Disclaimer: Don't own Fire Emblem Echoes, nor it's franchise, characters included.

Rating: T

Basically a little nudge, so that these two can finally get over themselves and continue bickering, but as more than friends :P

Priory; outside

Man, if/when he does this, it's really gonna change things...

Boey continued to pace, rubbing at his head; honestly though, he wasn't sure what other choice he had, other than letting things stay the way they are. And while he wouldn't necessarily mind that, per se, he also knew it'd just end with a lot of regrets - plus he didn't doubt Queen Celica's word about Mae, as she wouldn't make up this stuff about her. Still, he was taking some time to try and reconcile the Mae he knew, with the worries Mae had stated to Celica, such as the apparent worry if she's not girly enough and couldn't be seen as more than a friend. Part of him thought Mae really is a dope if she believes that, but then thought the worry is probably distorting her view... and more than that, worries about making things weird between them forever, in a bad way.

He'd had the same worry a fair number of times, and still does now, if to a lesser degree... in fact, that's why he'd talked to Celica in the first place.

"Hey, Your Highness?"

"Hmm?" Celica wondered, before seeing him, and her face brightened. "Oh, Boey" she greeted, smiling. "Long time no see, but no need to be so formal. We're still good friends, aren't we?"

"Y-Yes, of course" he said, if sheepish. "Just, you know... old habits. Anyway, can I ask you something personal?"

"Of course; I'd be happy to help in any way that I can."

Boey squirmed a bit, though he tried to hide it. "So here's the thing" he said quickly, just to get started, then focused upon finishing. "Hypothetically - just hypothetically - say there's someone I liked. Someone I've always been close to, but never seemed to see me as anything more than a friend. Does that mean I'm the problem?"

"What are you- Oh. Oooooooh! Hehehe."

"W-What's so funny?"

"Nothing" she assured, but her smile told him otherwise. "Just that, I had a very similar conversation with Mae once. And though she may hold it against me, I think you need to hear this, if you two are to get anywhere."

Boey rubbed his head, giving off a sigh- Mae doesn't just see him as a friend.

She couldn't, not if she's insecure enough to consider changing her personality to suit his tastes better, despite what she might say otherwise. As flattered as he felt by the thought, he knew one thing: he's not gonna allow her to change drastically, just to endear herself to him.

Determined now, he stopped pacing and forced his feet to carry him forward.

/

A little later

Thankfully he didn't have far to go, but he did wish she hadn't turned that corner at the same time as him.

"Oww" Mae breathed, still rubbing her forehead (as did he), looking annoyed. "Boey, you couldn't watch where you were going? Or barring that, at least not turn corners so fast? You've got a real hard head, ya know."

"Speak for yourself" Boey breathed back, trying not to wince. "I could spout those same lines, but that's not why I'm here. So let's just call this both our faults and be done with it. Alright?"

She seemed surprised, looking at him for a moment. "Wow, uh... sure. I mean, it is both our faults, but I didn't think you'd be this aggressive about putting it behind us" she admitted, before smiling, hands on her hips. "Though I gotta say, I kinda like it. Is this a new Boey I see, one who's finally grown a spine?"

Any other time, he'd probably have been pleased, even if he played it off- but he can't get distracted now.

"Glad you're pleased, Mae. And probably not yet" he answered, sincere but still intent. "Still, I do have something I want you to know, Mae."

"You sound so serious. Okay, I'll listen to your words, and see if you have anything interesting to say" Mae said, cheerful and almost grinning-

-and it was a good sight, wording aside.

"Anyway, I've come here because I'm finally gonna make your dense-but-cute self understand" Boey stated, only mostly-aware of what he just said, due to the effort. "You told me you were coming back here after the war, and I said I would too, and you asked what that meant. Seriously, what were you thinking to not get that?"

She had a number of reactions, mainly due to his choice of words. "Ah- wha- did you just-!?" Mae nearly spluttered, cheeks redder, before she blinked and something seemed to click. "W-Why are you bringing that up again? What am I not getting, Boey? And why are you so- so fixated upon it all of a sudden?"

