Notes: I apologize for being slightly late! I didn't expect it to be so long. Anyways, Happy Birthday to Fie! A birthday fic for the birthday girl! ^^
Takes place in an alternate world where Garellia wasn't attacked and that they didn't go there during their field study in August.
Fie Claussell never had a birthday party, not that it bothered her. Back when she was with Zephyr, her fellow jaegers would only give their greetings and wish her the best. She didn't really expect much. They were a jaeger corps; and one of the best in Zemuria. The mission takes priority over anything else, that includes celebrating the day of their members' birth. The only occasion they would party is if they didn't have any jobs that needed to be done, which in most cases, rarely occurs.
Even her adoptive father didn't celebrate his birthday with them, only throwing a few drinks as if it was just a normal day of finishing one of their jobs. It became a norm for the young girl. She didn't expect anything for her birthday, thinking that today was just another day of boring schoolwork. Besides, the only people in the academy who knew about her birthdate were Sara, Principal Vandyck, and a few more in the faculty. Not even her own classmates knew about it.
And as much as the thought of her friends throwing a birthday party for her made her feel warm, she wasn't getting her hopes up. She never bothered telling anyone about her birthday. Why would she say it out of the blue just because she would like to have one? It was selfish. The day went by like normal without anything unusual happening. Fie would try to stay awake during classes, eat lunch with her friends, and look at the flowers during her break.
The day soon ended with Sara Valestein's homeroom. Stifling a yawn, she looked at her older sister figure with an uninterested gaze. Her ears already muted her rant about Vice Principal Heinrich complaining about the cans of alcohol he found on her desk earlier. The rest of Class VII could only sweatdropped while she proceeded to prattle about her talk with the uptight instructor. Her attention to the class returned when he heard a certain ravenette speak.
She perked up slightly but kept her blank look as the Eight Leaves swordsman gave a comment about Sara drinking while she's working.
"Hey! It's not my fault that Heinrich keeps snooping around my desk every day! I wasn't even gonna drink while I was on the clock today!"
"So, that means that some days you do drink while you're still on duty?" Rean asked with a half-lidded look, causing Sara to groan as the others chuckled. Fie always did love it when Rean would corner Sara and her not very instructor-like habits.
A thought passed the instructor's mind as she finished her groaning. A mischievous smirk plastered itself on her face as she crossed her arms under her bust.
"You're not lecturing me about my drinking habits today, mister! Do you really want me to spill the talk we had last week~?" Rean froze from her words as the busty instructor smirked victoriously. The others raised their brow; their eyes went to their classmate, who sent a glare to the woman as he blushed.
Well, Fie's curiosity was now piqued. She wondered what her friend and guardian talked about. Despite her best efforts in trying to figure out what the two discussed, all she ended up with were subjects that were too indecent for any normal and sane person to casually bring up. The silver-haired girl knew the swordsman wasn't one to bring up dirty topics. She might tease him about boobs and such, but she knew Rean was far too dense for him to bring those topics up himself. Sara might have brought the subject up; she probably got scolded by Rean in the process. But was their talk something so embarrassing that the boy blushed just from Sara reminding him?
Probably. Sara most likely asked about who Rean was pinning for, but Fie couldn't help but taste something sour on her mouth at the thought. As if her mind had been read, the slacker of the class cut her off of her thoughts as he decided to ask Rean himself.
"Did you two talk about who Rean has his eyes on~?" Crow wiggled his brow. His arms rested behind his back as he grinned widely. The flirt machine always did have a feeling that his best friend had set his sights on someone, even if the teen denies it. While Crow does think he is capable of guessing who Rean's interested in, he wasn't a hundred percent sure of his guess because of how oblivious his friend was. "Am I right, Sara?"
"Maybe~." was all Sara said. Her smirk was still wide as ever. "Why do you think that, Crow?"
"Knowing Rean, he's too dense to figure his feelings out on his own. He probably asked you for some advice!" He pointed at the woman while she just shrugged in response.
"That's none of your business, Crow..." Rean groaned as he covered his blushing face. Why did he have to suffer from his theory? "We didn't talk about anything like that."
"Lies, I tell you!"
"W-Why would you even think that?" Alisa queried. She can't say she was not interested in finding out if it was true or not. The other girls looked at her with a slight blush on their faces, except for Fie and Millium. The bespectacled girl and swordswoman had a feeling why the blonde would even ask that. She felt their gaze as her own pink hues formed around her visage. "W-What?! I was just curious of his reasoning!"
Laura cleared her throat as her pink tint grew fainter. "I don't think we should discuss this. It might become awkward later on if the girl Rean is attracted to knows that he has a crush on her..." Her desire to know who the swordsman was interested in was still there, but she respected her friend's privacy more than discovering who it was.
"I-I agree!" Emma nodded as she fixed her glasses. Like the other two, her curiosity about the identity of the girl was apparent. But she would rather not know about it since her whole class was in the same room! The thought of Rean being attracted to her... just made her cheeks heat up, and she didn't want anyone to find out about that!
Unfortunately for the three... someone wasn't shy about expressing her thoughts on the matter.
"Come on, you two! Are you scared that Rean might have his eyes on me~?" A wide smirk crossed Millium's face. Blonde, blue, and purple all blushed as they retorted at the same time. The agent just snickered mischievously at their reaction before looking at their instructor. "Maybe Rean has the hots for Sara~?"
"I wouldn't be surprised by that. I am irresistible~."
"Except your bad drinking habits are a big turn-off." Fie quipped with a smug smirk as Millium laughed.
The busty instructor slumped her shoulders before letting out a groan, saying something like 'that was uncalled for' or 'damn it, Fie' under her breath. Satisfied at seeing her guardian pouting and bragging quietly to herself about how she can get any man, her lime-green orbs went towards Rean. A passing thought popped into her mind as she looked at him with faint hues of pink on her cheeks.
What if she was the one Rean was interested in?
She immediately shook her head at the notion. It was ridiculous to even think that. Rean liking her more than just a friend? She knew it was impossible. She knew that... but why was her heart swelling from thinking that Rean didn't like her as a girl? Before the sting in her chest got worse, the boys of the class supported Fie's statement.
"Yup. Your drinking habits are definitely a big turn off." All of the guys (minus Gaius) said with a deadpan tone.
"Oh, shuddup! I'll have you know that I can pick up a dashing gentleman even with my drinking habits!" Sara said proudly as she puffed her chest and placed her hands on her hips. "I'll prove it to all of you tonight!"
Sweatdrops occurred in the classroom as they heard the insane declaration of their instructor. Where was she getting her confidence from? Was she just going to use her assets to seduce dudes!?
