If I have a goal in this story, it's to prepare for the Garreg Mach ball. I would like to end this story at that point, but I cannot make promises. Right now, I just want to focus on simple moments... or supports... based on supports from the games.

Enjoy.

Let me know what you think, if you wish.

Today, it is Ferdinand's turn to be on greenhouse duty. As with all his other assigned duties at the monastery, Ferdinand tends to the plants with enthusiasm, whether it is watering them or carefully picking them. It's as if he enjoys the work. Several students have reported seeing him doing chores that were not even assigned to him. One time, he cleaned the training room and repaired the weapons when the assigned student had an accident and injured himself. Whenever a certain recluse is late or absent to her duties, Ferdinand always covers for her. He even helps in the kitchen when no one asks him to. He just wants to.

"Ah, nothing like the fragrant scent of such magnificent flowers to lighten your spirits," Ferdinand smiled.

Ferdinand proceeds to water the rest of the plants. He wants to make sure that they all have the appropriate amount of water to help them grow healthy. Just as he was about to finish...

"The road ahead is full of hurt
And your feet are covered in dirt
Nothing but pain awaits you there
All the roses and thorns, you wear"

"That song..."

Ferdinand recognizes the lyrics. He almost drops the watering can in his hand upon realization. He turns around and faces the entrance of the greenhouse. The angelic voice that sings this song, it is coming from outside.

"But, wait, that voice... it couldn't be..."

Ferdinand puts down the watering can as he hurries out of the greenhouse. The voice fades rather quickly and stopped in an instant. Ferdinand now stands outside the greenhouse, eyeing his surroundings in search for the one who was singing. Nothing. He sees nothing. Every person in his view is either fishing, working, or talking to someone. No one in the vicinity shows the body language of a person who was just singing a few second ago.

"Peculiar," Ferdinand said to himself.

After a few more seconds of looking around and thinking to himself, Ferdinard turns around and returns to his duties in the greenhouse. He could not, however, smile again as he waters the plants. The voice and the song replay in his head repeatedly as he looks at the flowers. After finishing up, he leaves the greenhouse and walks towards the fishing pond. The sight of water seems to only bother him, making him once again think about the voice he heard while working in the greenhouse.

Did a voice from the past come back to taunt him, or was it his imagination?

"Could I have imagined that?" Ferdinand wondered.

"Imagined what, Ferdie?"

Ferdinand turns around in response to the sound of name being said... well, nickname. And there is only one person in the academy who calls him by that nickname. Walking down the stairs towards the pond, it is the beautiful young songstress herself...

"Dorothea," said Ferdinand. "Pardon me. I spoke my thoughts out loud."

"People do that sometimes, even if it is odd," said Dorothea. "But back to my question, what were you imagining?"

"Oh, uh," Ferdinand hesitated. "I was watering the flowers in the greenhouse when I heard a voice, a beautiful voice singing a song that feels familiar to me. Due to my curiosity, I rushed out of the greenhouse, but the voice I sought vanished before I could track down who it belonged to. Their song incomplete."

"Oh, Ferdie. So close, yet so far," Dorothea teased.

"Actually, the voice I heard, it sounded like... like yours," Ferdinand added.

"Daydreaming about me, Ferdie?" Dorothea teased again.

"I, well, that seems to be the truth," Ferdinand replied awkwardly. "But, please, do not get the wrong idea."

Dorothea chuckled.

"Are you sure it was not you who was singing just now?" Ferdinand asked suspiciously. "I mean, you are here..."

"Now, Ferdie, if it was me, why would I stop halfway?" Dorothea answered. "I may hate you, but I wouldn't exactly go out of my way to avoid you."

Ferdinand looks at Dorothea with uncertainty all over his face. The voice he heard just now, it sounded suspiciously like Dorothea's. The tone of the voice differed greatly, but it sounded so much like hers. He tries to read her face, but she is just looking at him with that teasing smile. He cannot tell if she is trying to deceive him or if she speaks the truth.

