Arriving back to Heimdallr only to accept the harsh reality that they still had to sleep in a hotel was annoying, but nothing the heroes couldn't deal with. After an uneventful but discouraging night the two made their plans for the day. Although they had decided to take a few days off to reconnect with everyone and find a more permanent solution to their living arrangement, they still thought it would be prudent to at least stop in at the Bracer Guild before doing anything else, so they can confirm their arrival and make any reports required of them. Heimdallr hadn't changed at all during their absence and very soon did the pair find themselves returned to familiar confines.
"Alright, seriously? Do you two ever do anything?" Sure enough, Sara and Toval were present, as always.
"Aww, don't be like that, Fie. I missed you guys!" Even if the words were probably true, coming from the mouth of Sara Valestein they meant absolutely nothing to her former students.
"I just wanted to make sure you truly were back. Productivity has gone down a lot these last few weeks so it's good that our young aces are back."
Rean appeared confused at Toval's comment. "But I thought Scherazard was here now?"
"Exactly. Schera's here. Hard to accomplish much when our two A-Rank Bracers keep challenging each other to drinking contests and are perpetually hungover." The older man shuddered in despair as the two younger bracers looked and sure enough they could see the telltale signs of a hangover on their instructor's face. "Really, the only good thing to come of it is that the Imperial Palace has commissioned us a long-term mission to have someone bring her home when she gets too crazy."
"Great. The old people are even more useless now." Both useless old people looked offended at her words, not that she cared.
"Yeah..." Rean, however, shared her opinion. "We're getting saddled with Sara's work again, aren't we?"
"Argh! Screw you guys! Can't believe I was excited to see you again!" Riling up Sara would always remain one of the favorite activities of Class VII.
Toval chuckled a bit at their antics. He missed this part. "Anyways, I assume you guys have some interesting stories for us? We've already heard the gist of it from the Liberl branch, like how you two had an encounter with the Fool, but more details would be useful."
It was an expected request, and one Rean readily complied with. He did make sure to omit many of the personal stories from his recount, but simply saying stuff like 'I think Fie got us banned from Liberl.' was enough to pique their interest in a major way. It also was a good way to ensure his shins ached from the spot Fie kicked him.
Once finished giving an abridged summary of their trip, along with answering any questions the most senior Erebonian bracers had, the two made true on their plans to leave. Toval pleaded with them to stick around and lighten his load a bit, but neither of them had any desire to clean up Sara's mess, so they politely (Rean more so than Fie) declined his request.
"So... What should we do now?" Was the obvious question from Rean as made their escape from the place of work.
"We need a house." Her tone left no room for argument. "I'm done with tiny apartments and bland hotel rooms."
"True... I probably should go visit my family at some point so it would help if we had a place to send all our stuff to." Most of their belongings were still stored away in Ymir, after all.
"Sooo... What do we do?"
Rean scoffed. "Why are you asking me? I've been living in dorms the past four years, remember? You're the expert here!"
"Ah yes, the tiny little apartment that Sara found for me. Truly an expert."
The two glared at each other for a moment before sighing in unison. "We're hopeless."
As much as he wanted to refute Fie's words, he really couldn't. "It makes sense. Despite all the stuff we went through we don't really have much experience with being normal..." Saying that didn't actually make him feel any better about it, but at least it was an excuse.
"I guess we should figure out what we want and can afford?" Fie suggested. It sounded reasonable enough to her.
As it did for Rean. "Well, mira shouldn't be an issue, at least. Between our bracer pay and the mira I saved from government work, we should have enough to afford something reasonable."
"Kinda annoyed you had all that mira saved and let us starve during the Twilight." Slight over-exaggeration, but funds were pretty tight for much of that time.
Rean chuckled sheepishly under her blank stare. "I guess I just wasn't comfortable using it. Sorta forgot about it after a while."
Fie thought about giving him a hard time about it, but she knew more than anyone just how much his work as the Ashen Chevalier had bothered him, so she understood his reasoning. The fact that he was now willing to touch that mira meant that while he would never be happy about the work he did, he could now at least accept that part of himself. Either that or he simply hated being homeless as much as she did.