"Um... Instructor? Don't you remember last night?" Elliot was the first one who was about to bring the harsh truth out.
"Hmm? Last night?"
"Yeah... Weren't you drinking with a gentleman last night? And didn't he ditch you because you were drinking too much...?" The redhead reminded the oblivious instructor, who clearly didn't remember last night if her raised brow was any sign of her confusion.
"Now, you're just pulling my leg, Elliot! How can any man ditch this?!" She gestured the class to look at her... feminity.
The whole class sweatdropped when she didn't realize why she got ditched. They all had the same thought while Sara began explaining why no man could ditch someone like her.
'She's really missing the point, huh?'
No one can deny that the instructor was very attractive. Her curves would definitely make any man drool and make some women jealous of her body. But just as one has their strengths, one also has weaknesses. Her biggest weakness that always made her hunt for a dashing silver fox a failure was her drinking habit! Sara has gotten close to getting herself a man, but all of them flopped the same way every time. No one has yet to survive a night of drinking with her. And each time she would return to the dorm after being ditched, the kids could hear her nonsensical drunk complaining in their rooms.
It was safe to say that she was drinking again once she went back to her room.
"Do I have to remind you how you were complaining to me about your date last night while you were drunk?" Jusis sighed, shaking his head at the memory. He was coincidently in the lounge when Sara returned. The poor noble had to endure an hour of her complaining, and unfortunately, the drunk instructor refused to let him return to his room. "I had to wait until you passed out before I went upstairs!"
"So that's why I was sleeping on the couch last night?!" The blonde noble nodded while he heaved another sigh. "Why didn't carry me back to my room?!"
"You were reeking of alcohol, and you were squirming around so much that I couldn't carry you all the way up."
Machias quirked a brow in thought, remembering something that occurred that night. While he was studying in his room like usual, he heard a thud sound from outside his chamber. The bespectacled male didn't think too much of it, so he returned to doing his schoolwork.
"But you did try to carry the instructor, right, Albarea?"
His annoyed look was his answer, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yes. I tried carrying her back to her room, but as I said, the instructor was squirming too much that she fell off my back."
"So that's what I heard last night."
"I see. I thought I was hearing things." Gaius mused. He also heard the sound of Sara falling of his classmate's back but brushed it off since he was busy painting an art piece for his club. The kind Nord would have offered a helping hand if he had known that their instructor was passed out. "Did you return her to the couch when you couldn't carry the instructor to her room, Jusis?"
"Correct. I brought Instructor Sara a blanket; so she doesn't catch a cold while she sleeps downstairs." The noble stated as he shook his head. "I would have asked Sharon to carry you, but she reasoned that you might not like being carried by her. So, I opted for her to watch over you in case you wake up."
"Y-You're just joking... right?"
"What's wrong, Sara? You afraid Sharon was gonna mess with you while you were sleeping?" Crow joked with a grin, but he didn't actually expect her answer to be...
"Yes! She might tie me and throw me into the river to drown me for all I know!"
"I don't think Sharon would do that to you. If someone was planning to hurt us, then I can see her doing something like that, though." Alisa defended her family's maid. She may dislike the thought of having Sharon around them because of her mother, but her class knows that she appreciates all the help the maid has contributed to the dormitory. The blonde girl can't imagine Sharon doing something as dark as what the instructor thinks.
"Stop being dramatic, Sara." Fie gave a half-lidded look to the woman, clearly annoyed at her overreaction.
The silver-haired girl had a feeling that the Reinford maid wasn't just a super maid who can do multiple tasks with so little effort, but she brushed it off considering how much Alisa trusts her... except for things related to her mother. The instructor groaned one last time before sighing in defeat. Seeing the instructor stop the conversation there, the slacker decided to keep the show going by resuming the topic from earlier.
"Sooooo... who's the lucky girl you have feelings for, Reanie~?"
"I don't see any of the girls like that!" The other girls, minus Millium, flinched slightly from that comment. Luckily, Crow had a plan to fix the damage the dense swordsman unintentionally gave.
"Don't lie~. Your eyes when you look at her tell me otherwise! Is it the blonde-haired tsundere archer— Alisa?" The tsundere yelled in protest at Crow as he started to count his fingers for each girl he was about to mention. "The radiant swordswoman— Laura? The enchanting bookworm— Emma? The energetic demolisher, also known as Millium? Or is it our resident fair— ow!"
An eraser landed at the slacker's forehead at a speed matching that of a bullet. The white-haired flirt fell off his seat; stars and birds were starting to appear in his vision. All eyes went to the assailant as they sweatdropped at their identity. Rean Schwarzer, a smile that sent chills down anyone's spine, was getting ready to throw another eraser at the slacker. His presence felt like the one he would show whenever someone tries to flirt with Elise. A dangerous and dark aura of overprotectiveness, but this time, for the mystery girl.
Fie was a bit disappointed that the conversation on Rean's mystery girl had ended. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, she really was interested in who the swordsman was attracted to. Though, there was a thought that lingered in her mind after the slacker got shot with an eraser.
'Why did Rean threw the eraser the moment Crow was about to mention me...?'
It was a thought Fie couldn't just forget and move on with her life. Multiple possibilities began popping up, and they all lead to the same conclusion. The usually stoic girl's face started heating up as the image of Rean admitting who he likes displayed in her mind. The girl shook her head once more as her doubts got the better of her. Even if it was just a thought, the girl refused to get her hopes up. Rean would prefer prettier or curvier girls than someone like her. Those were her own thoughts, yet they hurt her all the same.
The silver-haired girl felt a hand rested on her shoulder. Looking up, she met a set of fuchsia orbs. His gentle gaze, accompanied by his soft look, always made her cool mask melt into her more vulnerable state. A state that made her want to receive his headpats and his hand holding hers.
"Fie? Are you okay? You've been quiet, and you don't look so good." The concern in his voice made the sting in her chest disappear. Despite still having a neutral look, she was smiling internally because of him. The girl just nodded and gave a slight smile, showing it at an angle that only Rean could see. "Okay. But if you're feeling unwell, I don't mind taking you to the infirmary."
"I'm fine, but thanks for looking out for me, Rean."
A soft smile tugged the male's lips. Ugh... she really can't keep up her blank look whenever he does that. "Anytime, Fie." Rean returned to his seat, just in time for the slacker (who finally regained his bearings) to witness the scene of how his best friend smiled at the petite girl.
'I sense love in the air~.'
Noticing that Crow was finally up, Sara clapped her hands to gain everyone's attention. "Now that everyone's favorite slacker is up, I won't need to have someone carry him to the infirmary!" A noise of complaint from Crow was heard, but the instructor ignored him before eyeing her protégé. "And Fie? Don't oversleep from a nap today. I need to talk to you about something later." She winked.
