Contrary to what he had expected, no angry doctors or nurses woke them up and he managed a long uninterrupted sleep that didn't end until it was nearly noon. He awoke alone, but the warmth still present on the other side of the bed was a telltale sign that Fie probably hadn't gone far. He was slightly concerned, not for Fie's safety, but because he knew the things that girl could get up to when left to her own devices for long.
Still, it wasn't like he could do anything about that, confined to the bed as he was, so instead he finally took the opportunity to assess his own body now that he had a moment entirely to himself. Between whatever weird medicine they were pumping into him and the myriad healing arts he had been subjected to he didn't feel any pain, but he knew his body well enough to understand the feeling of wrongness, especially in his legs. Still, having been both a student and a teacher at a military academy alongside being a bracer, he wasn't unfamiliar with broken legs and understood that while it would take time, he would soon be back to normal.
That Fie and the others had come for him wasn't really a surprise, but it left him feeling a great warmth inside nevertheless. Even if he knew they would say it wasn't necessary he promised himself he would find a way to make it up to them, but to do that he would first need to take care of himself. It was something to think about while-
His thoughts were interrupted as the door opened. He, like Fie had the day before, recognized the nurse who entered. "Oh, hello Cecile."
"Good morning, Rean. How are you feeling today?"
"Better." He admitted easily enough. "I take it you're my nurse?"
"Technically yes, but we actually just hired someone to serve as your private nurse during your stay here..."
Rean was no dummy. It didn't take him long at all to put the pieces into place. Cecile's amused giggles only served to confirm what he dreaded. "Oh no..."
"Oh yes!" Came that obnoxious teasing voice he loved without equal. And sure enough, standing in the doorway, wearing a bright smile, stood her in all her glory. "Say hello to Nurse Fie!"
"How do you keep doing this!?" He wasn't surprised that she wanted to look after him, he would do the same of course. He wasn't even all that surprised she had managed to convince the hospital to allow it, either. No, what really got him was the fact that she had somehow convinced them to give her a nurse uniform, which she now wore proudly.
"Hehe, cute, right?" Fie replied happily as she saw where his eyes were. "Vivi is gonna be so jealous when she finds out. She's always trying to steal Linde's uniforms, but has never been able to pull it off."
Cecile giggled at their byplay. "I figured that if she was willing to climb the building in her injured state that it would be better to just allow her the chance to help. And plus, the two of you were so cute sleeping together like that."
"But... don't you need all kinds of training and experience to be a nurse?" He asked dubiously.
"She knows that she isn't allowed to touch your medication or the machinery, of course. That will still be my job. But the more mundane things like helping you up, changing your bandages, or fetching your meals? As a bracer she is more than qualified to handle those tasks."
"Don't worry Rean. I'll take good care of you!" That innocent smile sent chills down his spine, but surely she wouldn't mess with him while he was injured, right?
Cecile just smiled happily. "Well, I have work to do in the nurse's station, so if you'll excuse me. I will be back tonight to run some tests, but if you need any help at all, don't be afraid to use the intercom to call me. Bye for now!" And with that the nurse left, leaving the two bracers alone.
Fie immediately turned back towards her lover. "So do you need anything? Food perhaps?"
"Actually, food sounds pretty good." While whatever they were injecting into him was keeping him sustained, it was a terrible substitute for the feeling of food in his belly and he was more than ready to have his first meal since leaving Ymir three days ago.
"Sure thing! There's the hospital menu right there next to you." Sure enough there was a sizable menu where she pointed. He began inspecting it and was privately impressed. He had horror stories about hospital food, but the options available were both numerous and tasty sounding. What really caught his eye was- "Oh, sorry. Doctor Seiland wants to keep your meal intake simple for a day or two. Something about letting your internal injuries heal. So this is the menu for you right now." Saying that she handed him a second menu.
It didn't take long to realize the menu was smaller. A lot smaller. As for the items on it... "No solids for now. Nothing too hot or cold, either. And she also wants you to avoid things that are too spicy or sweet."