"The fact that you don't get it is exactly what irritates me" he continued, getting a little smirk; she's actually a little flustered for some reason. "So, I'm going to see if- if saying it straight out will change that. Even if it's not something I'd normally do in this situation, and probably won't be doing again for awhile."

"Uhh... okay...? C-Can you just get to the point already?"

Yeah, that would be best- Boey just sighed, feeling the smirk fade as he steeled himself. "Fine" he stated, not intense, "Well Mae, you and I, we- we argue a lot. We like it, and want to keep doing so, as I assume. But perhaps just for a minute, we can both drop that and just... just admit that we l-love each other, okay!?"

If she'd been flustered before, this reaction took the cake: "Ah... Ahh... Whaaa!?" Mae spluttered (again) with wide eyes, practically frozen for a time, but it didn't stop her cheeks from turning even redder. "Bo... you... we... but... how...we're...!"

Even in his own 'state', he couldn't have failed to notice that reaction; if there's ever a sign someone's mind was racing a mile-a-minute, this would be it. He actually cringed, thinking he might have broken Mae, but then his worry pushed him into action in the spur-of-the-moment... much later, he'd be glad he didn't consciously think it through...

Boey stepped forward, hands on her shoulders-

-then Mae squeaked when he pressed his lips to hers.

Eyes closed, he was only aware of how sweet her lips tasted; not just in general, but from something sweet she must've eaten recently, which was so like her. In the several seconds before he realized what happened, he lightly moved his lips against Mae's, who - still being frozen - didn't return the favor, at least yet.

Then his spur-of-the-moment 'haze' faded away and he stopped, realizing what just happened before he slowly pulled away, almost without realizing.

When they separated, Boey could've sworn he heard the faintest sound from Mae, but he had also been catching his breath, so he wasn't entirely sure. He half-opened his eyes, and he saw that her's had closed, cheeks redder than he'd ever seen before... her mouth was open too, catching her own breath yet oh-so-tempting.

"..."

Because of his state, he didn't notice how Mae's hands slowly unfroze and came up, only seeing how her eyes half-opened- at least, not until they were on his cheeks. Yet by the time he realized this, Mae suddenly moved forward and kissed him a little harder, to his shock... but after a second, the sensations of her sweet lips broke through and Boey quickly returned the kiss, one hand moving to cup the back of her head.

She definitely seemed to like that, as her hands slid from his cheeks to over his neck, then rather-hesitantly did the same thing.

When they finally pulled back for sure, catching their breath, Boey found himself drawing a blank on what else he wanted to say to her. Not that he probably could've said it anyway; his cheeks were quite warm, his heart was beating faster, and his lips were still 'tingling' a bit from the sensations of their kiss.

Mae did not seem to be as 'frozen' as him: "Boey, you-"

By instinct, this made him look at her, only managing an inarticulate sound.

It was lucky that he registered several details in that moment: namely her face being red, the way her mouth had curled, and the fact that her tone did not at all match her next words. "-you... you are such an idiot!" she near-yelled, making him blink, still sorta-stunned. "This isn't at all what I meant by you growing a spine! For you to just- just admit we love each other, and then to kiss me!? You need to warn a girl before you do stuff like that!"

Honestly, some part of him felt like laughing, at how silly this situation is and how much she'd clearly enjoyed their kiss despite this. Naturally, he did not do that; didn't want her getting the wrong idea after coming this far, and especially because it'd be a serious drama he'd rather avoid, all things considered.

Might do so later, when things have settled and that 'drama' would just be part of their usual arguing tones, but that can wait.

...

"I am sorry I surprised you, Mae" Boey said to her, with a bit of effort - his cheeks were red too, yet he managed to look at her (mostly). "But I didn't know what else to try. Dropping hints and teases wasn't working, for one thing, so... before I did this, I went to ask advice."

Inwardly, Mae felt like her mind's a jumble; she's absolutely thrilled at what just happened, and she wanted it to happen again, but it wasn't that easy. She's still pretty freaked out from his statement earlier, trying to figure out how he knew that she liked him, how long he'd liked her 'that way' when she thought he never had, and a lot of other things! And her yell just now... that'd been partly a way of expressing her shock, but also an instinctive try to cover her struggle with some of their usual banter- which wasn't working! Part of her wanted to do it again, as a cover for her to just run away while she figured this out... but then Mae realized what she's doing, and with effort rained it in.