"Back on topic... I suppose I want some place that's quiet. Maybe an area so I can grow some flowers?" She wouldn't deny that she kinda missed those days in the Gardening Club, especially after reconnecting with Edel during the war.
"I guess that removes the city as an option, but we can't really afford to go too far away..." While the Bracer Guild did maintain branches in all the provinces of the Empire, Heimdallr was still the central hub, especially for the most senior members who needed to be able to quickly respond in case of an emergency or if a lesser branch needs assistance. "I guess we should check out the suburbs?"
It was a valid suggestion, but one that worried Fie quite a lot. "Are we really doing this? It's so cliché!" Of course a statement like that earned her a confused look. "I know how these stories go. We're totally going to end up back in Trista, aren't we?"
"Ah..." That thought hadn't actually occurred to Rean. "I guess we can check out all the other ones first and save Trista for last. Maybe we'll find something elsewhere?" Leeves wouldn't be a bad option in the swordsman's eyes either...
"Sure, let's do that." Despite the suggestion, Fie still had a bad feeling about where this was going...
"How did I know it was gonna come to this?" Fie grumbled as sure enough the duo found themselves rolling into Trista. Their search to this point had been less than successful and this was the last place for them to visit if they wanted a place reasonably close to Heimdallr without actually being in the city. It was already mid-afternoon by the time they arrived.
Still, she couldn't deny the feeling of nostalgia as they entered the familiar confines of Trista. Sure she had come through here a few times on bracer work, and she knew Rean's instructor duties occasionally brought him to the main campus, but this was the first time they had gone there together. While the town had changed significantly in the years since they left, overall it was still basically what they remembered.
As with most of their other searches, they made their way to the mayor's house to inquire about any available houses. Much to Fie's annoyance (and secret amusement), Trista actually did have a vacancy. The woman in charge all but tripped over herself in her desire to personally show the building off after realizing that the two people before her were members of the legendary Class VII, the most famous local celebrities in that town.
Surprisingly, they knew the house they were led to. "Wait, wasn't this where that lovey-dovey couple lived?"
Rean blinked in realization. "Hannah and Harrison, right? What happened to them?"
"Nothing bad. They just decided to move to the capital so their son could enter an academy there." Reassured the mayor.
At the very least the location was advantageous to them. It was just off the main road so traveling would be easy, the proximity to the pawn shop meant that Fie had an easy supply for her specialty tools, and the park was rather close too. And of course, on the other side of the road...
The Class VII dormitory had seen better days. It appeared as if the school had converted it into a storage building or something similar. But despite all that, the two couldn't help but look upon it with great fondness, and Fie promised herself that she would break into it at some point so they give themselves a real tour.
As for the house itself, while simple, it was something that fit their needs. It wasn't overly large, but it was a comfortable enough two-story home that could handle any potential expansion of their family. It lacked a garage, but had plenty of outdoor space to store Rean's bike, while still allowing a nice little garden if the former gardening club member so desired.
Despite her constant grumbles at how cliché it all was, she couldn't deny that this was a place she would be happy owning. It was a bit awkward when the mayor kept trying to give them the place for free, as that was a level of generosity that even Fie was uncomfortable with, but that just ended up leading to the most unusual negotiation where they wanted to pay a reasonable amount while the seller wanted to give it to them for cheap. In the end a deal was struck, with the two bracers owing a lot less than they had expected, but still enough to not leave them feeling like total leeches.
With the decision made and the details hashed out, the pair were left alone. They decided on a trip to Ymir that evening, but had enough time to take a tour of the town they were now living in. As is often the case in a small community like this, word travels extremely fast and it appeared that everyone knew that the Ashen Chevalier and his Sylphid had been looking at the vacant house.
Suffice to say, there were many eyes on the duo as they walked through the park. They also encountered many familiar faces. Tyzel waved happily as they passed the shop, Dolly left the cafe to offer them a sample of one of their most recent creations, and even Julia from the boutique came out to greet the pair.
The one person that Fie was most happy to talk to, however, was the lady who ran the gardening shop. The two women spent many minutes conversing and even started preliminary planning on Fie's eventual garden. While Rean was happy for her, it was a bit over his head, so he instead took the chance to visit Keynes' Bookstore.