Rean looked at the menu of bland and boring meal items. He looked back at Fie. Back to the menu. Back to Fie. Observed as her brilliant sunny smile give way to amused laughter at the horrified expression he shot her. Come to find out he was wrong; She totally would mess with him despite his injuries.
It took a good minute for her amusement to die down, but when it did she stepped closer to him and took his hands in her own, giving him a more honest smile. "I know it sucks, but just bear with it for a day or two, okay? We just want you to get better. I promise, as soon as the doctor says it's fine I will get you whatever you want to eat, even if it means smuggling it in from the city." If her words hadn't already convinced him of her sincerity, the kiss she gave him did.
"Fine, fine. I suppose I can endure..." He paused to look down at the menu, doing his best to hold back a grimace as he did. "...porridge and warm milk for a day. But you might need to leave me alone." She looked confused at his last statement. He smirked. "You said it yourself: I can't have anything that is too sweet... or too hot." Now that Cecile was gone he could finally take the time to properly appreciate the new outfit. Fie was right, she did look very good in a nurse's uniform.
The petite bracer blinked at his words. Twice. Thrice. Comprehension dawned on her at that point, if the tiniest hint of a blush on her face was any indication. "Well, um..." She coughed to regain her composure, causing the patient to grin happily. It wasn't often he got under the skin of the cool girl, so he cherished those moments when he pulled it off. "Porridge and warm milk, right? I'll be back with that as soon as possible!" She promptly beat a hasty retreat, leaving the room in silence until her return a few minutes later.
A thoroughly red-faced Rean grunted as an almost equally embarrassed Fie helped him back onto the bed. The reason for that awkward tension? Fie's current job description required her to help Rean with all the things he wasn't currently capable of doing on his own, and one of those tasks, unfortunately for the pair, was to help him use the toilet.
Now they were both mature adults, so when the call of nature hit Rean didn't hesitate much before eventually conceding to reality and asking for assistance, and Fie was quick to offer it. They had been through so much together that surely something like that wouldn't be a big issue.
And it wasn't, but that didn't change the fact that being so invalid that he couldn't do something so private on his own was extremely humiliating. There were some weaknesses that nobody wanted to show, and that one just shot up to near the top on his list. The two remained silent while he conducted his business and made his way back to the bed with her assistance.
As ever, Fie was the less patient of the two and opened her mouth to dispel the awkward silence that permeated the room. "Well... at least we know that thing still works." Of course her definition of breaking the awkward silence was to say something embarrassing.
"Fie!" His reply wasn't a pitiful whine. Not at all.
Clearly she thought it was as the grin on her face grew an extra rege. "What? It would have been a waste of time and effort if I had gone through all that trouble and it wasn't there! It's the main reason I keep you around, after all." She said it as a joke, but she had seen enough cruelty from her Zephyr days to know that such mutilation wasn't uncommon when the tormentor was feeling particularly vindictive. Her grin didn't fade, but she did violently shake her head to get such thoughts out of it, instead choosing to focus on the more important task of tormenting her fiancee.
Rean blinked in contemplative thought. "Really? A waste of time? But didn't we get together before we started doing that?" This isn't a subject Rean would normally be happy to talk about, but it was still a vast improvement over the past few minutes. And it was always reassuring to hear from his lover that he was doing a good job in that area.
"The rest of you is alright, I suppose." She answered with a dubious look. "But it's definitely your best feature. Still, I probably should give it a more thorough physical examination once I know I won't hurt you..."
He was torn between chastising the girl for her words and expressing interest in discussing the topic further, but before he could say anything the intercom in his room made a sound, causing both bracers to turn their attention to it. "Um... excuse me?" Came a timid voice from the other end. "There are guests here looking to see Mr. and Mrs. Chevalier. Should I send them up?" They assumed the nervous voice at the other end belonged to a medical intern at the front desk, but their attention was quickly taken by the words.
'Mr. and Mrs. Chevalier?' They only had to glance at each other to know their thoughts were in unison. It was an utterly ridiculous name, but the grin Fie gave made Rean suspect it wouldn't be the last time he heard it.