She can't run; it'll only hurt and confuse Boey, and it'd be terrible if she did that! Despite what she just said to him, he's staying and not taking her words at face value... and it must've taken him a lot of effort to say/do what he just did too.

"A-Advice?" she breathed, almost cursing herself for stuttering... but her lips were tingling.

Boey's mouth moved a bit, but it did curve a bit, as if relieved. "I went to ask Queen Celica, Mae" he admitted, breathing heavier. "Asked her if someone close to me, who only saw me as a friend, meant I was the problem."

At first that sounded familiar, then her eyes widened as the realization dawned upon her. "Wait, don't tell me!" she breathed, hands on both sides of her head. "Celica told you that- that-!"

"That you had the same worries about me" Boey said for her- she would've been mortally embarrassed, except for the softness in his voice. "Don't blame her too much, Mae; she did so because she wanted us to get together, to be happy. She didn't tell me that out of nowhere, or to embarrass you."

"I-I know that, but still! Not cool! It's not cool at all!"

He just chuckled a little, understanding... she squirmed, knowing that while her words were sincere, she didn't have much force behind it. "Let me guess" Boey breathed, looking at her then. "You hate it when I make sense?"

A few seconds passed.

"...well, that and- and I don't know what to do now, Boey" she mumbled. "I think my brain's still in shock."

Little did she notice, but his reaction seemed to have quite a few inward things going on- he merely let out a breath. "Then let me ask these questions" he said, cheeks growing a bit darker then. "Do you like me? Do you want us to be... to be dating? Do you still want us to continue like normal, meaning we keep exchanging words as before?"

Again she squirmed, but Mae distinctly remembered the way he'd kissed her, and how she'd kissed him afterward- she can't pretend that never happened, because it did! So, with her heart beating really really fast, she did her best to get through this... because despite not being at all prepared for it, she didn't really mind where this was going.

"Yes!" she said, a bit too much about it. "Ah, mmh- yes. And absolutely yes. W-What about you though!?"

Boey didn't seem at all surprised, even as he shifted, cheeks still red. "Yes. Yes. And yes."

Some part of her worry evaporated; he didn't mind at all that they argued, and even seemed to like it, as he'd said earlier. But even still, the rest of her worries remained, because her brain's still trying to process all this... not just the rational stuff, but the sensations she really, really wanted to try again...

"S-So" Mae breathed, still cursing herself for stuttering in front of him. "You don't- you really don't mind that I'm like myself? You don't want me more girly, proper, and junk like that?"

He scoffed a little, arms crossed. "You're plenty 'girly' with that hairstyle and those clothes, Mae" he said, before his lip curved. "But that being said, if I didn't like you as you are, mostly, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I hope the reverse is- is something similar."

If she were in the mood, she would've said that she (again) hated when he made sense...

"It is" she said quickly, if squirming. "Later I'll probably curse you for your boneheaded words, and call you an idiot again, but- but at the end of the day, you're still a pretty cool guy, Boey. You always think things through, understand stuff that others miss - e-even kinda like myself just now - and you're pretty reliable for a lot of things. Plus... y-y-you called me cute; that makes me wanna melt."

"...I said what?"

Mae barely noticed, but he said that with a mix of confusion and a more 'freaked' tone.

"Well you did! I heard it right here! And- and you're not... you're not too bad yourself, Boey! There, I said it!"

For awhile he didn't answer, or make a sound, and she was struggling to look at him but couldn't manage it right now- at least, until she saw him step closer. Heart beating faster/more funny, she looked up and saw Boey was right there, close-but-not-too-close... he seemed to hesitate a moment, going by his mouth twitch and brief glance-away, but then he smiled a little.

"I'm glad you did, Mae" he breathed, sincere but almost mumbling. "It's nice to hear, so long as we're like this. And speaking of that, I- I have an idea for our... where our first date might be."