The ex-jaeger quirked a brow but nodded her head. She didn't really have time to nap anyway since the girl was planning to take care of the flowers today. Was she curious? Yes. But Fie won't let that bother her. She already has enough things in her mind that are bothering her. Adding more load to think about is just exhausting. As the girl was about to yawn, she felt stares coming her way. Her chartreuse orbs spotted blonde, blue, cerulean, and purple staring at her. They quickly turned their heads to look away, only for the sleepy girl to tilt her head in confusion.
Why were they staring at her?
With the news about having combat training next week announced by Sara, she dismissed the class. One by one, the Class VII got up from their seats as they left the classroom. The only one who was still seated was the silver-haired girl; a dazed look plastered her face as she stared at her desk. Her classmates bid her farewell, thinking that she was just sleepy. Her fixed gaze to the desk was obstructed by a familiar hand. Their eyes met again as she felt her heart skip a beat.
"You finally looked at me." Rean chuckled before his countenance morphed to a look of concern. "Is something bothering you, Fie? You were staring at your desk an awful lot ever since we got dismissed."
"Uh, yeah." She admitted, but she sure as hell won't admit why. "Just thinking some stuff. Nothing important, though."
Rean wasn't buying it, though.
"Do you want to talk about it?" The boy had returned to his seat, adjusting his chair so he could face her. "You know I'll always lend an ear for you."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
How can he say that with a straight face?! If Fie's guard was down, she would have shown a blush by now. Thankfully, it was up when the clueless teen decided to offer his help. Her brain told her he was just being himself, always looking out for his friends. But he said, "for you"! He really doesn't think before he talks, does he? In normal circumstances, she would have easily talked about her problems with Class VII's leader. No one could blame her for opening up to him than the rest. He was kind, gentle, charismatic, and his habit of always lending a helping hand no matter how ridiculous someone was made everyone around campus trusts him a lot.
But she refused to talk about it when he's part of the reason for her troubles!
"It's fine, Rean. I'm just thinking of what flowers I can plant today." She lied but noticed how the swordsman flinched slightly. "Something wrong?"
"O-Oh, uh, it's nothing." Now Fie was the one not buying his obvious lie. She gave her signature half-lidded look as Rean scratched his cheek, refusing to meet her optics while chuckling nervously. "Oh! I forgot Towa was asking for my help earlier. I'll see you later, Fie!"
Fie held her hand to stop him, but he already left the classroom like a gale. Sighing, she got up from her seat and grabbed her bag. She will just ask him why he left with a half-ass excuse later. Right now, it was time for her to head to the garden.
Taking care of the flowers was something Fie took seriously. She took it so seriously that she went out to watch over the flowers without an umbrella even though it was raining. Good thing the Goddess had her back. Rean was standing in front of the flowers she planted with an umbrella over his head. The girl only received a minor cold and scolding from her recklessness, but she still remembers the warmth Rean gave her while she dried her head.
Crouching down to look at the flower bed, a small smile made its way to her lips. It may not be obvious, but she was excited to give everyone the flowers she was taking care of. She was about to water her flowers when a certain pinkette obscured her vision.
"Oh, Fie~."
"What do you want, Vivi?" The annoyance on the younger girl's visage was clear. A part of her was already used to the girl's antics, but she can't say she's ever impressed with them. Since out of everyone in the academy, Sara and Vivi were the only ones who could see through the girl's feelings about a certain Eight Leaves practitioner. And Aidios knows that those two will tease the living daylights out of her for it.
"I just wanted to ask you a question." The catlike girl turned to look at her fellow clubmate with her usual bored look, but she was listening to what she was going to ask. "Any flowers you particularly like?"
Well, that wasn't what she expected.
"Not really. I pretty much like all kinds of flowers." She answered. 'Maybe not the poisonous ones, though.'
"Eh?! You gotta have at least one flower you like more than others! Please tell me!" Vivi persisted with a pleading look. At this point, Fie knew she couldn't brush her off. She was stubborn and persistent, and try as she might, ignoring her the whole time was too troublesome. The silver-haired girl didn't think much as to why her friend wanted to know what her favorite flower is, but she sighed and nodded her head.
The pinkette's eyes brimmed with anticipation as she waited for her friend's answer. The girl was telling the truth when she said she didn't have a favorite flower, but now she's here trying to recall some just to quench the prankster's curiosity. A certain flower came to mind as she turned to look at her orbs.
"Lilacs. I guess I like the purple ones more."
Vivi tilted her head slightly in confusion as she pursed her lips and closed her eyes. Her mind was trying to recall something before she remembered. The girl squealed in delight; a mischievous grin stitched itself across her face. Fie raised a brow at the girl, only for the pink-haired girl to grin even wider.
"Thank you for telling me, Fie~."
"You're welcome...? Why did you even ask anyway?" She questioned.
"No reason," Fie calls bullshit on that one. But before she could even ask, the girl took something out of her pocket. Vivi held a white cat ear headband with a huge smirk on her face.
The ex-jaeger thought that the ears were part of a prank, but was that thing with her the whole time? "Are you gonna prank Linde with that?"
Her fellow gardening club member shook her head as she put the cat ears on top of the girl. As she placed it on top of Fie's head, Vivi squealed once more at how adorable her friend looked as Fie sent an annoyed stare. The sleepy girl's face softened as she heard her next words. "That's my gift for you, actually!"
"H-Huh...?"
With a wink, she ran off but not before waving to Fie. "Happy Birthday, Fie! I hope you'll get some purple lilacs for your birthday~!"
Taking off the headband, Fie got up from her crouching position and stood there in shock.
'How did she...? I never told anyone that today's my birthday...' She couldn't believe that someone greeted her and gave her a gift, even if it was a bit ridiculous giving her cat ears headband. That being said, her heart felt a bit warm at Vivi's words, and a small smile formed on her lips.
The former jaeger mumbled a thank you towards the prankster before pocketing her gift on her pocket. To her surprise, the accessory did fit in her skirt pocket, and there was still a bit of room left for smaller items she can put in. Thinking about it now, it was to be expected considering Vivi had those things in her person. She didn't expect to receive a greeting today, but it certainly wasn't unwelcomed. Since she was done with her business with the flowers, Fie soon left the garden as she started walking back to the dorm.
Walking back from the academy to Trista took less than a few minutes; the girl was taking her time and enjoying the setting sun as the skies were now painted with an orange hue. The girl still has not gotten over Vivi greeting her a Happy Birthday. But can anyone really blame her? With her previous life as a jaeger and how people would usually be afraid of them, having someone greet her was the last thing she expected.
The girl was planning to buy more gardening equipment when a familiar feminine voice called out to her.