Putting the silly name into the back of his mind Rean instead focused on the question at hand. "Sure, send them up." They had figured that others would be arriving at some point so he wasn't at all surprised to hear that guests had arrived.
With nothing to do but wait for the guests to arrive Rean allowed himself to relax in his bed. Fie decided to kill the time by making sure he couldn't actually relax, as she found the bed controls to be hilarious to mess around with. She knew to stay away from the lower bed controls, but the rest of his body was fair game and she found it entertaining to raise his upper body in all kinds of silly ways. For his part he did his best to remain stoic under her ministrations, but her laughter was contagious and he couldn't prevent himself from cracking a grin at her efforts.
She had just returned the bed to a simple upright position when they heard knocking at the door. After verbally allowing them in the door opened to reveal... "Mom! Dad! Elise!"
"Rean!" Elise and his mom rushed over the bed. It was obvious they intended to hug him, but stopped short as they realized that that was a poor idea in his current condition. His father followed at a more sedate pace, but the relief on his face was just as clear to see as it was on the other Schwarzer members.
The baron gave a quick appraisal of his condition. "How are you feeling, son?"
"Well enough, all things considered." The looks the two female Schwarzers sent him at his simple answer showed they weren't pleased, causing him to roll his eyes. The giggling from Fie didn't help matters any, the little traitor. "I mean, my legs are a mess and I can't eat anything worthwhile today, but I'm not back there anymore so I can't complain much."
"I-I'm glad." Elise whispered as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "I remember when they brought you out to the Courageous. You were in such bad shape..." Unlike the others involved she wasn't a warrior and was thus unprepared for the sight of a battered and bloodied Rean being carefully carried out by Crow. It was a memory she might never forget, try as much as she wished to. "A part of me wanted to stay after the Courageous dropped you off, but the Prince and Viscount were kind enough to offer me a ride back home."
"Probably for the best." Fie admitted. "This is the first day he is ready for visitors."
Rean couldn't help but smirk as Fie stiffened, clearly realizing the mistake she had just made. In their haste to see him his family had all but ignored her presence, but by choosing that moment to speak up she now had all attention on her.
Lucia approached the silver-haired woman. "From what I've heard, it sounds like we owe you a lot." She gave a warm smile which caused the girl to flush. It grew even worse when his mother wrapped the girl in a hug.
"I didn't do much..." She replied bashfully. The injured swordsman took joy in the plight of his love. Despite her normally unflappable attitude the girl still struggled mightily with familial affection, having been starved of it while growing up. He wasn't sure if his family had picked up on that fact or not, but regardless they were quick to welcome her into the family and shower her with the love she deserved.
"Nonsense." Teo muttered, deciding to join in the conversation and continue proving Rean's thoughts correct. "Victor told me all about it. Even he was shocked at how much you accomplished that night. You did what nobody else could do and saved our son and I am forever grateful to you for that." He joined his wife in hugging the girl.
It was Elise joining in on the group hug that finally overwhelmed the embarrassed girl. Desperately she turned her pleading eyes upon the only remaining occupant of the room. If she expected any relief from him she was sadly mistaken. "He's right, you know. I owe you my life and it isn't the first time. Thanks for always being there for me." He would be paying for that betrayal later, but it was absolutely worth it to see the girl get even more flustered.
Like a shark smelling blood in the water, Lucia went in for the kill. "I always love hearing all the stories of the brave Ashen Chevalier, no matter how outlandish, but my favorite will always be the one about how he tricked such an amazing girl into fall in love with him." The words were genuine and the smile warm, but Rean know his parents well enough to know that they sensed Fie's embarrassment and were doing this intentionally.
"Lucia, please..." Fie whined pitifully.
"Nuh uh. You have to start calling me mom." Yeah, his mom could be positively savage when she wanted to be. It was pretty funny when he wasn't the one being victimized. Not wanting to draw their focus back to him he contented himself by laying back and watching the drama continue to unfold.
