Black hair rustled in the slight breeze as a man stepped out into the early spring morning. The blossoming trees and serene environment fostered an introspective mood in the young man, as he thought back to what the recent past had held. And what his future might hold.

"Rean!"

His ruminations were interrupted by a high-pitched callout. A familiar one that he had not expected to hear from for a long while.

...one that took far longer to find than he'd like to admit. *Man, just how tall did I get this past year?*

The source of the voice was the smiling face of his girlfriend, clad in a very pleasing white uniform.

"Towa!" Rean quickly closed the gap between them, enveloping the former president in a deep hug. The girl responded in kind, almost losing herself in his familiar warmth. After a good dozen seconds, the two finally broke apart, warm smiles plastered to their faces.

Rean finally broke the silence. "I didn't expect to see you here..."

--

"...so we both ended up as instructors, huh?" Rean chuckled at the thought. The two were sitting on a bench, hands on top of each other on the wood. *Who knew her "secret project" she never told me about was getting the same job as me?*

"Yup!" Towa nodded. "That means from today on, we're officially coworkers!" She giggled.

"Yeah." A stray thought popped into his head. "Though, it *would* be kinda unprofessional if we act like... this" he gestures to their hands "in front of the students.

"Yeah..." Towa leaned down, thoughts running through her head. She glanced over at her lover, seeing a similar frown adorn his face. She felt him shift his hands as if to move it

Oh no you don't!*

She turned to face Rean, placing her other hand on top of their held ones. "I know what your thinking Rean. I thought of it too." She lifts her head and faces Rean, a fire in her eyes. "But you mean so much to me. Too much to let something as small as staying professional bring us down!"

The swordsman's eyes widened at her sudden bout of passion. His frown softened, then returned to a smile.

"You're right, Towa!" He moved his other hand to join the pile, gripping hers tightly. "I'm sorry for thinking like that. But we'll just get through it." He glanced at the branch campus building ahead. "All we have to do is be subtle about this. How hard can it be?"

Very, as it turns out.

Past Rean was much more focused on the emotions of the time: ruminations from his year as the Ashen Chevalier, nervousness from his new job, joy from seeing his girlfriend again, elation that he would get to work WITH her, determination to see things through...

All that is the say that Rean was speaking from his heart then. His heart had failed to think about the actual logistics of maintaining a secret relationship in a high school full of nosy students and experienced combat veterans.

This was compounded by the fact that he and Towa rarely succeeded at hiding things from others. Sure, he initially hid his family origins from Class VII, but that fell apart after only a few months. And the only penalties for that were an awkward first half of a field study.

Not losing your job.

(Truth be told, Towa didn't find anything explicitly PROHIBITING relationships between instructors in the branch campus' policies, but he wasn't about to test the rules that quickly.)

Still, the two were determined to make it work. They tracked every moment of the school day the two were alone. Every time their hands could brush, every place they could hold each other, and every moment they could sneak in quick hugs or pecks on the cheek.

After school provided them with more opportunities. Rean's habit of helping the school and town during free days for many reasons provided the perfect excuse for Towa to slip away for some quality time together. She was careful not to overdo it (there are only so many times she could insist to Major Micheal to help Rean sort through documents before he put two and two together) but the moments were nice nonetheless.

Dorm time was another perfect opportunity. The simple design choice of putting the instructors all on one floor made sneaking into each other's rooms far easier than it would've been at the main campus (even ignoring that they lived in separate buildings.)

While this sometimes includes nighttime cuddles, kept quiet by their dorm mates, more often than not they just enjoyed each other's presence. They read together, shared stories from Thors, and even let Towa join in on the Class VII group calls. Spending time just working and being with each other was often just as rewarding as hugs and kisses.

This often led to the two grading exams and papers together. It began as an innocent way to be alone together while avoiding the suspicions of visiting students or instructors. Eventually, though, Towa found herself working more efficiently when she was with Rean

("It's because I keep you from working all night on exams."

"Pot calling the kettle black, much?")*

Whatever the reason, it became an almost weekly occurrence. When something becomes routine, you end up relaxing, and maybe cutting corners. In Towa's case, it often meant leaving her jacket in her room or untying her hair during their sessions.

(She loved how it felt when Rean combed his hand through her hair, especially when it was loose. And she could tell he loved it just as much.)

The diligent former president normally would never take such a risk doing something as small as that. But even she had her limits, and Rean was adept at letting her know and accommodating them. Taking the time to unwind, even if a little risky, really helped her relax. And it usually didn't cause any problems.

Until one evening, a soft knocking rang out on Rean's door.

The two jumped in their seats. Towa's arm brushed against a stack of books, nocking one onto the desk with a soft thud. Rean barely kept himself from spilling his stack of papers all over the floor, hastily grabbing the tower to keep it stable.

Even with the surprise, it's not like someone hadn't knocked on their door before. It shouldn't be a problem to answer-

"Instructor Rean" a muffled, monotone voice spoke out, "I'd like to ask some questions about today's lecture if you have time."

The two instructors looked at each other, eyes wide. Altina was just about the second-worst person it could've been. Highly perceptive, highly curious, and highly blunt. The worst combination of traits when trying to scrounge together an excuse for why Towa was in such a casual state in a man's bedroom.

"S-sure, just a minute, Altina!" Rean sputtered out, hoping he managed to keep his voice confident enough for her to not notice his slight panic through the door.