"Fie! There you are!"
Fie stopped her tracks and greeted the class president. "Hey, Emma."
The bespectacled girl ran towards her friend while she waved at the catlike girl. The rest of the girls followed Emma as they approached Fie.
"Do you need something?" Fie asked with a curious look. The others looked like they were in Boutique- Le Sage earlier, at least that's what Fie thought when she traced where they came from. She wondered what they want from her.
"U-Um, actually, yes! Do you mind if you accompany us to Le Sage for some clothes shopping? We need some help in picking some casuals." The ex-jaeger made an audible 'ah' sound of understanding as she closed her eyes. The literature club member fiddled her finger nervously, waiting for Fie's answer. The girl finally opened her eyes, and her answer caught them off guard.
"Why, though? I don't think I'm the best person to ask for advice or opinions when it comes to fashion." Her confusion was apparent, and the girls' nervous looks were making Fie use her thinking cap. The silver-haired girl gave each of them a thorough look, and everyone was building up quite a sweat for some reason.
"Just think of it as girls bonding time!" Alisa suggested with an obvious forced smile. This just made Fie even more suspicious. To make matters worse for the others, Laura added more reasons for the girl to doubt their words.
"Yes! We haven't spent some time together for a while—" Laura soon realized what she was saying as she covered her mouth. The three girls' faces were screaming that she slipped up! Fie's suspicion increased when the noble said that. With a brow raised, the girl gave her friend a half-lidded expression.
"Didn't we spent yesterday hanging out, though? Just us girls?"
Three of the girls were sweating bullets as Fie continued to stare them down. The plan they had in mind was slowly falling apart. Purple, blue, and blonde were internally blaming a certain someone for their inevitable failure. Why did he have to share the information about their friend with them just only yesterday!? It was kinda hard to come up with a plan at short notice!
But Aidios did not forsake her children as the cerulean agent saved their asses from being exposed.
"I need help looking for some cool clothes to wear to get Jusis' attention!"
All of them, including Fie, looked towards Millium with widened eyes and shocked faces. That was definitely not part of the plan! But for some reason or another, the ex-jaeger's skepticism disappeared in a flash.
"All right. I'll help ya find some clothes so you can impress Jusis. Maybe he'll finally show a blush~."
"Cool! Thanks, Fie!"
While the two squirts started walking towards the boutique, the older girls had quite a dumbfounded expression on their faces. Who would have thought that Millium would be the one to save them from getting their cover blown? As the younger girls of the group were getting closer to the shop, the others recovered from their state of surprise as they ran to catch up with them.
...
After spending thirty minutes browsing and trying out new outfits, Millium bought two new casuals. The clothes she desired and the clothes she bought were far from similar. Due to the agent's... preconception on what clothes guys prefer girls to wear, she kept suggesting clothing that would be categorized as 'sexy'. The older girls thought that White Rabbit wasn't that serious when she said she needed clothes to impress a certain noble, but it seems like they were wrong. Obviously, the girls (minus the snickering Fie) flat out said no to her suggestions, causing the energetic girl to pout. There was a multitude of reasons why they refused, but the main reason is that the girl's body type didn't suit the clothes she wanted. And they certainly know Jusis would disapprove of such attire anyways.
Good thing Fie was able to find some clothes that not only Millium would like, but she was confident that the usual icy noble would find the girl cute wearing them. The agent bought a black and yellow-striped hoodie with two horns designed on top of the hood; the other one was a yellow and white striped shirt with short overalls, a cute cowgirl hat accompanied the garment. It was an understatement to say that Millium liked what her fellow shortie picked out. She loved it so much that she planned on wearing the hoodie this free day.
The ex-jaeger smiled, happy that she was able to help a friend. Her eyes went towards a white kitty hoodie on one of the clothes hangers. Cute. She liked the simple design of a tail on the back while the hood had cat ears. The sleepy girl gave a quick feel to the hoodie; soft and comfy were the only suitable terms to describe the fabric. Fie checked the price, and a small frown made its way to her countenance. While it wasn't that expensive, she wouldn't be able to buy the equipment she needed for the flowers if she bought the hoodie today.
With a sigh escaping her, she could only hope that the cute hoodie won't be gone when she comes back at a later date.
'I'll come back as soon as I get some extra mira...'
Unbeknownst to the petite girl, four pairs of eyes saw her eyeing the cat hoodie and her reaction when she checked the price. The smiles on their faces would raise brows, but the curves on their lips disappeared as fast as humanly possible when Fie looked back at them. That was real close!
"I'm gotta go now. I have to buy some equipment for my club."
"Ah, okay! Thank you for joining us, Fie!" Emma thanked with a bow. "We should do this again sometime!" She received a nod from the ex-jaeger.
"Yup! Thanks again for helping me pick some clothes, Fie. I know I can still Jusis' heart with these clothes~!" Millium snickered at the thought as the others sweatdropped except for her helper, who was smirking at imagining the noble's reaction.
"Good luck with that. I'll see you guys later."
The girl waved before leaving the store. The girls exhaled deeply when they were sure she was out of earshot.
"That was close. She would have asked why we were smiling if she saw us."
"And we wouldn't have any more excuses to use too..."
Both Reinford and Arseid agreed. If it weren't for Millium, they would have been busted earlier, and their plan would have backfired. Thank the Goddess for the save.
"All that matters is that she didn't see our faces. You guys did see the way Fie looked at that hoodie, right?" Emma asked to which the girls nodded. "Hehe, I hope she likes our surprise!"
"I'm sure she will! He would be pretty sad if she doesn't, especially since he planned this ever since he found out." Despite her usual antics, Millium was serious throughout the whole plan. Heck, she was the one who saved their asses from getting their cover blown. It was surprising since they expected her to be the one to blurt out information about their secret plan.
"I'm still upset he told us about the plan only yesterday..." Alisa was quite annoyed at a certain boy for keeping a very important piece of information all to himself for over a week. One could only imagine how annoyed the blonde was when he told them about the plan yesterday.
Laura and Emma sympathized as they chuckled to themselves. They did share the feeling of wanting to pinch a certain boy's cheeks and maybe ear, but the two had a feeling he had his reasons. At least they hope he does...
"Come on, girls! We have to get everything ready before Fie heads back to the dorm!"
The others cheered as Emma took the hoodie out of the hanger. Excitement and anticipation were loaded in their hearts; they couldn't wait to see the young girl's face once she returns. And if the guys didn't finish their preparations in time, well, the girls were glad that they thought of a contingency plan to buy them some time.
...
