Author's Note: Patty and Shanan here in a follow-up to "Teasing Lakche", with a couple that gets far too little screen time to be fleshed out properly. So, here's my take on how their relationship might work at the endgame, considering their ultimate separation in some endings. Keep in mind, I'm something of a romantic and the game seems to go the "true love" route to a degree when you consider that standing next to your girlfriend is an incredibly effective method of getting Critical Hits.

Shanan casually flipped a page in the dusty book, his eyes glued to the text as he lounged in an old chair with red cushions. He leaned back into the soft but deflated surface, his legs splayed out in front of him as he soaked in the calm atmosphere of Barhara Castle's private library.

He had wandered in by chance on the day after the Liberation Army had finally conquered Barhara and had quickly become lost in the variety of tomes lining the shelves and desks in the expansive room.

Shanan had privately marvelled at that, barely an empty space in an area three normal rooms long.

He'd typically been drawn to historical volumes as a child but the longer the war had dragged on, the more Shanan found himself turning to less scholarly literature. Thus, he eventually settled on a worn book of fairy tales lying on a desk and dropped easily into the nearby chair.

He skipped the first story, a tale of a knight and a princess he remembered from his childhood. He'd considered reading it but the tearstains and tiny rips in the pages made him feel like an unwelcome intruder whenever he looked at the once thick black words on the paper.

Instead he began reading of a prince and an ardent admirer, the tale chronicling the growth of their relationship from unwanted affection to friendship.

The girl was nosy to the point of exasperation, constantly bouncing on her feet, petite for her age and shamelessly flirty. The boy was several years her senior, tall, and reserved. They only began to get along through blunt force repetition of the girl's irritating habits until they slowly became endearing.

Eventually, the boy started to see her kindness and began to look forward to the wide grin that always adorned her face. Slowly but surely, he fell for her.

He wondered to himself why that sounded so familiar before a grin cropped across his face at the thought of a certain blonde Thief Fighter.

"What ya looking at?"

Shanan turned to face Patty as normally as he could manage, perfectly masking his fright at her sudden appearance, while thinking to himself "Speak of a demon and it shall appear."

He dismissed that thought as stupid as soon as it arose and answered her question without missing a beat.

"Reading. I found an old book of fairy tales." Shanan remarked calmly, eyes dropping back to the book as he patted the page, "Found one I'd never seen before, thought it might be worth a look."

Patty skimmed the page, her arms resting on Shanan's shoulder comfortably as she did so. Shanan tried to enjoy the pleasant weight but Patty gave a sudden start and jabbed the old book with her finger.

"I know this story!" Patty exclaimed exuberantly, her mouth curving upwards as she explained "The old man who ran the orphanage before Faval and me used to tell us this one when I was little."

"You might need to be a bit more specific. I don't think you ever stopped being 'little'" Shanan remarked dryly, barely resisting the powerful urge to smirk when Patty smacked his arm lightly.

"I meant when I was younger, you jerk." she half-muttered with a pout before turning back to the story with a more serious frown, "I never really liked this one, now that I think about it."

Shanan raised an eyebrow, shifting the book slightly to the side to allow Patty to plop down on his lap while she organised her thoughts.

After a moment's thinking, she began speaking slowly and carefully, "It's a pretty happy story most of the way through… I like that part, liked it even when I was too small to really understand it all."

Shanan found himself softly smiling in a mirror of her own grin, her childlike features glowing as she spoke. She looked so young and hopeful that Shanan found himself forgetting that she had helped topple an Empire not a week beforehand.

Then, her expression suddenly became rueful, her gaze falling to her lap, "It all seems so perfect… and then the prince decides she'd be better with someone else. That's how it ends, with them going their separate ways because he's decided she could do better. And she just fakes a smile and goes along with it like it was nothing!"

"It's only a story." Shanan said calmly, his eyes slightly widened from her outburst.

"Sorry. It's just… it seems kind of like a sad ending to the story." Patty said before she shrugged her shoulders with an awkward grin.

"Not all stories end happily. You know that." Shanan explained flatly, quirking an eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, this one kind of hits a little too close to home." Patty said while leaning backwards to rest on Shanan, "It's seems unfair to have to make a choice like the prince's… especially when the last thing you want is for the person you love to be okay with it. It makes you feel horrible inside."

"Painful memories?" Shanan ventured, frowning when he received a shake of her head.