His family didn't stick around for that much longer, much to his surprise. Their reasoning was that they weren't the only ones who wanted to see him and just knowing he was fine was enough to tide them over until he could make it back to Ymir, which he promised to do at the first available opportunity. With them finally gone he turned back to his most important person and opened his mouth-
"Not. Another. Word." ...And he promptly closed it. Her glare in that moment could have stopped a divine knight in it's tracks, but the look was somewhat ruined by the fact she was still glowing pink from the earlier humiliation.
Deciding the opportunity was too good to pass up, even with the risks involved, he decided to risk it. "It's nice that my parents love you so much... or I guess I should start calling them our parents now?"
While the silver-haired young woman was still visibly embarrassed, the mischievous twinkle in her eyes was the first sign that he had something very very wrong and had fallen into her trap. She gave a very fake girly scream and skittered away, a clear sign that she spent way too much time around Vivi. "I knew it! You set this all up, didn't you? First you make your parents my parents so that it is easier for you to turn me into your little sister! Your perversions are as clear as day!"
"For the last time, I don't have a sis-"
She sauntered back up to him and glared down at him."You want me to start calling you big brother, don't you? When we're fighting together, or kissing, or doing... other things." At least she was considerate enough to avoid his bruises and cuts while poking him with her finger as she said each thing. "Well sorry to disappoint, but that is never happening! That's for Estelle and Joshua to do, not us!"
He sorely wanted to say something, anything, to refute her claims, but couldn't as the door promptly opened up without any warning. The two paused their argument as two newcomers entered the room.
"See? I told you if walked in without knocking we would catch them doing something naughty." Claimed Sara as she entered with a salacious grin on her face, clearly drawing the wrong conclusion from their close proximity and beet-red faces. Behind her was an amused looking Toval.
The unexpected presence of her older sister figure caused Fie to groan in dismay. "What are you doing here?" She groused.
"Aw, don't be like that, Fie." Toval stated before turning his attention to the black-haired swordsman. "How ya holding up, champ?"
He was going to be hearing that question a lot today, wasn't he? "I've been better, but I'm still alive so I can't really complain."
"Good. We need our hardest working bracers to hurry up and return before the work really starts piling up." At least Sara was being honest with her thoughts, not that that didn't stop Fie from shooting their former instructor a mean glare. "Nuh uh. You don't get to give me that look. Not after deciding to become a temporary nurse without ever informing the guild about your temporary leave of absence." Rean blinked in shock as he shot a look towards his partner. Was she the kind of girl who would get a fun idea in her head and pursue it with such tunnel vision that she would forget something important like that? Yes, yes she was.
"Ahah... whoops. Sorry." She didn't actually look very sorry.
The Purple Lightning rolled her eyes. "Well you're lucky that your favorite bracer figured something like that would happen and made sure to take care of it for you."
"Really?" Fie asked, turning towards the bedridden bracer. "When did you have time to pull that off, Rean?" Her look of confusion was almost convincing, but they all knew her well enough to notice the slight amused twitch of the lips.
"Ugh! Your other favorite bracer... And don't you dare look at Toval!" The other three occupants laughed as the A-Rank bracer stomped her feet like a petulant child. They couldn't help themselves: Making fun of Sara Valestein was one of Class VII's favorite activities, and as someone who had to suffer alongside her for years in the guild, Toval could also appreciate such a fun hobby.
"Anyways..." As entertaining as this was, after having been locked away for the past four days Rean was dying to know about other events. "I heard you were the one in charge of everything?" He asked the older man.
Toval shrugged. "Technically, but I mostly just ended up putting everything together. The plan itself was a group effort. Fie over there contributed the most to it. We probably would still be trying to come up with something if she hadn't volunteered to handle everything by herself."
"Yup." Sara agreed happily. "The brass in Leman were impressed too. Pretty sure you've put yourself on the list for promotion to A-Rank with that stunt. Although that list got a little longer cause a certain someone in this room finally decided to accept their own promotion."
Both juniors shot looks towards the Zero Artisan bracer, with Fie's look being a lot harsher. "Really? You waited until now to accept? You really suck."
