically smiled, waving for him to enter. "Okay, just wanted to make sure before I came in and scared you or something. Don't think we need the new nurse having a heart attack on the first day."

"Oh Ricken, always being so considerate of me. You're always allowed in here, unless you're skipping class." She tried to take on a stern voice, but the result of that was only making her giggle and that caused him to chuckle as well. "But what brings you over here? Shouldn't you be, well, eating lunch with your friends?"

He gave a small shrug, sitting down on one of the chairs in the office, before pulling his lunch out of his backpack. "You're my friend, and I thought it would be cool to eat lunch with you. You know, like how we used to before this?"

"If you were anyone else, I'd have to turn down that offer, but since Chrom knows how close of friends we are, he can just deal with this. You're totally welcome to come in here every day if you want." Lissa looked at Ricken, right as he offered up some of his food to her. "What? Oh, I can't take your stuff! Trust me, us staff members have enough food around here to last us a lifetime."

"I just wanted to offer. Felt it would be polite, and I bet you could use some more food in you, especially with all the running around you're doing today." He retracted his handful of carrot sticks. "But that's cool that you finally are allowed to eat staff food. Remember when we'd go sit in Chrom's office just to snag his snacks?"

"And get in trouble because they weren't for us? Of course I remember that!" Sharing that memory and bursting into laughter at it, it was less like they were staff member and student and more like the two good friends they always were. But the fact that they were indeed not just friends anymore was definitely heavy on their minds, and when another knock was heard at the door, the laughter stopped and Lissa called for the person to enter. The tanned and muscular arm that poked in the door first was more than enough to sour her mood. "Oh, it's just you. Did you already break some poor kid?"

"No way miss, just checkin' to see if you'd like a lunch date with the ol' Vaike," the person attached to the arm said, even though his body was still outside the door. "Yes or no?"

She looked to Ricken, who had started to pack up his meal with a forlorn look on his face, and shook her head indignantly. "No way, not today. Chrom did warn me about you, after all, and I'm going to at least try to heed his warnings."

The arm retracted out the door, and before it slammed closed she heard a sigh, followed with, "Fine, 's cool. The Vaike didn't really want to dine with you anyway."

"What's his problem?" Ricken asked, after the door was firmly closed and the person who had opened it was gone. "Isn't he one of the new teachers?"

"He is, and I don't think he has a problem…well, aside from really wanting a friend. And I could be his friend, totally, but Chrom told me that he's kind of uncontrollable and really weird, and I don't think I need that in my life." Lissa sighed, looking to her door with what just happened on her mind. "If he hadn't asked like that, maybe I'd have considered, but…"

Ricken unpacked his meal again, now knowing that he wasn't going to be kicked out for some other guy. "But I'm here, and you wouldn't tell me I could be here just to make me leave, right?" When she nodded, he smiled. "It would have been okay if you had. I mean, other friends and all. Could sit with my classmates. But you're cooler than them."

"I must be pretty cool if two guys want to eat with me, I guess!" Had she known that not a minute later her brother was going to swing by to see if she wanted to sit in his office and eat, she would have waited to say those words. But at least Chrom wasn't too mad that she had allowed Ricken to dine with her, anyway. She knew that he would have been much angrier if he had walked into the office to see that Vaike guy sitting in that spot instead.


The first few weeks of school were a lot of the same, just getting to know the ropes of the job, and while they were fun, they were also a lot harder than Lissa had expected, to the point that by the time she was leaving in the evening with her brother, all she wanted to do was sleep and prepare herself for the next day. That wasn't exactly something that she could logically do though, not when her brother was technically her boss and wanted to know everything he could about her day, and not when she'd get back to his house and immediately start getting asked the same questions all over again by her brother's curious wife. Lissa liked Robin, she really did, but there had to have been some sort of limit to the questions that woman could ask her within moments of setting foot in the door.

The questions weren't random, as each and every one of them related to how working in a school felt, and how it was to be part of such a community. But they were things that Chrom could have been asked, even though he really didn't do much in the way of interacting with students or even most of the staff on a regular basis, and that bugged Lissa a bit. Why did she have to be asked everything? That was something she finally got around to asking by the end of the first month of school, after getting home dead tired and being asked something about education standards or whatever: "Why is it that you're asking me this stuff? I'm not a teacher, you know. Chrom could answer better than me."