Towa closed her eyes, trying to think of a solution. *Should I just tie my hair up? No, still missing the jacket. Climb out the window? Wait, top story, bad idea. Hiding behind the door? She's not 5! Wait, hiding...*

Towa taps her boyfriend's shoulder, before pointing at his bed. The swordsman tilts his head at her, but she opts not to explain. Instead, she dashes over to his bed, kneeling over and crawling right under it.

Rean,'s jaw drops. He blinks once. Twice. His mind still can't process it.

"Instructor?" His students' voice pulls him from his reboot. Sending Aidios a quick prayer, he stands up and heads to the door, unlocking and opening it. "Sorry about that, Altina. What did you want to ask about?" He gives his patented Rean smile, the same one he gives when accepting a request.

"Well, I wanted to ask about your lecture on pre-orbal Roer..." Unfortunately for the couple, Altina stepped into the room. Rean just noticed her holding a large book. More specifically, the school's history textbook. She sets it down on his desk, opening it swiftly to a bookmarked page. If she noticed Towa's partially-graded essays, she kept quiet about them.

Under the bed, Towa remained still. Internally, she was screaming. *I can't BELIEVE I hide under his bed of all places!*

Well, it seemed like Altina wasn't going to leave anytime soon, so might as well get as comfortable as she can. She carefully maneuvered her body towards the wall, further out of sight of the inquisitive student.

Moving across the cold wooden floor, she noticed a shape out of the corner of her vision. Thinking nothing of it, she turned her head to glance at the unknown object...

...only to see a snarling red face in the dark.

"...so the conflict between the guilds and nobility was used by the Emperor to assert direct-"

A shocked yelp interrupted Rean's explanation, followed by a loud thud and quiet "owww." His eyes widened at the voice.

"Towa?! You alright?" His chair scraped against the floor as he stood up, pushing it backward.

"Y-yeah," a soft, pained voice said. A head of brown hair popped out from under his bed, a hand rubbing the top of her head. "Sorry about that, Rean. I just got surprised by something."

Rean's shoulders relaxed, the sudden stress flowing out of him, replaced by a relieved sigh. "I'm glad it wasn't anything serious."

"Umm, Instructor Rean? Why is Instructor Towa under your bed?"

The two teachers froze, slowly turning their heads towards the silver-haired student. Altina had turned her head, gaze shifting between the two with an inquisitive gaze.

"Oh, uh, I was grading papers!" She scrambled out of the cubby, dusting her knees as she stood up straight. "And I uh... knocked my answer book off the desk! I went to go pick it up, but..." Towa always felt bad fibbing like this, especially to a student. Still, she did her best to maintain a steady cadence in her voice.

Altina continued staring at her, processing what she just heard. She could never read the stoic girl's expressions well, not like Rean had learned two. *Guess that comes with the territory of being partners for a year.*

Finally, the silver-haired girl nodded. Towa let out a mental sigh of relief... until Altina opened her mouth.

"But your answer book is right there." She pointed to Rean's desk, where the offending book lay, toppled over but still nowhere near his bed.

Towa tried looking anywhere but at Rean, who for his part tried to keep a neutral expression. One that grew increasingly forced.

Altina looked at Towa again, glancing at her hair, as if noticing her loose hairstyle and lack of a jacket for the first time. She glanced back at her homeroom instructor, nodding once again.

"Ah, I see. That explains why Rean had so many pictures of you in his rooms during our missions."

Two faces went red at that: one from confused flattery and one from resigned embarrassment. "A-Altina!" Rean exclaimed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Towa hide her face in her hands, unsure what to say.

"Anyway," the girl continued, picking her textbook back off the desk. "thank you for your help, Instructor Rean. Your advice was clear and concise, as always."

The swordsman managed a nod. "You're welcome, Altina." He took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before continuing. "Feel free to ask if you need anything else before class tomorrow."

"Also..." He rubbed his black hair with his hand "could you please not mention... *us* to anyone?" He asked, gesturing to a (slightly) less red Towa.

"Y-yes, could you please keep silent about it?" Towa added, having found her voice again. "We've been trying to be subtle about it, so..." her voice trailed off, her eyes gazing hopefully at the student.

The black rabbit simply nodded. "Understood. Have a good evening." With that, she walked out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

The two instructors let out a collective sigh. Towa fell against Rean, eyes shut. He wrapped an arm around her, keeping her steady.

"T-that is not how I expected someone to find out about us at work." She whined, nuzzling her head against his side.

"Yeah." Rean glanced at the door, mind wandering to the girl that had just exited. "Still, if anyone *would* find out, it'd be Altina. And I trust her enough to know she won't mention this "

"I know." The brunette replied. "But this is a good reminder of how vigilant we need to be." She absentmindedly ran a hand through her hair. Her hand was stopped, enveloped by another warm hand. She looked up, noticing Fuschia orbs gazing down at her. He was grinning, which Towa returned with a small smile.

"We do, yeah. But for now, I think a break is in order." Rean tugged the girl closer to him, drinking in her warmth and long, smooth hair.

The two stood there, a comfortable silence enveloping the room. Moments like these made all the effort and embarrassment feel worth it.

Moments where they could just be together.

"By the way, about those photos she mentioned..."

"...we are not having this discussion. Please."