The laid-back man wilted under her fierce glare. "Ahah... I like you kids, but I'm not ready to let you start bossing me around, you know? Think of it this way: This means you will probably get your A when Rean gets his B so you can celebrate together." If anything her glare grew even fiercer at his lame reasoning.
"Fie's awesomeness aside, how did everything turn out? I mean, I'm here now, so obviously it was a success, but I have no idea of anything that happened outside of the room I was stuck in."
"Pretty well, all things considered. I think they realized how outmatched they were, cause most of them surrendered after only a couple hours of fighting with minimal loss of life."
Sara shrugged. "Can you blame them? Attacked on all sides from the provincial army, us running amok in the middle, and a terrifying beast in the center of their stronghold tearing anyone who got close to shreds. Don't give me that look, young lady! I got a good look at that room for myself and it was pretty crazy. Remind me to never mess with Rean again lest I earn your wrath."
"Alright Sara, I think we should go before Fie bites our heads off." Said girl audibly growled as the two visitors treated her like a vicious monster, inadvertently doing her best to prove them right. "We need to hurry if we want to make it to the guild in time." Turning towards Rean he elaborated. "It's been a while since we have visited Arios and the other Crossbellian bracers, so since we're in town..."
"I know you two will miss us, but don't worry. There are plenty of other people waiting to check in on you. Toodles!" Their former instructor gave a cheerful wave as the two departed.
Once she was sure they had left Fie slumped into a chair with a groan. "Today is gonna suck, isn't it?"
Ever the diplomat, he tried his best to pacify his lover. "It's not that bad. I mean sure it's a bit exhausting, but it's not like they're trying to be trouble, right?"
"...You do know that there's a very real chance that your students are gonna be next through that door, right?"
She smirked as his expression fell. "Damnit..." There was nothing he could say to argue that. Those brats were going to be hell, weren't they?
Fie was grinning like a madwoman, and why shouldn't she? Her statement about Rean's students showing up proved to be dead on the mira, as not two minutes later did that group of five found themselves at his door. Unlike Sara they did bother to knock, but as soon as they were given permission to enter they immediately began acting like they owned the place, much to Rean's chagrin.
"What in Aidios's name were you thinking? Juna demanded, arms held akimbo, as she stood over Rean's bed. "If you're gonna be so insistent on constantly doing stupid things you could at least give us forewarning so we can better prepare to clean up your messes!"
"It's not like I wanted any of this to happen." The injured swordsman protested.
"Doesn't matter. You are a magnet for trouble and it needs to stop." This time it was Altina who spoke up as she shot a glare towards her former partner. Still, everyone present could tell the worry that rested behind that look as the youngest girl wasn't at all subtle as her eyes roamed over each of his injuries.
Ash barked out a short laugh. "It's pretty funny seeing you constantly getting your ass kicked though." Alright, Fie had enjoyed listening to the two girls giving Rean a hard time, but that one was a bit much. She stepped forward to discipline the unruly young man when-
"Claiomh Solais." At Altina's call her combat doll appeared, making a series of beeps as it did so. "Please strike Ash if he says one more stupid thing." Fie adored that girl, she truly did. Taking a page out of Rean's book she rewarded her former enemy with some head pats for her efforts. Altina initially looked conflicted as the gesture wasn't from the one she normally received it from, but eventually relaxed as she leaned in and allowed the action to proceed.
"H-Hey! I wasn't serious. Keep that thing away from me little bunny!"
Doing his best to ignore his former classmates, Kurt gave an analytical look at his fellow swordsman. "Are you sure you're alright?" Very few people would notice the tiniest sliver of exasperation from Rean at that well-intentioned question, but Fie was definitely one of them. She suspected that the original Class VII wouldn't be long in visiting and pondered which of them would be the one to ask that same question. Emma? Nah, her mira was on Elliot.
So caught up in her inner musings she almost missed a comment from her least favorite member of his class. "Aww, I can't believe anyone would be so horrid as to do such cruel things to you, Instructor Rean. At least they didn't do anything to mar your handsome figure. Why, now that you're trapped helpless on that bed I can..."