"He could, but he doesn't. He just tells me to refer back to my textbooks, and I've got a feeling that my professors would appreciate honest comments more than ones taken from the texts." Taking the somewhat snappish question in stride, Robin gave Lissa a small smile, trying to get her spirits up a bit. "Come on, I want to make sure that I can graduate as soon as possible and finally get to teaching in that place."

"Then you really shouldn't be asking me questions. I don't really know the answers, and it's not my fault that you didn't get to graduate on time." Her sigh that she gave was loud and drawn-out, probably unnecessary but she didn't care, although she could see in Robin's eyes that it was fairly rude. "Okay, okay, sorry! I've just had a long day…"

"That would make two of us, you know. Probably all three if Chrom actually did anything aside from nap in his office, but that's his own business." Running her fingers through one of her long ponytails, Robin tried to play off the rudeness she had just been shown with an awkward smile. "I bet you had to do all sorts of helping students out today, didn't you?"

Lissa looked to the floor for a second, thinking about what she actually had done at work that day: she had sat in her office and reorganized a shelf, then had her usual lunch with Ricken, only for it to get interrupted by Vaike like it regularly did. After that, it was just a lot of monitoring the halls. Not a single person had actually come to her for help. "Not exactly," she admitted, looking back up. "It wasn't a very active day today. But we had to get there early this morning to let some of the teachers in so that they could prepare something for one of the classes. So it's been a long day."

"Uh huh, a long day of nothing. You're just as bad as your brother when it comes to knowing what a 'long' day means. I would consider a 'long' day to be when you get woken up early after being up late making sure that the little one actually gets to sleep, and that wake-up call wakes her up. So my entire day has been spent either watching Lucina run around or doing my classwork, and let me tell you, that's not fun at all." As if she heard her name being said by her mother, little Lucina came toddling into the room, arms raised for someone to pick her up—a task taken on by Lissa, who had started feeling bad for how rude she had been. "So when I'm trying to get answers out of you to make sure I can do something aside from watching her all day, please don't get so rude about it."

"I understand…" She really did. Knowing how thankful her brother was for getting the time away from the adventurous child, she could only imagine how hard it would have been for Robin to have to spend all day with the kid, going so far as to take her to the high-level college classes she attended. "But at the same time, it's not really my fault that she's a problem you guys have. It's not like I made the decision to—"

"Hey, let's leave that kind of conversation for somewhere where Lucina won't hear it, please." That was Chrom interjecting from the other side of the room, trying to play the role of keeping everything in check. "We don't need her thinking she's unwanted or something."

"Chrom, she's still too little to pick up on the meanings of words. We've gone over this before." Taking the child out of Lissa's arms, Robin cuddled the girl for a moment before walking her over to where her father was. "Right now, all she's learning is how much we love her and that she really needs to get on learning to talk. I've read that most children can speak by her age, and she doesn't seem like she wants to. Maybe it's because you don't talk to her enough."

He laughed, which in turn made Lucina start to giggle. "Or maybe it's because you've taken her to every class you've had since she was born, and she's just got too many words in that mind of hers to decide which one she wants to say first."

"Hey, she's only gone to all those classes because you're always at work when I need to be in class, and I don't exactly like the idea of letting someone watch her." When Chrom went to protest that, Robin moved one hand from holding Lucina so that she could put it over his mouth. "And no, don't even say it. She isn't going to the school and spending all day in your office. Or Lissa's office, for that matter."

Before he responded, he made sure to push the hand aside and hold it down to let him speak uninterrupted. "But what about when I let you come aboard the staff? What will you do with her then? You can't say I'm not allowed to keep her with me, but turn around and keep her with you."

"That's a bridge we'll have to cross when we get to it, isn't it?"

"I think it would be cool if Lucina got to come hang out at the school sometimes," Lissa said, having been listening to the conversation that was happening. "I mean, we'd have to keep a good eye on her to make sure the students didn't do anything to her, but wouldn't it be super cool to have her running around and keeping spirits up?"

"Not even a little bit." The response came from both of the child's parents simultaneously, causing them to look between each other and laugh, before Robin continued with responding. "It sounds like it would be fun, but this girl is a terror. She'd cause so much trouble that it wouldn't be worth it. That's why we'll have to decide on what to do with her later, because it's hard to say right now."