After greeting the namesake of the store, Rean took a minute to browse the selections. He saw the usual classics, a few of the most recent Imperial Chronicle issues, and a bunch of educational materials for the students. He awkwardly avoided the entire shelf dedicated to Dorothee's books. While he had no intention of purchasing anything at the moment, there was no crime against browsing and a few books did catch his eye.
Deciding that enough time had passed he exited the store, only to find that his partner wasn't where he had left her. Luckily, she hadn't gone far, and he found her in a very familiar location. He couldn't help but chuckle softly as he approached the girl resting on a familiar bench.
"Really, Fie?" He asked as he watched his lover stretch out like a cat.
She responded by rolling over so she could look up at him. "Shut up, I like this bench. It's where I met you."
"Ah..." Rean scratched his cheek awkwardly. "That's true I guess, but I didn't realize it met anything to you. I mean, I didn't even think you noticed me that day..."
"I did, Just chose to ignore you. Big difference." She correctly with a grin. "Thought you were just some weirdo. Still do, actually."
He thought about defending himself, but unfortunately there was no real defense for that. It had been a rather poor first impression to be sure. "At least things turned out alright in the end..."
"Yup. You're my weirdo now. Now join me or go away. It's nap time." With a groan she sat up and patted the spot where her head had previously occupied. Seeing no reason to decline Rean sat himself there and was not at all surprised when her head ended up on his lap. With nothing better to do he started stroking her hair, much to her enjoyment.
"Hey, Fie? Welcome home."
"Still cliché as can be, but I guess cliché isn't always bad..."
He sat there quietly as he listened to his partner's breath grow more and more shallow until she finally drifted off into sleep. While they didn't have much time, they could afford to laze around for a little bit. He was broken from his reverie due to the sounds of giggling. Looking up he realized that once again they were the center of attention, but this time was due solely to the position they were in. Sadly for him there was nothing he could do but grin and bear it, as he had no intention of waking his precious partner from her rest.
It was well into the evening when they reached his hometown of Ymir. It had been quite some time since Rean had visited the resort town, and even longer since Fie had last accompanied him, so their presence caused quite a stir among the residents. The short trek to his family estate ended up taking quite a long time as they had to stop and chat with half the town en route.
Eventually, of course, they were successful and reached their destination. Even though they hadn't announced their visit beforehand, both of his parents were waiting at the door for him, likely having noticed all the commotion going on in town. After properly greeting each other the group made their way inside.
There, as they did earlier in the day, they gave an account of their trip. Unlike the version they gave at the Bracer Guild, however, this one had less emphasis on secret societies and world-ending plots, instead focused more on the sights they saw and people they met. The Baron and his wife listened with rapt interest as the two talked about their trip. They were also informed about the success of the earlier mission in finding a home.
"I see. So you want us to ship your stuff back to you? That's fine, but there's one thing I want from the two of you first." The two shared a wary look as there was something about Lucia Schwarzer's lovely smile that terrified them.
"And what would that be...?" Rean prodded, dread filling his stomach.
"Nothing much dear, just a date."
"Crap."
"Knew it was coming..."
If she noticed their less than impressive responses she didn't comment, instead continuing on as if nothing had happened. "I mean you two have been engaged for half a year now, right? Surely the two of you have figured something out by now."
They couldn't help but squirm under her piercing look, as if they were two misbehaving children being punished. It was Fie who first came up with an idea to get the older woman's attention off her. "Of course we have a date. We were hoping to surprise you with it, but I guess this works just as well. Rean, tell her."
Beside her, Rean could only gape as he was betrayed in such a cruel manner. To her credit, Fie actually looked somewhat apologetic, but screwing over Rean was the only thing she could come up with at that moment. Now the full attention of Lucia Schwarzer was focused on her adopted son and he couldn't help but sweat nervously under the intense stare.
"Yes. Fie's right. We were just going to tell you. The uh, the date for our wedding. It's um..." To a casual observer it might appear that the Ashen Awakener had merely paused for dramatic effect, but those in the room knew him better than anyone else and could tell that he was wracking his brain for an answer.
If nothing else he knew it had to be a day pretty far down the road, as almost every one of their friends were extremely busy individuals, so they would need time to clear a day from their schedules. Winter probably wasn't the best option in case they wanted to do something outdoors... spring maybe? One date stood out in his mind, but he knew Fie wouldn't like it...