"I wish." she muttered just loudly enough for the Isaacian prince to make out.

"You wish?"

"Nothing, never mind. Forget I said that." Patty said quietly while turning to face into Shanan's shoulder, burying her face in the fabric of his tunic.

Shanan's gaze narrowed angrily for a moment before relaxing, his hand falling to Patty's back and embracing her tightly against his chest as the story book and the unfortunate couple's tale was thrown gently to the nearby table and forgotten about for the moment.

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Shanan fingered the single-sapphire ring in his pocket for what felt like (and probably was, if he was being honest) the hundredth time that day. The ring was partially made of his own braided hair… a very significant lover's token in Isaac.

He wasn't entirely sure what had possessed him to make one for Patty… she wouldn't understand the symbolism of the object. Even if he explained it, the gesture would lose something of its value.

Still, his precious Aunt Ayra had given it to her lover and Shanan's parents had exchanged them long before his birth. It just seemed appropriate to keep the tradition alive, he supposed with a shrug.

He hoped Patty had recovered from her melancholy mood during their stay in the library. He wondered absently what exactly she'd meant when she wished it had been painful memories upsetting her. Probably less than the ring he was about to give her… at least that's what he hoped anyway.

His feet made a uniform beat on the floor, years of carefully practiced footwork to perfect his swordsmanship leaving him incapable of anything less than graceful.

Tap, tap, tap, tap (tip-tip), tap (tip-tip).

The sudden tempo change alerted him to Patty's arrival, her silent run devolving into two strides for each of his own as she fell into step beside him.

"Hey." Patty began in an alarmingly subdued voice, "How are you?"

Shanan frowned as he spun on his heel to face Patty, his hand instinctively covering her forehead "I'm fine. It's you who's acting strange. Hm, you don't seem to be running a fever." Shanan sighed with relief at that before hardening his gaze and crossing his arms, "So, if you're healthy… then what's getting to you?"

"Nothing." Patty lied blatantly, her hands coming up defensively as she shook her head, "I swear, I'm fine, never better. A girl can't just take it easy after winning a war?"

"Most girls could, but not you. We both know that you should be bouncing off the walls celebrating." Shanan looked away sheepishly before adding "I was kind of looking forward to the spectacle, actually."

Patty giggled at his expression but it was forced, the accompanying grin never quite meeting her eyes. Eventually her laughter subsided, Patty's eyes refusing to leave the floor afterwards.

Eventually, she raised her head a fraction of an inch, "I'm the new duchess of Jungby."

"I know. We all kind of figured that out a few months ago." Shanan's posture remained stiff, his tone of voice irritated as he spoke, "Anything else to say?"

At this, Patty's fists balled and her glare intensified while she shouted "Think about it, you royal prick! That means that we're done!"

Neither one of them spoke after that, Patty's head ducking as she rubbed her eyes roughly while Shanan stood stone-faced.

Ultimately, Patty chanced a glance upwards, Shanan spotting the tears still running down her cheeks. Sighing mournfully, Shanan reached forwards and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him for an incredibly tight embrace. The two wrapped their arms around one another and practically dragged themselves together, burying their faces in one another's shoulders.

After relishing the moment, Shanan pulled back just far enough to tilt Patty's head with his fingers and bring their lips together.

Both lovers shut their eyes and revelled in the pleasant feeling of the link, their motions soft and tender as they shared their first kiss.

The moment was over all too soon as Shanan broke the connection, Patty falling forwards slightly as a result before slowly opening her eyes.

The smile on Shanan's face masked his pain well, and he cupped her cheek in his hand, "Then I guess this is goodbye. Thank you for the memories… I, eh, had a lot of fun. I'll never forget what we had here, your nosiness and all."

Turning on his heel as quickly as he could manage, the Isaacian swordsman darted off in the opposite direction before Patty could speak.

As much as he hated doing it, it was easier than facing her… especially with the blue gem of the ring brushing against his chest through the pocket inside his tunic seeming to burn his skin more and more with each passing second.

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The night fell quickly and the private chambers of Isaac remained empty as Skasaher and Lakche had both vanished during the day to attend to their own devices. That had allowed him to strip to his undergarments and slide under the covers without a second glance, perfect for the situation at hand.

He'd heard Sety and Teeny were separating for the same reason as him and Patty. They'd chosen to spend their last few days together as much as was possible, Teeny even moving permanently into Sety's chambers after they'd taken Barhara.