"Don't worry, I understand that too. But again, I don't get why you two let this happen in the first place, because…" Lissa let her voice trail off into nothing when she saw them staring at her, both not wanting to hear where her thought was going. "Right. So, uh, isn't it my turn to cook tonight? I should get on that, shouldn't I?" Her hands clasped together and the stares stopped, the topic at hand being successfully dropped. But as she went to go do her rightful duty as a guest of the home, she couldn't help but think about the situation that her brother and sister-in-law were in, with a child that they hadn't prepared for that they had to take care of and account for. Her existence seemed to be hard enough to work around, especially since both parents had so much they needed to do with their lives, and it honestly made Lissa question why anyone would ever let themselves get in that situation.

It also made her question why her brother had forced her into working at the school when he clearly could have used her as a nanny more.


At lunchtime the next day, much like every day, there was a meeting happening inside of Lissa's office, one between one of the students and the friendly school EMT. But on top of that, there was a visitor who had come to spend the time with friends, both of whom were going to be in that office anyway. And if there was any worse group to have gathered together, it was the trio of Lissa, Ricken, and their great friend Maribelle, who had graduated the year before alongside the plucky school staff member. Her presence had been a surprise to the others, as well as everyone else who knew her around the school, because as far as anyone had known, she was off at some rich private college continuing her education with her parents' money. "Yes, well, I happened to be back in town for the week and figured I should stop by to see some people who matter to me," she explained as she settled herself into the seat next to Ricken's usual. "This office was not exactly where I was expecting this meeting to happen, however."

"Sorry about that, then," Lissa said with a smile at her friend. "If I had known you were around, I would have told Chrom to find someone to fill in for me for the day! He understands that everyone needs a best friend sometimes, and I can't get one as easily as he can, since his best friend works here and all."

"Oh yes, remind me to stop by that classroom later. I brought in some things that I think your brother's best friend would appreciate immensely." The color in Maribelle's cheeks was turning a bright red as she spoke about this nameless best friend, even though Lissa knew exactly who she was referring to, and Ricken could have hazarded a guess had he needed to. "Maybe if he appreciates it enough, he will see me as less as a pest and more as the beautiful woman I've become."

"I think you've always been beautiful." Mumbling under his breath, Ricken hadn't expected for anyone to hear him, much less for Maribelle to react by playfully smacking his leg. "Well, it's true. So what if some stuffy teacher here doesn't see it?"

After smacking his leg again, she cleared her throat and fanned herself with her hand. "Do not refer to such a fine man as a 'stuffy teacher,' not in my presence. I am sure he would be appalled to hear you call him that, at any rate."

"He'd be bothered that you were calling him fine, though. Maribelle, I know, you're not a student and he wasn't a teacher here when you were, but that's still kind of weird. Even though you do know him through Chrom and not through—" Lissa was cut off by the office door opening without warning, and a bouquet of flowers being shoved inside, held by a familiar muscular arm. "—Vaike! What are you doing?"

"Flowers for the lovely lady, 's all," the man replied, the bouquet shaking a bit in his grasp, "Take 'em, please. Don't break the Vaike's heart like this."

Unsure of what was happening, Maribelle leaned towards Ricken and asked him in a hushed whisper, "Who's this Vaike guy and why's he bringing our little Lissa flowers?"

"He's the new gym teacher around here, and I think he's got a bit of a thing for her," Ricken replied, trying not to look at the arm of one of his teachers sticking in through the office door. "He comes by a lot and asks her to lunch, but he's never done this before."

"I see." Sitting back upright, Maribelle took a second to compose herself, before shouting: "Take the flowers, Lissa! This poor gentleman went through the trouble of bringing them to you, the least you can do is thank him for it by taking them!"

She sat still for a moment, shocked that this was actually happening, before she wheeled her desk chair close enough to grab the bouquet and get them from Vaike's grasp. "Er, thank you for the gift," she said, looking at the flowers that she now held. "They're really pretty."