"The first day of April." He said at last.
"Oh? Any reason in particular?" His father asked curiously.
Surprisingly, it was Fie who answered. "It's cause Rean originally wanted March 31, the anniversary of our first day at Thors, but I shot him down for being too cliché. So we just changed it by one day." Honestly, he really should stop being surprised at how easily she could read his mind. He was like an open book before her.
"That was part of it, but I have other reasons too. I spent a lot of time thinking about it!" He defended hotly,but only received three dubious looks for his effort. Seeing that everybody saw through his lie he allowed himself to slump down in defeat, his only consolation being the condescending head pats Fie started giving him. Her attempt at looking sympathetic was ruined by the amused gleam in her eyes.
"Putting aside Rean's many failures..." When did his mom become this savage? "It's good that the two of you have a date set. Of course I expect a lot more to be decided the next time you show up."
Again she looked between the pair like they were kids who did something wrong, which admittedly wasn't entirely inaccurate. Luckily Teo was there to take pity on them. "Haha! Leave them be, Lucia. They're living life the way they want and it sounds like they are doing a whole lot of good in the process. Still, you should probably listen to her. You know how she gets..." That final comment earned him a dry look from his wife.
After that painfully awkward conversation the two were invited to stay the night, which they accepted as there was no way they were making it back to Trista that evening. After a simple, but enjoyable home-cooked meal the two retired to Rean's old room for the evening. Fie let out a groan as she flopped down onto his bed, lamenting how that conversation had gone.
"This is all so complicated! I would never have agreed to your stupid proposal if I knew how much work I was signing up for!"
"...You mean the work that you threw onto me at the last second?"
"Yup. Under your mom's stare I nearly forgot to betray you like that, but in the end I overcame that barrier and pulled it off."
"You don't need to sound so proud of yourself. And you also need to stop listening to Lloyd if you are going to pick up his phrases."
"You're one to talk..." Here she trailed off and her expression became a lot more serious. "Actually, I have been thinking about the wedding." Now that got Rean's attention, especially as she promptly looked away nervously.
He waited for her to continue, but when she didn't he prodded further. "And...?"
"...It's about my name." She reluctantly admitted, shame visible on her face.
Her reply was vague, but Rean liked to believe that nobody understood Fie Claussell as well as he did, so it wasn't hard for him to figure out her train of thought. "You want to keep your name? Sure."
Her gaze shot towards him, shock visible in those beautiful chartreuse eyes he loved so much. "Yes! I mean no! I mean... what?"
There was something endearing about those rare moments when she got so flustered, and he couldn't help but laugh at her confused expression. "You already told me, back during the war, about how your name was the first gift from your dad, right? I know how much you cherish that and would never take that away from you."
"No! I mean... ugh!." She paused and took a deep breath to regain her composure. "You're right, that name is important to me, but I still want to take your name. I want the whole world to know I belong with you."
As touching as those words were, he couldn't help but be confused at the contradiction. Seeing this, she elected to clarify. "It was back in Legram with Laura that I figured out what I wanted to do..."
Legram. Lianne Sandlot. Laura S. Arseid. Eyes widened in realization. "You want your name to be like Laura." She gave a confirming nod. "Fie C. Schwarzer... I like it."
"Really? Just like that?" She couldn't believe he was willing to accept it that easily. "But I thought nobles were supposed to be all about tradition and the family line and all that stuff?"
He laughed. "Did you ever really think my family was like that?" She winced slightly. In hindsight her fears may have been slightly unfounded. "Don't get me wrong, I know there are plenty of nobles like that, and I'm sure they have plenty of nasty things to say about us." Erebonia's hero marrying a former child soldier of unknown lineage and nationality? It was practically a given that some circles of the nobility were less than pleased by that development. "Of course I don't give a damn what any of them think." One of the few perks of being the Ashen Chevalier was that none of those pompous assholes would ever dare say anything to his face.
"Rean..."
"Honestly I feel like I'm the one who should be apologizing. This has clearly been bothering you for a while and I never no-"
She cut him off. "Don't."
"Huh?"
"Don't start this again. You've gotten better at it, but you still have a bad habit of trying to take everyone's burdens for your own. We're partners, remember? We're supposed to share these things. And plus, this was just me being an idiot and worrying over nothing."