"W-Wha?!"

"It's nothing big; just us sitting out near the ocean, and watching it" Boey said quickly, one hand rubbing behind his head. "We just stay there for an hour, or something, and talk. Whether that's about serious stuff, our usual bickering, or both... it can be either of those. We'll save any special occasions for later, if we even want any. Does- does that sound good?"

Her brain was still struggling, but Mae couldn't have missed how that aside, every part of her agreed with this idea one hundred percent!

"Y-Yes, good! That's good" she quickly said, if still embarrassed. "Man, I still can't get a grip! B-But... it all feels good too..."

A slight chuckle, which was enough to lift her head, only for her to squeak at his being even closer- he fidgeted a bit, but glanced down a bit, before looking at her. Mae quickly, embarrassingly realized he wanted to kiss her again, and was looking for her permission... it took her what seemed like forever, just to get her eyes to slowly close, thanks to all this warmth.

When his lips touched hers though, it was all worth it.

Tomorrow

Thankfully, his 'realization' reactions had dimmed down by the time he moved toward the shore- all that happened, and they liked it, end of story. Boey let out a breath though, thinking that while he's gotten past that hurdle, he's got another one coming up: handling a full-time relationship with Mae - he wanted that, but it's gonna be quite a ride, no doubt.

Once he got down there, he found Mae crouching by the water, tracing her finger through the sand and watching the water erode it easily.

After a moment, he smiled. "Mae."

"Oh, hey Boey. Glad you could make it."

That surprised him a little: her tone was exactly like normal, with no nervousness or surprise or anything, almost as if they'd bumped into each other during something mundane. Boey took a moment to think, eyebrow raised as he looked at Mae - who hadn't turned her head at all - and briefly thought that, as expected, she's not gonna make things easy for him.

But when did she ever?

"You're really gonna pretend that you weren't a nervous wreck yesterday?" he asked, a bit mild-

-and she blanched, standing up in a hurry, clearly trying to keep her cheeks from getting reddish.

"W-Well, what do you expect me to do?" she blustered, hands on her hips. "Just- just melt into your arms and let you make all the moves? I'd be waiting forever if that happened, Boey!"

Yup, trying to get them back to normal; it made him smile a little. "As if" he retorted, if light about it. "I'd be worried if you suddenly lost your confident, even overbearing demeanor. But it's not wrong if you show your nervousness, or admit you aren't sure what to do, and stuff like that; honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing that from time-to-time, Mae."

At that, her mouth curled (seemingly against her will), and she glanced away. "..."

"I mean, maybe not right away, or all the time" Boey added, sincere. "But just in general, you know? It's okay, and I won't think any less of you - you clearly don't think I'm as bad as you say, after all. That's all I wanted to say."

"...I- I know" Mae whispered, glancing back at him. "But I'm not used to doing that, Boey. It was hard enough to tell Celica a few of my worries, even though girl-talk is supposed to be easy, compared to telling a boy, especially you- and yesterday, I only did so with you after you completely blindsided me, when it was kinda-easy."

He slowly stepped closer, which jolted her slightly, but otherwise she didn't move- then he slipped a hand onto her shoulder.

"Well, no need to force it" Boey assured. "In fact, for today, all I imagine happening is us talking and enjoying life. Probably a lot of playful banter, and maybe a- a few small affections... but, that's okay. There's no need to rush things this early, or at all."

He had trouble not blushing as he said that, but luckily he wasn't alone; Mae made a few motions that suggested the same thing.

Then she smiled a little. "You know, I really wanna say that you are a new Boey, making sense so many times and having grown a spine" she breathed, not without effort but a hint of playfulness (which got more overt as she went on). "But having said that I hate it twice already yesterday, it might start getting old if I do. And I did, I'd also lose a really good tease as well."

Boey smirked a bit. "Well, then let me hit you with a new one, Mae" he answered, almost wanting to chuckle. "I hate it when you're so oblivious."

"Wha-" she spluttered. "Hey, you mean that about me, don't you!?"

"Well you are; just look at how clueless you were yesterday" he pointed out, his smirk creeping toward a grin (briefly). "And even before that too, you dope."