"As pretty as you are, in fact. Hope you like 'em. Also hope we can do that lunch sometime." The hand gave her a thumbs up before it disappeared back on the other side of the door, the latching sound filling the silence that followed that last statement. Then the office grew silent once more, with Lissa staring at the flowers, Maribelle looking at Lissa to see what she would do, and Ricken sitting with his eyes on his lunch, hoping that his presence in the office hadn't been noticed by the teacher who had just been there.

"So, it's not okay for me to be interested in one of the teachers, but it's okay for you to have a suitor in one?" Maribelle's question finally broke the silence, although her laugh that she followed it with showed that she wasn't expecting an answer, not for a long while, not when Lissa's eyes hadn't moved from the flowers since she took them. "Even though it seems you weren't aware you had a suitor, were you?"

Shaking her head slowly in her stunned silence, Lissa turned the bouquet to check it for any sort of note of explanation or something, and found nothing. The only explanation she had was what Vaike had said when he handed them to her, that he thought they were as pretty as her and that he wanted to have lunch with her sometime. And after that, could she really say no to him anymore? One lunch couldn't really hurt, not after how friendly he had been, could it? "I wasn't aware at all…" Except she had been aware that he liked her, ever since they had met and he had been so charming and enthusiastic with her.

"And his proposal of a lunch date? You will take him up on that, won't you?"

"If she does, I'm gonna make sure I am not around for it. I don't think I could handle seeing Coach Vaike in a situation where he's not yelling at me to run laps." Ricken's response made Maribelle slap him again, but he felt it was worth it, especially because he wanted to make it clear he didn't want to be around for anything like that.

"I think I have to take him up on it, just once. He's not as bad as Ricken's making him sound, I'm sure," Lissa finally said, causing her companions to have opposite reactions. One shrunk back in his seat, the other started to clap for her friend's decision, and that made Lissa really hope that she wasn't making a decision that she'd regret.

Of course, her friends' reactions were important enough, but the one that mattered most was her brother's, because he had been the one to give her the warning about getting involved with Vaike. "He brought you those flowers?" Chrom asked that evening, when they were on their way home. "Can't say I'm not at least slightly impressed with his attempt to prove me wrong about me not wanting you and him interacting. I still don't like it."

"Come on, it'll just be one lunch. Just to test the waters." Her voice was shaking a bit as she spoke, because she had never been in such a situation before. It was so adult and still so unreal to her that some guy had actually brought her flowers and sort of asked her on a date! "If he's as bad as you make him sound, it'll go terrible and we'll part as acquaintances that'll never talk again. It'll be fine, I think!"

"You sound like you let Maribelle talk you into why this is a good idea, but okay. You are an adult, and that means you do get to make that choice on your own. Just don't cry too much to me when he shows you what kind of person he really is." He paused for a second, looking at his sister as she admired her flowers some more. "Hold on, those look like some expensive flowers. Maybe it would be a good idea if you left those in your office. It would brighten the space a bit, don't you think?"

"I think you're right!" she replied, before actually thinking about that suggestion. "Hey, wait a minute, are you telling me not to bring these home because you think someone will get jealous?" Listening to Chrom sputter as he tried to come up with some way to tell her she was wrong was funny enough, but it was even better when he was more flustered trying to come up with a response to what followed. "You're getting weird about this because he brought me flowers nicer than anything you take home to Robin, aren't you?"

"N-no, that's not it at all!" he finally spit out, glaring at his sister as he did. "She just won't like it that I didn't bring her anything home, that's all."

"Sure it is," she said, elbowing him in the side as she drew out the "u" for several seconds. "I think you just want me to keep you from having to sleep on the couch from being a terrible husband, that's all."

He shook his hands in front of him, almost frantically. "That's not it at all, Lissa! Don't act like I'm terrible! She really won't like it if I don't bring her something and she sees those flowers you got!"

To save her brother from the fate known as sleeping on the couch, she did end up taking those flowers back into the school building and into her office, but while she was in there she noticed that a couple of the lights in the hall headed towards the gym were still on, even though everyone should have been gone for the night.


A/N: I can't believe I'm actually posting this AU fic (this is the first of nine chapters, by the way). It was supposed to be something short and sweet, but it quickly became something I couldn't stop writing. Over 60,000 words later, written over the course of ten days, and it's time to start posting this beauty.

Reviews/follows/favorites are appreciated, but just seeing the view count go up is enough to make my heart flutter. I hope y'all enjoy what's to come here though! c: