Another oneshot, this one's different as I played a little with tenses. Still short, and maybe more melancholic? Well. I'll try to keep submitting the ones I have ready soon, but I make no promises.

Disclaimer: Yada, yada, FE 'tis not mine. Just so you know, I'd love it if it were.

"take my hand, don't let go"

(post-ch31 – light, pre-epilogue / what would you say… if I asked you to come back to Pherae with me?)

theme #20 – かえり道/the road home

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"Come watch the sunrise with me, Eliwood."

They are minutes away from riding straight into the Dragon's Gate to face Nergal for the last time when he sees her, standing alone on a small hill next to their camping site. He approaches her without much thought, being careful not to disturb her. His pace is lazy, calm, so opposite at how everyone feels right now, but watching her stand there, utterly relaxed, eyes fixed in the rising sun, he just cannot not feel calm.

The wind plays with her long, green hair and her tantalizing dress; he stops to admire the way she looks then, so at peace, so content, with the sun making her hair and her eyes and her skin shine with a golden hue… She looks like an Angel.

The content sigh that leaves her makes him almost regret coming up here to be with her. He turns to leave, ready to go back to prepare for the upcoming battle, when her soft voice, carried by the wind, reaches his ears.

And here they are now, watching the sun rise off the horizon and into the awaiting sky above, enjoying the last minutes of peace they will most likely get in a long while.

Maybe it's that peace what prompted him to talk, maybe it's how content, how happy, she looks there watching the sunrise… maybe it's the knowledge that this moment could very well be their last moment together…

He reaches for her hand, intertwining their fingers once he catches it, and turns to face her.

Maybe it's simply the fact that he feels truly happy, at home, being with here her; he doesn't know. But Eliwood is sure he would remember that moment as being the turning point of his and Lyndis relationship, the moment when, without his immediate noticing, everything changed.

"Lyndis, what would you say… if I asked you come back to Pherae with me?"

Only then, she turns to look at him, a smile on her face and a feeling he doesn't recognize shining in her eyes, she gives his hand a gentle squeeze and answers him sincerely, letting the wind carry her words (and her feelings) to him.

.

.

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The final battle comes and goes; so does Lyndis.

She slips away from Castle Ostia after the celebration ends, when everybody is too tired or too drunk to notice, silently riding away with her two most trusted knights. A letter is all she leaves behind.

A letter.

And he is left wondering. What made her leave? Was it something he said? Did he scare her away? Why did she leave? But the answers to those questions never come, so he is forced to move on. Because however tempted he feels to go after her, he has more pressing matters that require his attention and while a part of him (the part that Lady Lyndis unleashed) revels at that though, arguing that she comes above any other matter, he was raised to be a Marquess.

And as a Marquess he must put his people's happiness before his.

So he does, for a whole year. Luckily for him, he still has his wise mother, whose concern for him allows her to give him the encouragement he needs to follow his heart's desire.

"We cannot hold the Ceremony with you looking so gloom and homesick, my son."

Eliwood looks at her, feeling apprehensive and slightly confused, through the mirror's reflection. "Homesick? How can I be homesick? I am home."

His mother smiled indulgently at him, straightening the small wrinkles on the shoulders of his royal attire. "Dear child, are you really?"

She leaves him to ponder her words, and it doesn't take him long to realize what his mother tries to say. When he does, he feels a little silly, for the answer is plain obvious, really.

Home is…

"Well, of course."

The Ceremony is postponed indefinitely and the next day, at dawn, Eliwood takes off with only his white stallion as company. Because he knows, he needs to do this alone.

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"Come watch the sunset with me, Eliwood."

He finds her sitting on a hill next to her house, alone yet at peace it seems. All the tiredness he's been feeling for the long journey leaves with the gentle wind as he sees her; it is curious, though, that just the sight of her can give him such a boost of energy.

As he walks towards her, calmly, silently, a sudden feeling of déjà vu hits him. And when she speaks, without turning to look at him, Eliwood realizes why this moment feels so familiar to him.

She's said that before, didn't she, before the final battle, only a word is different.

And like before, he stands next to her, silent as they watch the sun set in the horizon. This time, however, he doesn't breaks the silence first, he waits for her to talk; a year is long enough to postpone a conversation. When the sky turns black, glistening with bright stars, he helps her stand up and holds onto her hand. Only then, finally, she turns to face him, a content smile on her lips and a particular feeling shining in her eyes.

A feeling he now recognizes.

She talks.

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"You came."

"You left."

"…I needed time."

"Time?"

"Yes, to be sure."

"…"

"I was confused; I didn't know what to do."

"About us?"

"About me… what I felt for you."

"What you felt?"

"…"

"What did you feel for me?"

"It was… confusing, complicated and… strong. Very strong."

"Oh…"

"It's not complicated now, confusing yes, but that is alright, and…"

"Strong."

"Stronger."

"…"

"…"

"Lyndis."

"Yes?"

"…Will you come home with me now?"

"Yes… yes, I will."

.

He worships her body, at last, like he always wanted to, caressing her legs and her stomach —where, he hopes, one day their child will grow— and her back and her arms and her face. He brushes butterfly kisses over whatever skin his mouth can reach without breaking their passionate embrace, finally coming to a stop over her lips, which he kisses thoroughly. He whispers soft promises into her ears, in between kisses; she deserves a big wedding, he says, with white royal gowns, a priest, and a room full of people who care about her. She deserves this consummation to be on their wedding night, but he's waited so long for this moment and—

So has she, Eliwood realizes, as the very moment the words leave his lips, Lyndis is reassuring him. It's all right, she says, caressing his face, she wants this, she's wanted this far too long to wait any longer.

Her caresses don't stop, and Eliwood believes her, of course he believes her, he will always believe her because—

.

.

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"I… would say yes. Yes, because…"

.

.

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I love you.

.

end.

Oh, yeah, I also added an all-dialogues part in this. Was it good? I'd really like to know... or was it too confusing?

Well, as I said, I'll try to update soon! Of course, your reviews are always welcomed!

And thanks to those who have already reviewed!