"My apologies, then," said Ferdinand. "I guess I am still caught up on forging an amicable relationship between us."

"Well, keep trying, Ferdie. Surprise me," Dorothea dared. "Although, I suppose you already did. All that hard work for those confectioneries."

"But you did not even try them yourself," Ferdinand remembered. "I did not wish to bother you again, so I added them to the cafeteria menu that day. Unfortunately, Lysithea ate them all before you could try one yourself."

Dorothea chuckled again, much to Ferdinand's embarrassment.

After a respectful bow, Ferdinand leaves Dorothea alone. That teasing smile remains on Dorothea's face as she watches the orange-haired noble walk away. As soon as Ferdinand was out of sight...

Her smile dropped.

"So, you really didn't recognize me," Dorothea said sadly.

Dorothea enters the greenhouse to check on Ferdinand's work. It certainly impresses her how much care and effort Ferdinand puts into everything he does, whether it is polishing armor and weapons or making sweet treats. The smile on her face drops again as she thinks about him and

Just the other day, Dorothea was minding her own business when she walks into a conversation between Ferdinand and Edelgard. Ferdinand was daydreaming and Edelgard was asking what was on his mind. Ferdinand tells her of a story of something that happened when he was a child. The details of his story sounded awfully familiar to Dorothea.

A water nymph, dressed in scraps, singing a lovely song while bathing in the fountain of Enbarr. A young Ferdinand von Aegir lays eyes upon her hypnotizing beauty, only to run away when their eyes met. His reason? He was embarrassed. He was so entranced by the nymph's beauty that he did not know how to properly react. He felt unworthy to be in her presence.

Why did this bother Dorothea?

Because that water nymph... was her.

She recognized him, but he did not recognize her.

"And I thought haunting him with the song I sang that day would be entertaining," Dorothea said to herself. "But faking a smile in front of him has become so much harder."


Meanwhile, in the dining hall, someone was preparing food for lunch time. That someone is Annette Fantine Dominic. Despite her reputation as being clumsy and starting kitchen fires, her will and determination to improve helps her stay assigned to kitchen duty once in a while, much to the dismay of most people in the monastery. She's been taking lessons from Dedue, but as long as the kitchen fires continue, people continue to be wary of her cooking.

Right now, Annette is frying something and. However, despite her attempts to pay full attention to her cooking, she couldn't help but conjure some lyrics to sing as she joyfully prepares the meal.

"Stirring, frying, boiling, steaming
Make sure you know what you're doing
Keep an eye on the raging fire
Treat your treats like a matter most dire

Stir it up 'til you can't stir no more
Fry it good and hear the pan roar
Boil it well 'til the bubbles fly
Make sure the steam does not reach the sky"

As she sings, she also can't help but move her feet gracefully and dance to her own song. After adding the right amount of spice, Annette twirls to her left, eyes closed and a smile as wide as it can be. When she opened her eyes to put down the spice jar...

"Bah!" Annette screamed.

Annette drops the spice jar on the floor and jumps when she hears it shatter to pieces. She starts to panic as she looks at the reason why she dropped the jar. Leaning against the door, arms crossed, with a half-frown on his face is one Felix Hugo Fraldarius.

"Don't stop on my account," said Felix.

"Felix!" Annette shouted. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," Felix answered.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Annette asked angrily.

"I didn't want to interrupt," said Felix.

"So, what, you thought you could just stand there and spy on me like some creep?" Annette accused.

"What do you take me for? Sylvain?" Felix retorted.

"Well, Ingrid said you guys were childhood friends," Annette replied.

Felix sighs, annoyed that she would accuse him of such things. After that, the two just stare at each other without saying a word. Annette had anger and annoyance in her eyes. Felix just looked at her with a neutral expression on his face.

All of a sudden, an explosion occurred.

It came from the pan.