It has been fifteen minutes since Fie arrived at the flower shop. Seriously, it has never taken this long for the owner to get the equipment she needed. It's as if she was going slow on purpose. The girl couldn't help but furrow her brows at the thought when she noticed the woman taking her sweet, sweet time at storage. Perhaps she was just overthinking things. The ex-jaeger was currently lying on the park bench, passing the time as she dozed off. It was not like she had anything better to do, except for that talk with the busty instructor.
The silver-haired sleeper woke up when she heard her name being called. Jumping up from her seat, she hurried to pick up the items as she paid for them. Fie gave her thanks as she looked down at the paper bag, noticing a few extra flower seeds inside. The mira she currently had was not enough for the additional products, causing her to take the packets out and give them back.
"I think you misplaced these. I don't have enough to buy them from you."
"Oh, I didn't misplace them, dear. Those flower seeds are for you."
"Eh? But I don't have..."
"Please consider them as a gift." Fie's eyes widened for a sec but returned to normal when the woman added. "You've been a regular at my shop ever since you've joined the gardening club; it's the least I can do for a hardworking student of Thors!"
"Ah... okay then. Thanks."
As Fie started making her way back to the dorm, the owner had a knowing smile on her face. Hopefully, the girl sees what she has attached along with the flower seeds.
The walk to the dorm was normal; nothing unusual occurred. Fie was grateful for the flower seeds, but something still kept bothering her in the back of her mind. The reasoning of the woman didn't seem strange, yet the girl somehow didn't believe her words to be true. Her senses were practically screaming at her that something was up. But alas, the girl had no clue as to what. Reflecting on everything that occurred today, the girl did form some kind of conclusion.
Everyone was acting weird.
Four events made her came to that conclusion: Rean's awkward departure from the classroom. Vivi suddenly asking her about her favorite flower and then greeting her with a Happy Birthday. Not to mention giving her a gift. The girls acting really weird when they asked her if she could join them in clothes shopping. And finally, the unusually long wait for the gardening stuff she asked for and the free flower seeds the owner suddenly gifted to her.
Fie was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice she was already in front of the door to her dorm. A sigh left her; there was no point in thinking about it now. She still has that talk with her guardian. Plus, the silver-haired girl was not one to overthink things. She will figure everything out eventually. But right now, there was a certain drunk that needs her.
Entering the dorm, Fie was greeted with a whole lot of black. The lights weren't on, and she couldn't see a damn thing! The darkness that filled the lounge hid the annoyed expression the girl currently had. She couldn't fathom why no one opened the light; she couldn't fathom why Sharon did not open the lights! Her hand wandered to the wall, trying to find the light switch.
"Ugh..." She groaned before her hand finally reached the switch. As she flipped open the lights, the sounds of something popping filled the room along with...
"SURPRISE!"
The room was once again loaded with light as her eyes went the widest they could possibly go. Her whole class, with Sharon and Sara beside them, held used party poppers. Confusion first took hold of Fie's face, followed by shock as her eyes went to the cake Rean was carrying. Everything fell into place as she looked back at her classmates; they all flashed a warm and bright smile at her. Gulping, she walked forward. She felt like it was a dream.
"W-What is all this...?"
Crow chuckled with his arms resting in the back of his head. "Ain't it obvious?" Guess it wasn't if Fie's confused look was any indication. The slacker grew a smirk on his face as he slapped his best bud's back, almost making him fall before the teen sent a glare to his senior. "Hey, hey, I was just trying to help here!"
"You didn't need to slap me that hard, you know?!"
"Now, now, you two." Emma tried diffusing before they forget why they were here in the first place. "Rean, I think you should be the one to say it."
"Yup! You are the leader of this whole plan!" Millium reminded, only for Fie to gain an even more confused look.
"All right..." Taking a deep breath, his lips curled upward to form the smile that the girl fell in love with. The words he uttered caused her heart to swell up as her usual stoic mask fell. "Happy Birthday, Fie." He said warmly. "This is a little something we did to surprise you today."
"Little something, my ass! You were the one who basically cooked all of the food!" Crow revealed to the shock of Fie and the rest of the girls. "All we did was decorate. You were the one who took charge of everything."
"C-Come on, Crow! Sharon and the Instructor helped too!"
"Hehe, no need to be so modest, Master Rean. I merely observed and gave advice when you were cooking." The super maid threw the young man a curveball by disclosing that fact. To say that the girls were shocked was an understatement.
"Wow, Rean. I didn't know you would take it upon yourself to cook everything for our little fairy~." Sara elbowed Rean's side playfully, much to his embarrassment. "And I didn't really help that much. I only made sure that Fie wouldn't come home late so we could surprise her!"
Overcoming a bit of her shock, Fie locked her eyes with her guardian. "Is that why you asked if you can talk to me?" The obvious answer was a nod from Sara. "You told them?"
Understanding what she meant by that, the former bracer elucidated. "Actually, I only told Rean, and that was an accident. I know that you didn't tell anyone about it, so I left it up to you to tell them yourself. Unfortunately, I was... kinda drunk when I said the date of your birthday..."
"Huh...?"
"I'll take over from here." Rean sighed as he placed the cake on the table. "Last week, I asked the instructor for some help with some paperwork Towa gave me, but I arrived to see her drunk. I was about to leave her be when she told me if I had a gift for Fie for her birthday. Then I asked her when was her birthday; she said it was August 31, which made my eyes bulge out since I didn't have anything prepared."
"You should have seen the look on his face! It was hilarious!" The others sweatdropped from the pink-haired woman's comment.
"As I was saying... I was too busy planning what to do; I forget to ask for help during the first few days."
"And you told us about it only yesterday." Alisa glared slightly, making Rean back up as he raised his hands up defensively.
"Ahaha... I think it was a good thing, though. Fie would have noticed something off if we've been acting weird the whole week." Elliot saved Rean from the glaring Alisa as she hmphed and looked away. It was true that the ex-jaeger would have picked up her classmates' odd behavior. And while some may be better at hiding secrets, others are not as good at hiding their excitement and nervousness.
"Gaius was the one in charge of decorating while we provided him with some assistance," Jusis stated for the birthday girl's eyes to fall to the kind Nord.
"I couldn't have done it without the help of Jusis and the other guys."
Jusis, Machias, and Elliot chuckled as they remembered how they had gotten all the decorations up smoothly. The noble and commoner duo did not argue even once while they were setting everything up. They were given an earlier heads-up from Rean compared to the girls, they did receive some difficulties in buying certain party décor without raising too much suspicion, though. Seriously, their fingers weren't enough to count how many times they got asked who had a birthday. If it wasn't for Rean explaining his plans to some of the townsfolk, they would be in the same predicament as the girls.
Speaking of the girls...
"And we were in charge of keeping you from figuring that we were up to something!" Millium revealed proudly as she puffed her chest out.