"Right, sorry..."
"Don't apologize, you dummy!" She grasped his hand, interlacing her fingers with his, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "We'll just get better, together."
It still amazed him that the quiet emotionless girl he met all those years ago could become such a warm and loving person who always knew what to say to him. "Right!"
She hummed thoughtfully. "Still... You have been working pretty hard lately. Perhaps you deserve a reward?" That warm look was replaced with something a little more intense and Rean knew exactly what she was talking about.
"We..." Really there was no reason for him to refuse. They had a few more days to themselves without worrying about bracer work so there was no risk of being exhausted, but..." We shouldn't. Not here. My parents are just across the hall and if there are any two people in this world that I don't want to hear us, it's them."
That warm passionate look? Gone. Replaced by her usual deadpan. "I take it back. You're still an idiot." Although a few seconds later his words really sunk in and she gave him a mischievous grin. "So those are the only two people, huh? So that means you are okay with others hearing us? Our Class VII reunion is in a month and your students will be joining us... I wonder what they would say if their beloved instructor was caught doing something naughty?"
"Oh... Um..." Yeah, he walked into that one.
She giggled as he stammered with a red face. "I think it would be fun. Maybe catching us like that would help them to finally get a clue?"
"They're all incredibly busy people..." Whenever they chatted with their classmates it was always so apparent just how swamped they were. None of them really much time for a relationship.
"And we weren't? It wasn't easy, but we wanted it and we made it work. They're just making excuses."
"I mean... maybe you're right." As much as he wanted to defend his dearest friends he couldn't deny the truth within her words.
"Oh! I just had an idea. The Phoenix Wings should still be open, right? Why don't the two of us go take a nice relaxing bath together?"
Rean didn't need to be a mind reader to know that a nice relaxing bath wasn't at all what she wanted. A part of him wanted to impress upon the younger girl the immorality of sullying a public hot spring like that, but the look in her eyes promised him a bad time if he refused. And of course he was still a healthy young male, so his passion for hot springs easily lost out to his passion for Fie Claussell. "A nice soak sounds pretty good, actually."
It wasn't until the next afternoon that the duo dragged themselves from bed. After spending some time visiting Rean's friends in Ymir, the long arduous task of moving all their stuff from storage down the mountain and to the train station, and bidding farewell to his parents, the two departed for Trista. And of course once they arrived they had to transport all that stuff to their house, but that was a far shorter trek and one they accomplished in short order.
Once finished the pair stopped at the cafe for a quick dinner before bracing themselves for a most unenviable task: Contacting their friends. Sure they frequently stayed in touch via group text messages and the occasional one-on-one call, but group calls were always exhausting, especially ones where they knew they would be the center of attention.
Of course not everyone would be available, especially since they had only given Class VII a day of heads-up. Elliot was currently on tour, and was regretting the fact that they started in Calvard and not Liberl, as they might have met up there. Gaius was also out of touch, presumably on Church business. Save for those two, however, everyone else said they would at least try and be available for the call.
"Why if it isn't our favorite little lovebirds, returned from their grand journey across the continent." Obnoxiously greeted the first person to answer the call, Crow Armbrust.
One by one the other members of Class VII chimed in, greeting the pair after their long trip. Outside of the aforementioned pair, everyone connected to the call quickly, and soon everyone was demanding a full summary of the past few months.
Despite this being the third time in two days that they told the story, this was the worst one by far. While the Bracer Guild only really cared about details regarding Ouroboros and their other missions, and the Schwarzers were most interested in the trip itself, Class VII wanted everything. Despite having been appraised of the general situation from previous texts, this was the first chance they got to grill the two on details, and grill they did. Having to answer questions from seven different people was exhausting and the recap took far longer than the other two times. Once finished describing the trip, they mentioned how they were now living in Trista.
"Really? Trista? How cliché can you get?"
"Right?" Fie was quick to agree with Jusis. "That's exactly what I said, but Rean is such a sap for things like that."
"Or maybe it was cause there was no other place available for us?"
Nah. Rean's just shy." Fie's attempts at painting their leader in a bad light caused a few members of the group to laugh.