Annette screamed. Her dish is now ruined and the smoke from the pan is threatening to cover the entire dining hall.

"Okay, that was your fault, not mine," said Annette.

Annette scrambles to clean up her mess... or Felix's mess, as she claimed. Just when she thought she was about to make something delicious with no mishaps, the evilest of villains in all of Fódlan (according to her) just had to come in and ruin everything.

"Here, I'll lend a hand," Felix offered.

"What?" Annette reacted, confused and surprised.

"It's almost time for lunch and cleaning up this mess by yourself will waste too much time," said Felix. "The sooner we clean up, the sooner you can get back to cooking."

"Why are you offering to help me?" Annette asked suspiciously.

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do when someone needs help?" Felix replied.

"Well, I guess," said Annette. "How do I know this isn't just some wicked scheme of yours?"

"You're thinking of Claude," said Felix. "Let's just get started."

Felix wastes no time and starts helping with the cleanup. To be specific, he's doing most of the cleanup while Annette fixes the pots, pans, and ingredients. While preparing another dish, Annette finds herself constantly taking glances at the swordsman helping her clean up. This wasn't the first time he offered to help. During what she has come to know as the "greenhouse incident," he did offer to take over her greenhouse duties while she gets something to eat. Sure, she was singing about food and that's why he thought she was hungry... which she was. But still...

"Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me?" Felix spoke.

"Oh, uh..."

Realizing that she has been caught, Annette quickly returns to preparing food. While she chops vegetables, she starts humming a tune. This immediately catches Felix's attention, distracting him from cleaning up the kitchen. It was now Annette who catches Felix staring, prompting her to stop humming and stare back at him.

"What is it?" Annette asked.

"Nothing," said Felix. "But why hum? Wouldn't you rather sing?"

"With you watching and listening, no way," Annette refused.

"I really don't understand why you have a problem with me hearing you sing," said Felix.

"It's just... ugh! I don't know. I don't really know you," said Annette. "But you haven't exactly been... nice... to everyone around here, at least according to what I've seen and heard. Ingrid, Sylvain, and Dimitri are supposed to be your childhood friends, but you don't act like it."

Felix lets out another annoyed sigh and grits his teeth as he looks away.

"Why do you act different around me?" Annette asked.

Felix's facial expression softens as he looks at Annette again. The sparkle of genuine curiosity in her eyes is compelling him to respond. But what should he say? Does he even know what to say?

"Look, you haven't done anything to make me distrust you. That is all," said Felix.

"Hmm," Annette replied, still confused.

Annette wasn't sure how to feel. She was still upset about the greenhouse incident and how he responded to her subsequent attempt at bribery

Felix and Annette just stand there and stare at each other once again. Annette looks at him with intrigue and suspicion. Felix looks at her with a more relaxed expression on his face.

"I should, uh, prepare something," Annette said awkwardly.

"And I'll finish up here and leave you to work in peace," said Felix.

"Oh, uh, wouldn't you like to stay here and help me cook instead? And make sure nothing explodes?" Annette suggested.

"Huh?" Felix reacted, surprised.


When the sky is at its darkest and the stars are at their brightest, every student at the Officers Academy is either sleeping in their rooms, studying in their rooms, or preparing to return to their rooms. There was one person, however, who was not in his room. That's one Ashe Ubert, who was searching for a lost item of his. One of the first places he would check is the cathedral. It was dark and no one was there, which makes it kinda scary, but he didn't want to go to sleep without finding that lost item.

"Why do I keep losing things?" Ashe wondered aloud. "I guess the Professor can't always be looking for everyone's belongings. We really gotta take better care of our stuff."

"Ashe?"

"Ah!" Ashe screamed with fright.

Ashe turns around to see who or what called his name. Thankfully, it was only Marianne von Edmund. Even better, she seems to be holding what he was missing, which was a small bag of coins.

"Oh, Marianne. It's you," Ashe said with relief.

"I thought this bag belongs to you, so I wanted to return it," said Marianne.

Marianne gives the bag back to Ashe. The next few seconds was filled with silent and awkward stares as both of them didn't know what to say next, especially Marianne.

"Hey, uh, doesn't this situation feel a little familiar?" Ashe realized.

"Yes. The last time we were here, it was the last time we talked," Marianne recalled.

"Ah, yes," Ashe remembered. "To be honest, after that night, I thought you might have been avoiding me."

"To tell you the truth, I was," Marianne confessed.

"Oh, I see," Ashe said sadly. "I have been thinking about what it is I said that might have upset you. Is it because of the whole smiling thing? Perhaps that was a bit too much. I guess one must first find a reason to smile."

"I suppose that's true," Marianne agreed. "But to be honest, I have been trying to talk to you. I just... I thought maybe I upset you by walking away from you that night."

"Don't worry about that, Marianne. I'm not upset. I just wished we got to talk again, that's all," said Ashe.

"Well, we are talking now," said Marianne.

"I guess. So, um, w-what is it do you want to talk about?" Ashe asked.

"Um, well," Marianne hesitated. "Did you mean what you said that night? You said I was... cute."

"Oh, um... w-well, a-a-about that," Ashe stuttered.

Marianne lifts her head up to get a better look at Ashe's face. His cheeks look like they are turning red. He seems to be trying to avoid eye contact, but keeps failing. He suddenly stops trying to look away. He's looking directly at her, and for a very long time. The blush on his cheeks remain and there appears to be a weird sparkle in his eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Marianne asked.

"Uh, n-n-nothing's wrong," Ashe stuttered. "It's just... uh..."

Suddenly, Marianne lowers her head again. Her blue hair now covers half her face in shadows and there is this icy glare in her eyes. This expression on her face makes her look, according to her, ghastly. For Ashe, well, it makes her look ghostly.

"Ah! Please stop," Ashe screamed again.

Marianne laughs in response.

Wait a minute... what?

Marianne actually laughed. Not only that but she smiles and raises her head afterwards. The way the moonlight shines across her face, the sight of that rare smile on her face, Ashe's face could not be any redder than it already. He could not tear his eyes away from her, though. His can feel the blush on his face, but the funny feeling in his chest persuades him not to turn away.

"What is it, Ashe?" Marianne asked.

"You're... you're actually smiling," Ashe said as he smiled in return.

"Well, you do look cute when you're scared," said Marianne.

"Uh... what?" Ashe reacted, surprised.

Marianne looks away and stops smiling upon realizing what she just said. However, a soft smile appears on her lips again. Ashe can't help but notice a tint of red on her cheeks. More silent and awkward stares were exchanged, except they were smiling this time.

"Well, um, if you want us to talk again, Marianne, perhaps we can do it somewhere not here at this time of night," Ashe suggested. "We can meet up at the dining hall tomorrow. I see you eating alone all the time, so I thought maybe you'd like some company"

"Hmm?" Marianne sounded surprised.

"I mean, only if you would like that," Ashe said thoughtfully. "If not, then never mind."

"Actually, I... I would like that," said Marianne.

"Y-You would?" Ashe asked.

"Y-Yes, I-I would," Marianne stuttered.

Ashe chuckles nervously, and so does Marianne. Ashe asks Marianne if they can walk back to their dormitory together. Marianne did not hesitate to say yes.

Man, that Ashe and Marianne segment was my favorite part to write here. The Dorothea and Ferdinand part was kinda hard for me 'cause I wasn't really sure about how I wanted to go about it. And I did feel a lot of pressure when it comes to writing Felix and Annette's part. Hopefully, I did okay. I will admit that Ashe and Marianne's "support" does feels a bit out of place in this chapter when the other two are about singing, but I wanted to feature all three pairings in one chapter.

I may not return to this story for a long time (or at all), but I'm (mostly) happy with what I've written so far.