Wonderful as the sentiment was (he was sure), nothing would have been more painful during that moment than being happy with Patty and knowing it was coming to an end.

It was better for both of them to have a clean break, no need to make this any more upsetting for her… or any harder for him as he stared absently at the tiny ring sitting on his drawer, its blue gem glinting azure from the scattered rays of moonlight hitting it through the nearby window.

It was crafted for her fingers, as close as he could manage without literally binding it around the digits in question.

A waste of materials now, Shanan mused as he turned around to face the window and tried to sleep.

The darkness had fallen a few hours previously and now only faint moonlight lit the room. Silence covered the area as only the weak echoes of the still on-going celebrations in town occasionally passed through, the periodic outbursts mere white noise in Shanan's ears.

Eventually he managed to force himself into a shallow slumber, his greatest aid being the dead air that permeated the bedchambers.

His eyes flickered in the unpleasant sleep, his body turning every few seconds as the day's events clouded his dreams.

It was in this state that he heard soft footfalls at his door, the actual structure making no noise as it opened and closed.

His foul mood from earlier reared its head as his eyes snapped open attentively, his body tensing under his covers as he feigned sleep.

His room's new occupant was hesitant, slowly entering and approaching the bed so cautiously that Shanan almost missed the sounds of their feet hitting the floor. Just as the figure came to a halt beside his bed, Shanan spun around and caught their wrist to easily force the intruder underneath his weight, both his hands pushing down on a slim pair of wrists.

His dark eyes bore into familiar pools of blue beneath him and he relaxed, his body sliding backwards as he realised who was beneath him. Unfortunately this caused his legs to part and Patty's knee shot upwards on instinct.

Shanan found himself falling to the side of the bed, clutching at his groin while Patty sat up with her hands covering her mouth in horror.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" Patty began reaching over to grip Shanan's shoulder but he jerked away.

"Why there?" Shanan (much to his later embarrassment) moaned before clenching his teeth to bite back another humiliating sound.

"I panicked." Patty defended herself, her hands up defensively as she tried to justify her actions "When a creepy guy pins you against a bed, a girl has every right to protect herself in the most effective manner possible."

"You broke into my room in the middle of the night and watched me while you thought I was sleeping. How am I the creepy one?" Shanan managed to keep his tone level and dryly unamused, despite the searing pain from Patty's bony limb still coursing through his body.

"I was trying to be romantic!" Patty argued, glaring when Shanan's face went blank at the revelation, "What? I was!"

"Well, who am I to question that?" Shanan muttered sarcastically, pausing when he noticed Patty's face falling in the corner of his eye, "Although, I guess it's the intention that counts."

"That's right." Patty agreed with a bright grin.

Happy to see her smiling again, Shanan just rolled his eyes with a slight scoff before saying "So, what happened to your sour mood?"

Patty fell down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with her lips quirking dramatically upwards, "I remembered why I used to hate that story so much."

Shanan paused as he tried to remember the story, blinking confusedly when he answered with a questioning "The fairy tale?"

At Patty's nod, Shanan continued "What about it? That I was okay with what happened?"

"In part." Patty admitted before rolling onto her side and laying a hand lazily across Shanan's stomach, "Were you really okay with it?"

Her big doe eyes were a favourite trick of hers to get what she wanted, most men quickly turning to jelly in their depths. Shanan, however, was immune to this little trick and could spot her ulterior motive a mile off every time.

But just this once… he saw none.

"No, I wanted to pin you against the wall and make you take it back with the most passionate kiss I could muster." Shanan remarked in a monotone, smirking inwardly at Patty's noticeable blush before adding more sincerely "Honestly, I was very upset."

"That's all you're going to say? No serious declaration of love?" Patty grilled Shanan intently before easing off when he refused to answer, "Darn. Oh well, it's better than nothing. Besides, the main reason I was angry was that I'd given up."

Her normal, car-like grin appeared, "I hate feeling helpless… so, I stopped."

"You decided not to go to Jungby?" Shanan tilted his head to the side, trying to decipher her meaning even as he spoke.

Patty chuckled, sticking out her tongue before saying cheekily "Nuh-uh."

"You decided to end our relationship happily?"

"Closer, but still no."

"You drank a lot of wine and the problem went away?"

