Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: Fates.

Damage report. One scorched countertop in the chemistry classroom, courtesy of Midori and her lab partner, Ignatius. The fire was definitely her fault, though, based on the poor guy's terrified reaction. It really was sweet the way his first instinct was to get her away from the flames, though, Dwyer mused, pondering their strange friendship. Midori's father, Kaze, was the chemistry teacher, and nice guy that he was, put out the fire and made sure all the students were okay. Nobody even seemed to mind much by the time the ordeal was over. That's just the effect Mr. Ellil had on people.

One mob of girls that crowded hallways EVERYWHERE as they followed Forrest, trying to get beauty tips from him. (Whatever brand his shampoo is, the company should start paying him as some kind of walking advertisement.)

One count of detention for Selkie, who argued shrilly with the teacher about removing her ears and tail. Not that that never happened last year. Her friend in the red hoodie seemed to find it rather humorous, and didn't seem to sympathize with the poor blonde's whining at all. Dwyer still had no idea who she was, despite having managed to survive an entire school day. And she was in every one of his classes.

One Shigure with a concussion after having been startled from his seat alone in the cafeteria by an overzealous Soleil, then being knocked over by a Sophie walking backwards, who couldn't seem to apologize enough. She even offered to shave off all her dark purple hair in repentance, which the soft-spoken boy found ridiculous. Soleil offered to sing by his bedside, to which the musical prodigy cringed, informed her that he wasn't dying, and told both girls such drastic measures would not be necessary. Poor kid spent a long time in the nurse's office, then got sent home early, and his twin sister tagged along worriedly, going on about medicines she could make for him. Guy looked like he might've prefered to stay where there were lots of people than down more… immune strengthener. Haha.

One loud argument at lunch, just before the Shigure incident. Caeldori, the student council president, was lecturing Shiro, another upperclassman, on his appearance, and how it reflected on the school. And, as usual, it boiled down to a stubborn shouting fest that made zero sense to anybody around.

One instance during P.E. where Soleil got sent to the principal's office for chasing girls around trying to pinch them, and knocking over three nets of volleyballs in the process. Boy, was Hinata- er, Mr. Duncan, Hisame's dad and the P.E. instructor, not happy.

And one perfect batch of cookies. Hehe. Strange as it may sound, Home Ec was the highlight of Dwyer's exhausting day. The boy loved to cook, and led his team to make a beautiful batch of cookies that impressed the teacher. Ha. No baking challenge can defeat Dwyer, the boy chuckled to himself as he looked at the plate with a few remaining cookies on it, pondering what to do with them. School was over, and it would be a waste to throw them out… picking up the plate, he turned to find a plastic bag to zip them in. Nobody else wanted them (shockingly), so he was tasked with doing something with them, so he might as well take them home.

One step and a cookie slid off the plate, landing on the floor with a sad little thud. Aww. Sad little cookie. Well, it needed to go into the garbage for sure, you can't eat food off a public school floor…

Just as Dwyer was about to pick up the fallen warrio- er, cookie, a voice shrieked from the doorway, "ooh! Dirt cookie!" And then it was gone.

Dwyer looked up in shocked, following the pale hand that had snatched the ruined confection. And there was the quiet girl in the red hoodie, munching contentedly on the germ-covered cookie. He was confused. Why was she here? Did she just sense the cookie fall? And dirt cookie, what the heck was that supposed to mean?!

"H-hey, that was mine." Dwyer said half-heartedly, hoping the poor girl didn't get sick…

"It was a dirt cookie."

"And?"

"You didn't mark it as yours." Golly, she was so serious and matter-of-fact. Who the heck was she, anyway?

"I, uh, didn't realize I needed to."

"Well, now you know." And with that, the girl turned tail and left the room, red high-top converse squeaking on the tile floor and hood slipping, revealing long white hair. She grabbed the hood and pulled it back up before throwing a glance at Dwyer, smiling with an odd glint in her eye. "Thanks for the dirt cookie." And just like that, she was gone.

"B-but you can't just eat food that falls on the floor…" Dwyer trailed off, staring at the doorway. That was… strange. She was strange. Dirt cookie? Whoever put that idea in her head had much to answer for. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he returned to his task of safely storing the non-germ-infected cookies and setting them in his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder.

As Dwyer walked the halls, he heard shouting and the squeaking of sneakers in the gym. Poking his head in curiously, he found the girl's volleyball team practicing. Oh. Right, fall sport, indoors. Cool. He saw the redheaded coach and her, er, rather spacy-looking assistant coach standing on the sidelines. What was the coach's name again?... Hinoka? Something like that. She was pretty famous, after all, she was married to that guy that owned Windmire Incorporated, the enormous technology company. Her son went to school there.