"Claiomh Solais." Alright, it's official. One way or another they were going to adopt that child, whether she wanted it or not.
While she considered herself closer to the members of New Class VII than most of her classmates due to her proximity with Rean and the fact that she wasn't much older, they were still his students and so she allowed herself to take a backseat and listen while her lover caught up with them, especially the ones they hadn't seen in a while. While ARCUS communication was an amazing feature, it still could never compare to actual direct interactions.
While Rean listened with great interest as Ash bragged about how well he did piloting his Hector during the attack and congratulated his fellow swordsman in attaining mastery, Juna silently gestured to Fie that she wanted to hold a private conversation, which the bracer readily acquiesced to. "What's up?" She whispered once they were far enough away from the others.
"Is Rean allowed to leave the hospital?"
"In a wheelchair, sure. Why?" She technically wasn't actually sure if was allowed to or not, but she didn't see the harm in it. Barring any setbacks he was expected to be free of any machines by the next morning and assuming Doctor Seiland approved of how he was healing there was nothing left for him but the long process of natural recovery, bolstered by healing arts.
"We've been talking with the members of Old Class VII, and since everyone is already in Crossbell we thought it would be a good idea to have our reunion meetup now instead of doing all this again in a couple weeks. But since most of them have to go back to their normal lives soon it would have to be tomorrow..."
"And you want to surprise Rean?" That was the only explanation for the secretive whispering. Seeing the pink-haired SSS member nod in affirmative, Fie grinned. "Sounds good to me. I think we'll both appreciate the change in scenery."
"Great! We'll figure out the plans and I will contact you tonight." With that secret discussion finished the two returned to the group. Rean looked at them curiously, but got no answer as Juna merely grinned and nodded at her fellow conspirators.
The group of seven continued to chat for a bit longer, with Rean, like Laura before him, promising the Vander master a duel once he was fully recovered. Eventually, as had happened with the two groups before them, the members of New Class VII eventually bid farewell to the two bracers and departed.
Fie groaned once they were alone again. "Slide over, will ya?"
"Are you sure you want to rest? Sounds like we should be expecting more company in a few minutes..."
"Just need to close my eyes for a few minutes."
Rean scoffed, but still complied, sliding over and letting the girl scoot in beside him. "It's only been a few hours. You're the worst nurse ever."
"Shut up. Our friends are all idiots. It's exhausting to deal with."
"And yet here I am, completely fine."
"That's cause you've been in bed the last two days!" She paused and winced, realizing how insensitive that sounded. "Err... sorry. That was in poor tastes."
Rean couldn't hold in the amused snort at her expression. "Trust me, I would rather be anywhere else right now." He paused in thought. "Correction, I would rather be anywhere else except where I just was. But I know we can't rush these things. So let's just relax and you take your nap. I'll wake you when the others arrive."
Heeding his advice she did just that. Closing her eyes she allowed herself to relax, snuggling into Rean for comfort. She paused as she breathed in through her nose, belatedly realizing that Rean kinda stunk. It was her job to give him a sponge bath later, wasn't it? Hopefully she remembered to- 'No! Bad brain! No thinking during sleepy time!' With her mind thoroughly chastised she went back into her sleep cycle as she quickly drifted off and was mere seconds away from unconsciousness-
But was pulled back when she felt a finger gently poking her in the stomach. She tried her best to ignore it, but it wouldn't relent and she was forced to concede. Moaning miserably she opened her eyes, meeting a pair of amused lilac orbs. "Why?" She pleaded. His next words would decide whether he would survive the next five minutes.
"Sorry." He didn't look very sorry. "But they're here."
Initially she was confused at his words, but it only took an instant before her senses caught up to her brain and she sensed the presence of multiple powerful idiots rapidly approaching the room. With one final forlorn sigh the former jaeger forced herself off the bed just as the first knock hit the door.
Sure enough, as the door opened it revealed the entirety of their Class VII plus Celine. The room Rean was stuck in was fairly large, but the addition of nine new people was enough to completely cramp up the place.