"You're not even trying anymore!"

Shanan sighed at her shouting before yielding, "Fine, I quit. What happened?"

"I decided I'm not letting you let me break up our relationship!" Patty exclaimed.

"Right."

"I'm serious." Patty said as she rolled on top of Shanan, propping herself up with her palms resting on his chest, "You gave up too easily. We'll have to work on that in future."

Shanan reached up with his hand slowly, his eyes never wavering form Patty's. Patty for her part blinked at the sight of his approaching hand, remembering the pleasant and loving touch from earlier.

Flick.

Shanan's finger made contact with Patty's nose as his eyes narrowed, "Don't talk nonsense."

Patty sat up, rubbing her nose as she glared at Shanan below, "I meant every word. And it isn't nonsense. You aren't getting rid of me that easily."

"I'm not the one who wanted to separate." Shanan replied icily, deflating Patty somewhat.

"You don't have to be so cruel about it." Patty answered with drooped ears before perking up again, "Besides, I think we'd be happier together for some of the time rather than apart all of the time. A clean break or separation would be the worst possible outcome."

"You never quit, do you? An old man like me just can't keep up with a brat like you." Shanan remarked sarcastically.

"You're not that old. Or, well you kind of are but it's no big deal. I can overlook your faults." Patty continued grinning while Shanan grumbled to himself for a moment before reaching up and dragging her down on top of him.

"Care to prove that?" he whispered huskily into her ear, the desired red peppering her cheeks.

"But… your shirt's off… we really shouldn't share a, eh, a bed." she stuttered out nervously as Shanan flung her hat haphazardly against one of the walls before twisting himself on top of her.

"We won't go too far." he assured before kissing her again, "Not tonight anyway."

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Despite his boldness the night before, Shanan groaned at his behaviour that morning, privately cursing whatever had compelled him to do something so stupid.

To make matters worse, Patty had scampered at some point before he woke up, slipping out of his grasp and through the door while he was still sound asleep, so he had no idea how she felt about what they'd done.

Still, the night couldn't be considered a total failure… he was certainly happier than he'd been before it.

Smiling ruefully and shaking his head at the thought of the brash thief who kept throwing him off-balance, Shanan turned to examine the ring on his drawer that he'd forgotten to give to her.

Maybe someday she'd accept the ruby, the ring and all that entailed… but not today.

Those words repeated in his head for a moment before his eyes widened and he let out a choked sound from his throat.

"The ring had a sapphire embedded in it. What could have… that nosy girl!"

His suspicions were confirmed when he noticed the blond hairs binding the ruby in its place and the scrap of paper at its side.

He picked up the paper hesitantly, like it might bite him, his eyes scanning it carefully to ensure nothing was missed in her chaotic cursive.

The message read (as far as Shanan could tell) "With this exchange of rings, we seal our love. You're mine in body, soul and law now, honey!"

Picking up the ring with his free hand, Shanan gave it one last examining look before slipping it onto his ring finger. The tiny stone was barely noticeable in its structure but it still drew the eye well enough if you were looking for it.

Shanan began to dress himself with a cheek-splitting smile on his face and just two thoughts in his mind.

"Where will this little game finally end for Patty and me?" and "I wonder where she stole the jewel from?"

Originally, this story had a decidedly different slant and was going to be much shorter. Those things didn't happen for reasons. Reasons like the story deciding it wasn't finished and making me write a thousand extra words, for example.

Also, I know Patty and Shanan seem a little odd here but I'm mostly taking it from their first conversation (where Shanan receives the Balmunc) and interpreting the final conversation in light of that one rather than the other way around. That means Shanan is more exasperated by Patty than outright aggressive towards her, only snapping when pushed into an emotionally charged situation (like realising your girlfriend has sheathed her sword to carry around food with both arms, something which might get her killed if done without forethought).

Also, I have a hard time believing Patty would just give up on whatever relationship she's in completely. Conversely the thought of her sacrificing her inheritance seems wrong as well. She's kind of a hoarder, and I doubt either her birth-rights or her lovers would be exceptions to that attitude. So, she went for a middle-ground approach here… which Shanan would probably be fine with, at least at first. It's better than being dumped sometimes.

P.S. Sad Patty was a once-off character. Enjoy it while it lasts because that girl is sunnier than a desert in summertime… meaning she's very cheerful, even when she shouldn't be.