Dwyer scanned the field looking for familiar faces, just out of boredom. Soleil, Selkie, Nina, Ophelia, Caeldori, and… Little Miss Dirt Cookie. How'd she make it over and changed so fast?! That girl was a total mystery to Dwyer. Rather like how his mother looked so young, or how they still managed to sell baby dolls that cried. What parent wants that extra noise in the house? With a sigh, the boy tossed his bangs out of his vision and retreated, starting the short trek out of the school and to his house.

"Dwyer, are you up there?" Shouting roused the young man from his slumber and he opened his eyes slowly. The first week of school sucked. Luckily tomorrow was Saturday, and he could nap to his heart's content… but wait… speaking of napping… wasn't somebody calling him?

Sitting up with a soft grunt, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and padded to the hall, shuffling down the stairs. "Did you need me?"

Nyx smiled at her son, hanging her keys on the small peg beside the door that read, Old soul, young body. Yeah, his mom was really into that kind of thing, for some strange reason… his father had that custom made for her. Dwyer never really got it. What did it mean? Maturing early? Reincarnation?

"Well, I just got home, and I thought we'd all go out to eat tonight. Your father should be home in about ten minutes, so go make yourself presentable, and we'll all go out."

"Any particular reason?..." Dwyer, ever the homebody, questioned, taking his mother's jacket from her and hanging it in the closet.

"No, not really, I just thought it'd be nice to go out and celebrate the end of the first week of school. You can tell us all about it." Her smile, usually so gentle and real, was a little too big this time.

"The oven broke again, didn't it?"

"The oven broke again." Nyx shrugged sheepishly, "I called the repairman, but he can't come until tomorrow."

Well, there went Dwyer's peaceful Saturday. Goodbye, Saturday, day where 'ur' meant to 'sat'. Heh. Bad grammar, good pun. Parting is such sweet sorrow…

"Dwyer, dear, you're staring into space. Don't worry, your girlfriend will be all better soon." The petite woman smiled with a sarcastic glint in her eye, reaching up on her tiptoes to pat her son on the head.

Dwyer felt his cheeks heat up before he realized what she meant, and he frowned. "The oven's not my girlfriend, Mother…"

A light-hearted giggle sounded from the woman as she softly climbed the stairs, "Oh yes, with how often the two of you are together, I'd say you're practically married."

Dwyer rolled his eyes, following his mother up the stairs. "Not true, Mother… if that were true, I'd be cheating on her by taking home ec. Oh, which reminds me…" The image of Dirt Cookie Chick flashed through his mind, and his mother responded.

"Yes?"

"Nah, it's nothing." Dwyer shook his head, deciding maybe he'd tell her later. She probably wanted to change into something more comfortable. "I'll go get ready." And with that, he ducked into his bedroom.

Oven girlfriend, pshaw. Was she making fun of him for being single? Lots of guys his age were single! He didn't even want a girlfriend… was it a mother's job to tease her son about girls? ...Yes, actually, it probably was. Dwyer sighed, looking at his bed longingly. He was sleepy. Darned oven.

"Dwyer, please wake, breakfast is ready!" Ah, a mother's voice. Such a lovely, comforting sound. What boy wouldn't want to wake up to that?

Dwyer, that's who. He didn't want to wake for anybody, to be honest. Calling out a muffled "'Kay…" he rolled out of bed, grunting as he hit the floor. Out of bed. Check.

Check the clock. Check. Nine o'clock?! He wanted to sleep until ten…

Push himself across the floor like an inchworm. Check.

Make a mental checklist of things he was doing. Check.

Wish he hadn't gotten dust on his face. Check.

Get upset that there was dust on the floor. Check.

Smell bacon. Check.

Smell his father's coffee. Check.

Get an urge to bake cookies. Check.

Remember that the oven was broken.

Dang it.

Standing slowly, Dwyer went through his morning routine, including reminding himself to tell his mother about that haircut. Dressed in grey sweats and a red tee, he dragged himself down the stairs, yawning in the kitchen doorway.

"G'morning, Mom."

"Ah, you're up. Good morning, Dwyer." Nyx smiled, her thick, dark ponytail swishing as she turned to greet him, gesturing to his plate of bacon and eggs on the counter.

Dwyer smiled tiredly at his mother before scanning the room, eyes alighting on his father. "Good morning, father who is superior to me in all things."

Jakob chuckled, waving smugly from behind his newspaper and cup of coffee. "Good morning, Dwyer."

The boy shot his father a grin before taking his plate to the table, his mother close behind with his coffee. Hmm, smelled a little sharp. He over-roasted the beans. Strange for his father to make such an amateur mistake. Ah well, it would seem as though the legendary Jakob, who shouted strange things such as "You're about to be served!" and "Time to take out the trash!" was only human, after all. Why is nobody in my life normal? Dwyer asked himself tiredly as he munched on his breakfast.