Presumably someone was going to greet him like all the previous groups had, but that attempt died as they all noticed something. "Um." It was Laura who first voiced their thoughts. "Why is Fie glaring at us? Did we do something wrong?"
"Just..." He paused. He knew he needed to say something diplomatic lest he earn the ire of his partner, but at the same time he didn't want to drag the moment out and make it awkward. So instead he said the first thing that came to mind. "Just ignore her." Mentally he cursed his traitorous brain as those poorly chosen words accomplished the one thing he didn't want and earned himself the full force of her baleful glare.
Not wanting to deal with whatever it was that had been happening, Jusis decided to heed Rean's words and ignore the girl. "Very well then. Might I ask how you are feeling, Rean?" His kind words only served to irk the young woman further, as she had already placed a mental bet that it would be Elliot to ask the pointless question, not Jusis. "Um..." Noble poise failed him under her unhappy gaze.
"Oooh. I bet they were about to do something dirty!"
"Haha, I bet you're right, short stuff!" Crow was quick to agree with Millium, with the oldest and youngest members of the group sharing a high five (that was far less high for Crow).
"Rean! Fie!"
"I expected better from the two of you."
While Alisa and Machias were quick to scold the pair, Gaius took a second to ponder the situation. "Well they probably knew we were coming since we met the others on the way in, so I doubt it was anything like that..."
"True." Laura agreed. Thinking about what she knew of her best friend the answer quickly presented itself. "I wouldn't be surprised if she had been trying to take a nap when we arrived."
"Oh yeah..."
"That does sound accurate."
"Haha... She does kinda look like a grumpy cat right now, doesn't she?"
Fie missed the days when she was the cool aloof girl that most of the students were wary of. Outside of Sara's shenanigans, Emma's attempts at helping her with schoolwork, and Rean pestering her and slowly worming his way through her defenses, everyone else knew to keep away from the jaeger girl. It was nice and peaceful. Now here she was being teased and mocked by everyone. Aidios' sake, even timid Elliot was getting in on the action!
"...I hate you all so much." Now they were laughing at her! Everything sucked!
Luckily for her Rean decided to come to her aid, although the grin on his face was rather wide and she still wanted to punch it off of him. "I'm kinda surprised some of you are here." Seeing the looks of disbelief sent his way he waved his hands frantically before clarifying. "I mean... I'm not surprised you came to help me, which I'm grateful for, by way, but this was all so sudden. Sticking around in Crossbell... Isn't this interfering with your work?"
"Well, you aren't wrong." Machias conceded at last. "But taking a few unscheduled days off to check in on you is something we had to do. You are, after all, a magnet for trouble and it's clear that Fie can't reign you in."
"Hey! This was all Sara's fault!" Said girl complained, before turning towards Rean. "Which, by the way, is why you are banned from ever working with her again." She half expected him to protest that decision, but he simply shrugged in acceptance.
"But like you said, we are pretty busy, so after tomorrow most of us are returning to Erebonia..." Alisa said as she glanced in Fie's direction. She wasn't alone in that as multiple pairs of eyes followed suit, causing the lithe bracer to roll her eyes. They couldn't be less subtle about it if they tried. Unlike them, however, she knew how to be inconspicuous and gave the tiniest of nods once she was sure Rean wouldn't catch it from his peripheral vision.
Crow scoffed, but had a smile on his face. "Pretty sure there's nobody in Erebonia who would dare object to Class VII taking a couple days off to visit their second favorite Chevalier."
"Haha, yeah! Well not so much the second favorite part, but the rest is true." Millium (mostly agreed). "Being famous rocks! And even if we weren't, we still wanted to see you. It's good to see you up and about! Err, I mean..." She trailed off as she realized she was talking to a still bed-ridden swordsman.
"She means it figuratively." Luckily she had a guardian angel in the form of Jusis, who shot his little partner an annoyed look for her poor choice of words. "It's clear you are recovering well and I am sure the walking part will occur before long."
Emma looked thoughtful for a moment."I could try some healing magics to see if that would help any..."