Out of everything that has been said thus far, this one took the cake for making Fie look at everyone in utter bewilderment. The perplexed expression on her face says that she did not know what the hell the agent meant by that. Reliable as ever, Emma took charge as she elucidated.
"Remember how our study session was longer than usual? And when we suddenly ask you to hang out with us yesterday?" The petite sleeper nodded before realizing what Emma just said.
"You girls did that so I wouldn't come back early and see what the guys were preparing?"
"Well, you are half-right. We were honestly planning to spend time with you like normal during the week. Yesterday was the only time that we had some... ulterior motives." Laura remarked sheepishly but kept her cool face from slipping.
"We were able to keep Fie from checking up on Rean, though. That's a plus in my book." Alisa looked through the brighter side of the situation they faced yesterday and today. The blonde may still be a tad annoyed at Rean, but she was not going to let all his hard work go to waste.
"Since we finished explaining all that," Rean began as all eyes were on him once more. "we should greet Fie properly."
All of them agreed as they looked at each other, their smiles growing before their orbs returned to the silver-haired girl.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FIE!"
As those words left their mouths, a warm and pleasant feeling filled her chest as her countenance softened. All her negative thought from earlier vanished. She expected her birthday to be like any other day: schoolwork, club activities, hanging out with friends, and maybe napping. But she was wrong. They all went to the trouble of planning this party for the girl, making sure she doesn't find out about the surprise. Her heart swelled with happiness and gratitude. The girl was still grateful for the greetings she received when she was still a member of Zephyr, but the emotions that her new family invoked in her... it was something she hasn't felt before.
Her thoughts and emotions were still processing what was happening, but she did understand one thing.
Rean was the one who first started planning her surprise party ever since he found out about her birthday.
That one simple fact... she couldn't explain it, but her heart would be doing flips if it were possible. Fie was speechless.
"So, do you like it?" Damn that smile that made her heart melt, the girl remained silent and hung her head with Rean starting to get worried. "U-Um, Fie...? You don't... like it?"
The girl's next action took everyone off guard. Closing the distance between her and Rean, she wrapped her arms around his waist as Fie buried her face in his chest. It would be an understatement to say that the others were shocked by the girl's uncharacteristic gesture, the dense teen himself blushing wildly from her sudden hug. The other males were the first to recover, chuckling because they thought it was cute and sweet.
On the other hand...
Not including Millium, the faces the girls had would definitely make the rest roll on the floor laughing like crazy. The cerulean-haired agent just snickered and smirked; clearly, she was shipping the two already. Their expressions were priceless, but the two adults also reacted positively to Fie's display of gratitude. Smirking like a mad man, Sara gained some good blackmail material, but she was genuinely happy that her protégé showed this side of her, even if she had the feeling it wasn't intentional. Of course, she was still going to tease Fie about it tomorrow. Sharon giggled at the sight; a small smile crossed her face.
Eventually, the swordsman regained his senses... except his blush was still quite present on his face. The hug definitely affected him the most, his heart beating at a rate of a moving bullet train. Okay, maybe not that fast, but still pretty fast. He just hopes Fie doesn't notice.
...
Who was he kidding? She was practically glued to his chest! There was no way she didn't notice his speedy heartbeat!
When Fie raised her head a bit, his blush lessened as he saw her face. A genuine smile of sincerity plastered her visage, tears threatening to fall as pink hues dusted her cheeks. His hands instinctively wiped off the beads of water that would dare roll of her face. Her soft voice gained Rean's full attention.
"I love it... thank you." The smile that she gave him sent his face into a meltdown. Red as a tomato, the teen could feel his whole face steaming.
"I-It wasn't just m-me... everyone here helped t-too!" Rean stuttered all over the place, resulting in the recovery of the girls' shock as they all laughed at his stammer. Fie joined in as well as she returned her arms to her side.
"Thanks, everyone... for all of this."
"Meh. It's no biggie. This guy deserves all the thanks, considering how much thought he put into this~." Crow nudged his best friend playfully as the teen groaned and blushed once more. The other guys joined in the teasing, much to Rean's chagrin.
"Well then, since our birthday girl finished thanking Mr. Party Planner there..."
"Hey!"
"Let's get this party started!"
"Yeah!"
The rest agreed with Sara while Rean was still protesting about being called a party planner. The guy can't catch a break, huh?
They were all having a good time eating the feast Rean had cooked. Everyone praised the young Schwarzer's cooking, and some of them would even ask for the recipes. Yeah, it was that good. They all conversed with one another, with their Instructor already hammered as hell, spouting nonsense that made everyone sweatdropped. Each of the birthday girl's classmates gave her a gift; she was both touched and surprised that they would even give her something. It was already enough that they threw her a surprise party.
Elliot gave a flower-designed music box that would play relaxing music while she sleeps. Gaius gifted the girl a pastel painting of herself around a flower field. This brought another smile to the birthday celebrant, which made the kind Nord return the smile with his own. Fie received a cat mug from Machias, she might not be the coffee or tea drinking type, but the cup itself was cute. Finally, the Albarea noble decided to give his gift to Fie. Look, he was not the best when it came to getting gifts for his female classmates, well, except for Millium, who obviously liked sweets and cute things! In the end, Jusis decided to try his luck in listening to the agent's advice as he gave Fie a box of an assortment of sweets.
Fie chuckled and thanked the blonde noble. She may not look like it, but she also has a sweet tooth. Though, she quickly noticed that her crus— she meant her black-haired friend! He still hasn't given her his gift. She quickly dismissed the thought; Rean already planned her surprise party and made the food. It would be rude to expect more from him, considering everything he had already done for her. She would be lying if she said she wasn't hoping for one, though.
'Stop thinking about that, Fie. Rean already gave you the best present you could have wished for... wishing you a happy birthday.' The girl chastised herself but smiled at the last thought. She was still a bit shocked that the swordsman would plan a surprise party for her.
Her attention returned to the others when the girls gave their gift to her. Apparently, they told the ex-jaeger that they bought her their gift together. Fie was surprised once more when she took a peek in the bag; the kitty hoodie she had been eyeing earlier was inside! She looked up to see her friends smiling faces. How did they know she wanted the hoodie!? All right, maybe she did stare at the article of clothing a little... too much.
"Thanks, girls..." She mumbled with a soft smile. Suddenly, she felt several bodies hugging her.
"You're welcome, Fie!" The girls said in unison. The urge to hug Fie was impossible to resist when they saw her smile. The girl had trouble breathing because she was getting crushed by her more... developed classmates' chest. Damn, those weapons of suffocation. The others fought back the laughter that was bubbling in their throats but failed, earning them an annoyed groan from Fie.