"How was I supposed to know you liked me?" Mae demanded, nervousness completely gone. "Girls hint their affections, mostly, but boys don't usually do that at all! And you always sounded annoyed whenever you were trying to tell me off, or argue; what was I supposed to think?"

"I was annoyed because I'm a more modest kind of guy, and you always sounded so carefree. Doesn't mean I actually hated that about you" Boey answered, exasperated now. "I mean, was I ever actually angry with you? Or were you ever angry with me when I was being too cautious? I really don't think so."

Then she briefly touched her head with both hands. "Dang it, why are you right!? Why didn't I get any of this faster than you!?" she cried out, before grunting. "Seriously, why did- wha!?"

Inwardly, he wanted to laugh at the way her voice squeaked on that last part, but just tried to keep his heart-rate under control- he was standing real close to Mae now. With the one hand on her shoulder, he slowly moved the other one there as well, but didn't go much further than that... he waited a second or two, just to make sure she's processing this.

"How about instead of beating yourself up, we- we just kiss?"

Later, he was really glad he said that without mumbling... and also, was glad that Mae's cheeks reddened like crazy again; it was a good sight. After a second or two blinking, suddenly her hands grasped his cheeks, and then she kissed him, which completely caught him off-guard as her lips (hesitantly) brushed against his.

At least, for a moment.

When they broke apart, Boey felt her stay close, as her breath on his mouth was really warm (and appealing)- then she pulled back a little more, and he half-opened his eyes. She was standing close, hands still on her shoulders and her gaze down on nothing in particular, but while a bit nervous, she still looked happy; that made him smile.

"I... I guess we work best this way" Mae whispered, more soft. "Arguing to get things off our chests. And- and straight-up kissing each other, or whatever. No dancing around the issue."

"Looks like it" he agreed after a moment. "Glad we learned that early."

"Still probably not gonna make things easy for us though."

"Not for a second; this is us we're talking about."

Mae looked about to say something else, before she jolted as his fingertips touched hers- she briefly looked down, a bit breathless before she looked at him again. Unfortunately, his cheeks had finally broken into a blush himself, but Boey refused to look away or act like it wasn't happening; even if he's nervous, he'll handle things as needed. Then she smiled a little, mouth curled with sincerity and nervousness, before she looked down and- and her fingers slowly moved over his, eventually holding hands for real. Though not intertwined yet, her hand was soft and warm, and hopefully his was at least the latter... but nonetheless, he squeezed back in a reassuring way.

"Come on then" Boey breathed, motioning in a direction. "Let's find us a good spot. Still got some ocean-watching to do."

"Yeah, let's" Mae answered, and she soon seized upon that statement; before long she was pulling him behind her.

It wasn't the worst thing in the world, and he was far too busy enjoying their contact anyway.

After about a minute of this:

"Hey, Boey?"

"Yes?"

She paused in her pulling, leaving them to stop, and she looked at him with a big smirk. "You may have taken the lead for now, but I promise it isn't gonna stay that way" Mae said with complete ease, as if she'd never been embarrassed or nervous at all. "Before long I'll have you wrapped around my little finger. How's that?"

Inwardly, he just wanted to grin; as interesting as he found the new insecurities about Mae, and how glad he was that even someone like her has them, this is the woman he liked(-and-is-sometimes-annoyed-by). Outwardly, he scoffed and rolled his eyes a little: "You do realize the entire point of a relationship is against that, right?" he said, with no small amount of sarcasm.

"Of course. But you better learn how to take a joke, Boey, if you ever wanna get anywhere."

"I knew it was a joke from the start, Mae. I'm just seriously warning you, so don't go getting a big head."

"Oooo, so scary, hehehe. That almost sounded threatening."

"Good, because I have a lot more to say."

They did eventually make it to their spot to ocean-watch, and parts of their date was the pleasant, normal couple stuff, once they got over themselves. But he wouldn't say at half wasn't spent with their usual playful banter, because it was; it's just how they expressed themselves.

He wouldn't trade that for anything.

These two knuckleheads are so cute hehe XD That's about all there is to say here