"So, Dwyer, the repairman comes at noon, but your mother has a previous engagement with some friends, and I have to head out to the town outskirts as soon as I'm done here, something's come up. So we need you to greet the man, see that he's paid, and kind stick around downstairs while he's here, no napping, you understand?" His father's voice took on a very serious tone as he looked over his paper at his son, who blinked quickly.

They wanted him to do all that? Well, they must think him pretty responsible… "Yeah, no problem…" He nodded, turning back to his breakfast.

"Well, good. Now that that's settled, I need to be going. See you later, Dwyer. I'll be back by four, darling." He bent over and gave his wife a kiss on the forehead before heading for the door, her farewell following him out.

Dwyer finished up his breakfast, offering to wash the dishes. His mother gratefully accepted his offer, retreating to her bedroom to get ready for her outing.

Humming a soft tune as he worked, Dwyer washed the dishes, making sure the oven was spotless as they sat in the dish drainer. Wouldn't want a guy coming to fix a dirty oven, now would you? No, no you wouldn't.

A knock sounded at the door, and Nyx's musical voice chimed down the stairs, asking her son to answer it. Shuffling to the door, Dwyer opened it, greeted by the sight of a woman in a pair of khakis and a sky-blue blouse that could've done with more buttons fastened, her long blonde curls framing a face coated in makeup. "Ah, hello, Mrs. Clancy."

"Please, Dwyer, how many times must I ask you to call me Charlotte?" She asked playfully, putting a hand on her hip. "You'll make me feel old. Not that I don't already, next to your mother."

Dwyer chuckled, "My apologies."

Charlotte looked past him with a smile, "Ah, Nyx! Your son is polite as always."

Dwyer's mother, dressed in a modest purple sundress, smiled gently. "Thank you, Charlotte. Now Dwyer, make sure to keep the doors locked, and put those dishes away, you know you always forget."

Face flushing, Dwyer nodded. "Got it. Have a good time, Mother."

"Thanks, dear. I'll be back later." Standing on her toes to kiss her son's cheek, she turned and left, Charlotte starting some tirade about some cosmetics company.

Dwyer smiled as he locked the door. His parents had some strange friends… not unlike me, he admitted to himself, padding to the kitchen to put the dishes away.

After scrubbing every inch of the kitchen and brewing a pot of chamomile tea, Dwyer sat at the kitchen table, going through chemistry homework while enjoying his tea, sorely missing his oven.

At the thought, the teenage boy looked up at the clock, tossing his bangs out of his face. Oh. Haircut. Forgot again. It was noon. So… was the repairman supposed to be there soon?

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Hey, somebody used our doorbell for once. Dwyer thought to himself as he unlocked the door, opening it. "Yes?"

A man stood there, toolbox by his feet and grin on his face. He looked… energetic. White and black hair was cropped just above his shoulders, and Dwyer briefly wondered if it was dyed.

"Hey, name's Keaton. Somebody got a broken oven?" He almost seemed happy about it. Well, I suppose he gets paid for it, so… I would be too, Dwyer conceded, nodding.

"Yeah, it's right in here." As he held the door open, the man nodded in thanks, speaking again.

"I hope you don't mind, I brought my daughter along, tryin' to show her the ropes."

"Oh no, that's not a problem," Dwyer waved a hand, honestly not caring at all. His oven was getting fixed.

"Well, thank you much. Come on, Velouria, and let your daddy show you how to fix an oven." Dwyer, who was staring at the floor, saw a familiar pair of converse. Red. High-top. Looking up quickly, he found himself face to face with Lil' Miss Dirt Cookie herself, signature red hoodie hugging her body.

Well, darn.

Dun dun duuuunnn! So, my next chapter is here quicker than I had anticipated, and I hope you liked it!

Just so y'all know, I hope you don't think Duncan is too cheesy a surname for Hinata, it means 'brown warrior', and his hair, and I couldn't resist... XD

So, more Velouria in this chapter! *gasp* We actually got her name, yay! XD Why does Dwyer dread her being at his house? Who knows! Tune in next time to find out. :P

Thank you very much to all those who followed, favorited, and/or reviewed! You guys seriously made me so happy, this is my first time delving into Fire Emblem fanfiction, and I really appreciate the support. :D

And to Jay, the guest reviewer: Thank you SOOO much! :D

I like to make sure all reviews get a reply. XD

Please be sure to leave what you thought in a review! I don't mind short ones, don't mind long ones, and constructive criticism is always appreciated. Until next time!

Have a lovely day~

~Swaggy-chan