Noticing that Fie really needed some air, Rean pulled her out of their bear hug. Apologetic looks formed on the girls' visage when it registered in their heads that they were suffocating their friend. Fie said it was okay as they sighed in relief.
The boy blinked twice when he realized he pulled her a bit too close to him, making the distance between them almost nonexistent.
Keyword almost.
He blushed before looking away as he cleared his throat. He reminded himself that there was another reason why he pulled her out. Walking over to the cake he made, Rean lightly buried sixteen candles before he glanced at Sharon. The maid nodded as she lit the candles. Picking the chocolate cake up, Rean walked towards the silver-haired maiden with his lips curled up.
"It's time to wish Fie a Happy Birthday again!"
All of them except for Fie nodded as they began singing...
...
"Happy Birthday to you."
...
Several emotions flooded Fie's chest, her smile growing wider as she stared at the candles.
...
"Happy Birthday to you."
...
She closed her eyes as her ears were filled with the voices of her loved ones, enjoying their tune.
...
"Happy Birthday Dear Fie."
...
Her lime-green orbs opened to meet a lovely pair of lilac hues; she stared with a faint blush on her cheeks.
...
"Happy Birthday to you."
...
"Make a wish, Fie," Rean said with a soft voice, making her smile brighter.
Closing her eyes, she gathered all her thoughts and memories to think of a wish. Although, they didn't know her wish already came true. She opened her eyes as she blew out the candles. Cheers erupted and consumed the room again; Sharon took the cake from Rean as she started slicing them for everyone.
The birthday party went by in a flash as they began cleaning up the lounge. Fie was about to help, but the others said it was fine and that she should just enjoy the rest of the night. Normally, the girl did not mind, but she wanted to at least help with the cleaning. But as much as she tried to push it, Rean managed to persuade her with his words. With a sigh and nod, she thanked everyone one last time before heading to her room.
Fie was currently sitting on her desk with a note in hand.
It was a note from the flower shop owner.
The note basically told her that the woman knew about her birthday because the girls needed her help in buying some time while the others were setting up the party. She exhaled a sigh but chuckled right after. The woman also wished her a Happy Birthday and teased her about a certain black-haired boy, telling her through the note that Rean got flustered whenever she mentioned the silver-haired girl. She went as far as telling her that she teased the boy of having a crush on the petite girl.
That definitely caught her off guard. Unlike earlier, though, she didn't think negatively or brush the possibility of Rean liking her off. Surely, Rean was just being Rean when the woman teased him. But it didn't stop Fie from pondering why he got flustered when the flower shop owner mentioned her name. Her musing was cut off when she received a knock on her door.
"Fie? C-Can I come in?"
'Rean?' She got up from her seat as the girl went to the door and opened it. "Sup, and come on in." She stepped to the side so the teen could enter.
"G-Good evening, Fie, and thanks." For some reason, the swordsman had a pink tint on his cheeks when he entered the room.
His pink hues did not go unnoticed by Fie, who had a look of curiosity on her face. Was the boy blushing because he was entering Fie's room or a girl's room, in general? No, that can't be it. Rean had visited the girl's room a few times already; it must be something else.
"So, did ya need something?" Rean flinched slightly as she spoke. "Thanks again for the surprise party, Rean. I mean it."
This got the swordsman's nerves to relax before he flashed a small smile.
"No problem Fie." And it soon disappeared as he suddenly started getting nervous. He was rubbing the back of his neck, a sign that he was either uncomfortable or nervous. The latter was the obvious answer. His eyes keep wandering around, not wanting to stay in one place.
Noticing the rather amusing sight in front of her, Fie decided to have a little fun.
"You checking my room out or something?" She smirked, which immediately caused a reaction from Rean.
"E-Eh?! No, no, no! That's not what I was doing, I swear!" His hands went flying, waving them in defense. He dropped his hands back to his sides when the girl started snickering. "You were just teasing me... weren't you?"
"Who knows." The black-haired teen groaned at her answer and smirking face.
Weird as it might sound, that somehow calmed Rean down. Taking a deep breath, the adopted noble relaxed as he looked straight into his friend's captivating chartreuse orbs.
...
...
...
...
...
Wait! He meant beautiful! No, dammit! He's not saying they're not pretty; it was just... Ugh. He just couldn't help but think those thoughts, okay!
He snapped out of his mental scolding when a soft and calming voice called his name.
"Rean? You still with me?" Her hand waved in front of me; the girl was not aware of her close proximity to the dense teen. Another round of red coated his cheeks as he stumbled back.
"Y-Yeah! I'm here... I was gonna, um... can we sit down for first?"
A brow was raised at the boy, but she complied with his request as she sat down on her bed. She patted her left side, gesturing for him to sit next to her. Rean walked over and sat beside her; the blush he had was still slightly visible.
"Let me first apologize that I didn't give you a gift earlier..."
Well, shit. That was the last thing Fie was expecting to come out of his mouth. In normal circumstances, Fie would normally tease Rean about it. But she decided not to because of everything he had already done for her today.
"No need to apologize, Rean. You planning my birthday party was more than enough of a gift." She smiled at her friend with a very, very ghost of blush on her face.
The red tint around his face only grew darker when he saw her smile. Aidios, Rean hoped he doesn't stutter right now.
"A-Awesome! I'm glad you e-enjoyed it!" He shouldn't have jinxed himself. "Um... could you close your eyes for a bit?"
"Sure." She easily did what he said without a second thought. The ex-jaeger was not worried about the boy trying to do something to her. He was too dense for that.
Fie felt something being put on her wrist, but she couldn't quite make out what it was.
"You can open your eyes now."
Slowly opening her eyes, those chartreuse optics of hers widened as wide as plates. Her gaze fell towards the charm bracelet around her wrist. It was simple, yet Fie found herself unable to take her eyes off it. What caught her eyes was...
The purple lilacs that were around the bracelet; and her name engraved into a piece of silver in the middle.
"R-Rean...? Is this..." She stopped admiring the bracelet to look and see a blushing mess. "Do you... know what purple lilacs mean...?"
There was a brief silence before Rean opened his mouth to answer.
"I do..." His face was akin to a tomato at this point as he scratched his cheek. "Vivi told me it was your favorite flower. That kinda surprised me at first, but I thought it would be my chance to finally tell you..."
This was all too sudden! Fie finally understood what Vivi said earlier; the prankster asked the question so she could tell Rean! She only said that she liked purple lilacs because an image of Rean flashed in her mind! Another unexpected surprise was that Rean knew what the flower meant in the language of flowers. It all felt so... unreal.
"I was a little hesitant in giving you my gift because one of the meanings of purple lilacs is..."