Her companion cat shook her head. "You know that wouldn't do much good. He needs time and rest. Magic, like arts, can speed up the process a bit, but you can't overuse it and I am sure the hospital is already doing what they can." Tiring of the conversation Celine trotted over and hopped up on Rean's bed before curling up in an empty spot. Rean reached out a hand to pat her, but stopped short as the feline sent a baleful glare at the offending limb.
"It's fine, guys." Rean insisted. "I mean yeah this place is rather dull, but like Jusis said I am healing fine and will be back on my feet in a few days. It'll be a couple weeks before I am fighting fit, but I can handle it. And it's not like I'll be alone since a certain someone decided to stick around without telling anyone at the guild..." His words may have been critical, but the warm smile he sent her was filled with gratitude.
"Indeed." Gaius agreed. "You've always been a resilient one. Still, if you ever need any assistance for anything don't hesitate to ask. I'm sure that offer applies for all of us." Several heads nodded in agreement to that statement.
The graduates of Thors Academy chatted for a while, mostly about mundane topics, but occasionally things of great interest to the two bracers. Their encounter with an enforcer they had only heard about was one such example. It was well into the evening when that fourth and final group finally departed, leaving the thoroughly exhausted duo to their own devices.
With a groan the temporary nurse allowed herself to flop onto her patient's bed, making sure to avoid landing on him, of course. "That's it, right? Nobody else is coming? Doesn't matter. Even if Ouroboros decides to visit I'm not getting up from this spot."
"Um... Fie?"
She cracked open a single eye to glance in his direction, wondering why he sounded so nervous. "What?"
"...I'm hungry."
This caused her to open both eyes before leveling the swordsman with a dangerous glare. "And what do you want me to do about it."
"You're my nurse, aren't you?"
"I only took this job so I could stay with you and for the cute outfit."
"Well what about the fact we are getting married? Isn't taking care of each other in sickness and health one of the vows in a Septian wedding?"
She shrugged. "I could still change my mind, you know?" She groaned at the hopeful look he continued to send her. "You're really gonna make me do this even knowing you're still stuck with the lame menu, aren't you?"
Rean didn't reply. He didn't need to. The growling of his stomach was all the answer Fie needed. "You understand that if I do this I will have my revenge, right?"
He nodded solemnly. "I understand and have accepted this fact."
Decision made, the nurse hopped back to her feet, waited while Rean made his meal decision, and left without saying a word. With her gone Rean finally got a chance to appreciate just how lonely a hospital room really was. He thought about copying his lover and taking a nap while waiting, but decided against it as it would surely only be a few minutes before she returned. Those few minutes came and went with no sign of her. After twenty minutes or so of waiting he was starting to get worried, but it proved to be all for naught as the door opened up and a grinning Fie returned with a large box in hand.
"Sorry for the wait!" She chirped happily. Reaching into the box she pulled out... "One broth soup and a bottle of water, just as you asked for!"
"Um... thanks?" He wasn't sure if he should actually be grateful for this lackluster meal, but better to be polite anyways. "What's the box for?"
"Oh, this?" She gestured towards the box. "I figured I would grab a little bite for myself while I was down there."
Pulling a chair up to the nearby table she proceeded to empty the contents of the box onto it. Rean stared, transfixed, as she pulled out item after item. A cheeseburger, a bowl of some stew that smelled simply divine when she opened the lid, a couple slices of cake, and a large milkshake. Horror dawned on the Chevalier as he now understood just what her revenge was.
"I had only meant to get the burger and drink, but I was told their three-day stew is actually quite famous. And this cake looks simply amazing too, doesn't it?" She giggled demurely as she looked across her food options. "I think I got a bit too much to eat didn't I? Silly me!"
Reluctantly he tore his gaze away from her feast and looked at his own lackluster meal. With great sadness he used his spoon to take a sip of the soup. As long as he didn't look at his partner she couldn't hurt him... Or so he thought until the girl let out a loud sensual moan as she bit into the burger.
Rean had thought that spending two days locked up, beaten, and starved would be the worst torture he would ever suffer through. He was just now finding out that it could get worse. A lot worse.