"But you know what this means, right?" The expression on Crow's face worried them quite a lot. "We should totally change our plans and crash at their place for our reunion!"
"Denied."
"Not happening." The two in question quickly refused such a suggestion.
Unfortunately for them...
"Oh that sounds lovely."
"I see no problems with that."
"I think that's a wonderful idea. I am looking forward to seeing your home."
"Woohoo! Back to Trista! Let's go go gooooo!"
"Hehe, that sounds like a wonderful idea."
"I'll make sure to let Elliot and Gaius know."
Crow just laughed. "Sorry, but the mob has spoken. Party at Rean and Fie's house!"
The two shared a glance before sighing in unison. They really should have expected something like that to occur. "You all suck, you know that?" The group of close friends couldn't help but laugh at the two victims.
"Alright, I think that's enough poking fun at the-"
"Wait." Jusis commanded, cutting Emma off. "Before we let those two off the hook... So how was your dance with Mishy?"
And just like that the group found a new topic of great embarrassment to discuss, much to Fie's joy. "You had some crazy moves, Rean!" And so Millium started doing her best impersonation of Rean impersonating Mishy.
"I admit... I was sorta jealous. You got to spend quite the intimate experience with Mishy." Although she always tried to hide it, it was sort of funny how much of a secret Mishy fanatic Laura actually was.
Machias tilted his head in thought. "I don't recall ever seeing Rean dance with such... passion before."
"Right? It's like they were off in their own world. Such chemistry!"
"Way more than what he has with Fie, that's for sure."
"Wha?!" They were supposed to be making fun of Rean, not her!
Said Chevalier, who had been listening to the conversation with resigned acceptance, leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Just let them have their fun. They'll get bored eventually... I think."
The two sat there in silence as their friends worked on concocting a sordid tale about how Rean had a fetish for cats, which is why he naturally gravitated towards Fie, but now that he met the real deal he was betraying her by having a hot affair with the guy in the cat suit. While the likes of Crow and Millium were the ones most responsible for the stupid tangent, even the other members were getting involved, with even Emma promising in all seriousness to keep Celine away from Rean just in case.
"Are you done yet?" A tired Rean asked once Class VII finally quit with their insane delusions. Although Millium looked ready to keep going and probably would keep the idea in her mind for weeks to come, the rest of the group finally realized just how off topic they had gotten. A few of them at least managed to look somewhat sheepish.
"Think we should tell em?" An equally exhausted Fie asked her partner once it was clear that the group of idiots they called their friends had finally shut up. This of course piqued their curiosity, and it was clear that all were waiting for Rean to announce whatever it was.
"Ten minutes ago I would have said yes, but now?
"Don't be like that you guys!"
"You can't just say something like that and leave us hanging. Not cool!"
"I assure you, our previous conversation was entirely in jest."
"Jusis is right. We all think you make a lovely couple."
"Yeah! You two rule!"
It was remarkable how quickly the members of Class VII changed their tune as soon as they dangled something that caught their interest. Rean made a show of pondering their words, before Fie mimicked his earlier action and leaned in to whisper into his ear. He couldn't help but grin maliciously at her idea.
"April 1. Make sure you are free that day. Bye!" And without waiting even a second for them to comprehend their words the two bracers ended the call.
"Our friends suck." Fie reaffirmed once they were alone.
Normally Rean might have tried to find something nice to say about them, but at the moment was drawing a complete blank, so he settled for laughing sheepishly. "What does that say about us?"
"That we suck for having friends like that."
"At least that's all done now. I'm exhausted."
Fie giggled as she realized that he had forgotten something. "Is it? I think you still have more to do."
Her words caused him to stare at her blankly before he realized with horror what she was referring to. "I still have to call my students! Damnit!" At least that group probably wouldn't be as bad since Juna likely already told them about the crisis in Crossbell and that group wouldn't care all that much about the novelty of Trista to tease the couple. Still, that group also had Ash and Musse, so it was destined to be exhausting regardless.
Before he could do anything else, however, his ARCUS chimed to let him know he received a message. Warily he clicked on the notification and the message was revealed. After a second he sighed and shook his head in exasperation. "Crow is uninvited to our wedding."
'Looking forward to seeing Mishy in a wedding dress.'