"First love." Fie finished his sentence for him; her eyes were wide from putting the final piece together. "So when you threw that eraser at Crow..."
He nodded, a little embarrassed from his earlier action. "Yeah... I tried shutting him up because I don't know if I can keep my cool if he says the name in front of our friends. I think my face will give it away... but yeah, I do have someone that stole my heart for quite some time now."
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Fie's heartbeat was going insanely fast. She so desperately tried to keep her face from getting any redder, which she failed miserably. Her crush— friend's... oh, who was she kidding? Fie knows that she has a crush on their leader like the other girls. From his words alone, the ex-jaeger slowly knew where he was going with this.
"Y-You..."
The words were right there.
"You are..."
He just needed a little push.
Rean felt a hand holding his own. The girl kept her gaze at his orbs, but she squeezed the swordsman's hand gently. Despite his oblivious nature, Rean understood what she was doing. Closing his eyes, he gathered all the courage he could muster for this moment. Whatever her reaction or answer may be: he won't blame her if she started distancing herself from him. Thanks to Fie squeezing his hand, he got the push he needed to confess it all.
...
...
...
"You're my first love... I love you, Fie."
...
...
Those words that left his mouth... those words that she expected to only hear in her dreams...
...
He really said it.
...
Hanging her head down, her silver bangs covered her lime-green eyes. Alarms started going off in Rean's head. Did he mess up? Shoot, he knew he should have kept it to himself!
"Y-You don't have to answer, Fie. I just wanted to—" He didn't finish what he was saying as Fie cut him off.
"Rean..."
"Yes...?" The girl slowly raised her head, tears rolling down her face. His heart ached when he saw the beads of water dripping down. It was a mistake to tell her... that was until he saw a smile on her lips.
She didn't care if Rean can see her red face or the tears streaming down her cheeks. Silently letting her tears of joy fall, the girl squeezed his hand tighter. Those words filled her with unimaginable joy and warmth in her chest. It was a feeling that surpassed the warmth she received earlier. She felt loved by her friends, but this? She felt the love of the boy she had a crush on. The boy she considered more than family. He felt the same way as her.
"I love you too, Rean." Fie smiled warmly with her eyes closed. A smile that completely melted the young man's heart.
His hands moved towards her face, cupping her cheeks as he brushed off the falling tears. His heart started beating the same pace as Fie's when she buried her face in his chest for the second time. The boy expected a different outcome tonight; he was not prepared for this at all. He came back to his senses when Fie's soft voice grabbed his attention.
"I thought you'd have a feeling for Alisa or the others, but... you have feelings for me? You fell for someone like me. Someone with blood in their hands. This all feels too good to be real..."
"Fie..." He frowned slightly as she looked up at his lilac hues. His gut told him to wrap his arms around her, so he did. "I don't care about your past. I already told you before; I don't care if you were a jaeger. You'll always be the girl I love. I love you for you, Fie." He said softly as he looked at her with a warm smile. "The girl who likes to sleep. The girl who likes to tease others. The girl who has a gentle smile whenever she took care of the flowers. And the girl who fights with everything she has to keep her family safe. That's the girl I fell for. I love Fie Claussell."
His words were so warm and sweet that they made the catlike girl blush harder than she has ever blushed. The red hues dusting her cheeks were spreading like wildfire until her whole face became cherry red. The kindness and sincerity that coated his words caused her to be so out of character. Her whole image of being a stoic tease crumbled to dust as her crush was still holding her in his arms. They did say love can bring out different sides of a person, whether it be good or bad.
In Fie's case: it was a pleasant surprise that this was the side Rean had brought out of her.
The silver-haired girl relaxed in his arms, closing her eyes. She felt the need to bury herself in his chest to hide the undying blush she had. Her sudden change of demeanor really threw him in a loop, or he just wasn't used to her being like this. He wasn't complaining, though. He would not admit it openly, but he found this side of Fie to be incredibly cute and precious.
Just as he was about to stroke her head, he stopped when Fie raised her head to meet his orbs.
"You're such a goof sometimes..." An awkward chuckle came out of him as those words left the girl. His face would soon be dyed in a vibrant red at her next words. "But you're my goof... thank you for everything, Rean. Thank you for accepting me. And thank you for loving me..."
Rean felt like his chest got shot with both sadness and warmth. He could tell her words had a hint of sadness in them, but the joy she felt exceeded the gloom. His embrace became warmer and tighter, showing his feelings through his actions. Fie could feel her smile grow wider as she snuggled close to the boy who loves her.
"Of course I'll accept you. Everyone in our class does. Though you and Laura had a rough start, you two eventually accepted one another and became great friends."
"You were the first to quickly accept the fact that I used to be a jaeger, though." She chuckled.
"I guess..." He scratched his cheeks sheepishly. Rean recalled the memory. Despite him knowing she used to be a killer, it didn't change his opinion and feelings for the girl. Damn his preconception of what jaegers usually are. He saw the kindness and gentleness in the girl, and he trusted and accepted her for who she was. Not from her previous life as a mercenary for hire. "I'll always love you, no matter what."
"Hehe..." She giggled and surrendered herself to the warm arms of her beloved. If she still had some energy left, she would probably tease him for the things he confessed earlier. Luckily for Rean, the rollercoaster of positive emotions she felt inside her drained her mental energy of thinking something tease-worthy. You escape the teasing, for now, Schwarzer. "Rean?"
"Hmmm?"
"Can we stay like this a little longer...?"
A little surprised, but he nodded nonetheless. "Of course. You are the birthday girl and the girl I have a crush on." A giggle was her response, accompanied by a playful slap to his chest.
"Girlfriend." She stated. "I'm your girlfriend, and you're my boyfriend now." She took his returning blush as a sign of his agreement with a half-lidded smirk on her face. Like a cat in the arms of their master, she relaxed completely as the petite girl breathed softly in his chest. No more worries. No more doubts.
Only the warmth and love of the boy that accepted her.
"I love you, Rean..."
"I love you too, Fie." Stroking her head, Rean kissed her forehead lovingly. "Happy Birthday. We all love and care for you. We won't make you feel lonely. Remember that, okay?
He didn't receive a reply. The girl dozed off with a peaceful look in her visage as she rested her head on his chest. Instead of putting her to bed, he stayed by her side. Rean silently hoped that Fie's wish would come true. He may be sharp, but not even he would figure out that her wish was already fulfilled earlier. His drowsiness later consumed him as he laid on her bed, the kitty still in his arms. He'll just deal with explaining the situation tomorrow. The two were both happy and at peace, and that's what mattered.
Happy Birthday, Dear Fie... Thank you for being born.
Notes: That was a lot of blushing, no? Happy Birthday once more to Fie! v