"I'm exhausted..." If sleeping on the back of an orbal bike wasn't so hazardous to her well-being Fie would have considered doing just that. But as it was she had to content herself with gripping Rean tight while she struggled to keep her eyes open.
Their usual routine of easy (for them) missions had been interrupted as Sara and Toval all but forced the two of them to accept a mission to the northeast of the country, north of the Crossbell border. The mission itself didn't seem too bad, so she had no idea why her two seniors sent them on it, but Rean, ever the dutiful boy, accepted it with the minimum of fuss and she was forced to tag along to keep an eye on him, with a little extra fuss, of course.
Come to find out Sara and Toval must have known something they didn't, as the mission ended up being far more difficult and exciting than what it should have been. A deep conspiracy, dangerous monsters, and even a shocking betrayal awaited them at their destination. It was a long grueling struggle fraught with danger, but in the end it naturally was they who stood victorious over all adversity.
Returning to Heimdallr they had been prepared for a long mission debrief, but to their surprise both guild branches had been closed with a simple notification from Sara that something had come up and they could deal with it later. Odd, but not unheard of for their lazy mentor.
So with their exhausting day at an end it was time for the two bracers to return home for the evening. At least by some miracle their ARCUS units had remained quiet as for once their friends chose not to hound them for anything. A small mercy, but one that she was grateful for.
Or at least she was until they reached Trista. They hadn't even parked Rean's bike before her senses immediately began screaming at her that something was very wrong. Things were not in the right places, there were multiple tracks on the ground, and she could even hear sound inside their home. Whoever it was was very sloppy so it probably wasn't Xeno and Leo coming back for revenge.
She had her suspicions, but better to get confirmation. "Rean... How many people are in our house?"
To his credit the swordsman had also noticed the situation and had halted after getting off the bike. He closed his eyes in concentration. "Ten... eleven... twelve... It's a lot." He let out a long sigh. "And they're all very familiar presences."
She too let out a sigh. "Just great..." With her suspicions confirmed she once again gazed at their house. Really now, for a bunch of supposedly skilled individuals they were awfully bad at stealth. She could even see a couple of them gazing down at them from the upstairs window!
"If they are all here..."
"Somehow they found out." She finished for him. This was definitely the kind of news that would cause all of Class VII to abandon their duties and travel alongside the country. Were it any of the others she would definitely do the same, but since it wasn't all she could do was curse their nosy friends under her breath.
Rean too struggled to force a strained smile onto his face. "Should we go in and face the music?"
"Nuh uh."
"You do know that they aren't going to relent, right?"
She rolled her eyes. "Of course I know that. But if those idiots think we're just gonna walk into whatever stupid ambush they have planned..." She trailed off, the message clear. "Let's go to Le Sage and see if they have any cute winter clothes available!" Rean stared at her dubiously. She was not one to go shopping for cute clothes and he knew that as well as she did. But she had said it loud enough that certain nosy individuals would have heard, and they would not be so sure of it...
If she was right, and she knew she was, as soon as it became obvious that they weren't immediately going home... "Don't let them get away!" She couldn't quite hide the smirk. So predictable.
Millium was the first one out the door, which made sense to anyone who knew the hyperactive girl. Behind her was Juna, Sara, Sara, Machias, Ash, and Alisa. That also made sense as they were the either the ones that thought it would be fun to hunt them down or the ones most likely to sit them down for a long and painful lecture.
Her initial instinct in that situation was to flee, as she knew that not a single member of Class VII could hold a candle to her in a contest of speed or stealth. It would be pretty fun evading her pursuers and setting ambushes as she went. Sadly she knew that Class VII were a persistent bunch and she would get bored of that chase long before they gave up. That and the fact that the cowardly Rean was already giving himself up to the group, that traitor.
With a sigh she too allowed herself to be 'captured' and dragged into their home by a plethora of firm hands. She was not at all surprised to find the rest of Class VII waiting for them, some with stern expressions, others look quite amused, and a handful looked like they were reconsidering the decisions they made in life that ended with them stuck in a group like this.
"So... What are you guys doing in our house?" She asked innocently. It didn't escape her notice that the lock hadn't been forced. Emma could have cheated and used her magic, but she doubted the kind witch would do something like that. Giving Sara a spare key was a terrible idea and she blamed Rean for convincing her of such a folly.
"Oh, please." Alisa glared spitefully. "You know why we're here!"
Rean laughed nervously as she wasn't the only one to glare at the couple. "How'd you manage to find out?" Give him credit, he actually asked the most pertinent question.
"Nope. You don't get to ask the questions around here." Well, there goes that idea. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Machias's angry response didn't hit nearly as hard as Emma's hurt expression. "Don't you trust us?"
Just great. Fie let out a miserable sigh and actually took some time to ponder her words. "Of course we trust you. We just don't trust some of your mouths." Of course Fie being Fie she wasn't one to spend that much time thinking up her words. "Especially you, you, and you." She ruthlessly singled out Millium, Sara, and Crow with her outstretched fingers.
Sara was the only one who took genuine offense to that. Millium merely giggled merrily and Crow let out a shrug. "Can't argue with that one. But Juna was the one to immediately spill the beans, you know."
"H-Hey!" The hue on said girl's face now matched her hair. "That was an accident!"
The silver-haired bracer didn't need to verbalize her response to that. The unamused flat look she sent did a good enough job of that.
"It was never our intention to keep this news from you guys." Unlike her, Rean did decide to be a little more diplomatic. "But we're already so busy getting everything ready for the wedding that we just wanted a little normalcy while it was still possible, you know?"
Some of them did look a little guilty after his heartfelt admission... "I mostly just found it funny watching you guys all go crazy just cause we were hiding a little secret from you." ...So naturally she had to open her mouth and ruin it. She easily shrugged off the few unimpressed looks she earned for her statement, including the one from Rean himself.
"Still!" Machias was not so easily deterred. "If you had sworn us to secrecy I'm sure all of us would have complied! You should have told someone!"
"We did. Rean's family." She countered immediately. "Or are you saying that you think you're more important than them?"
The inspector grumbled, but failed to say anything. Luckily someone else was willing to come up to bat. "So how come you told Altina and not us, huh?" Unluckily for Machias that support was merely Millium.
"She's the only one who came to visit." Technically it was only because of Sara's meddling, but still. "We would have told any of you if you had come here." Not entirely true as there was no chance in hell they would let it be known to the loudmouths. "But none of you ever visit us, so oh well." Guilt trips never fail, right? "And this... thing doesn't count as a visit."
"Alright, alright." Laura stepped in to play peacemaker. "I think we all understand your reasoning, even if we don't necessarily agree with it. But I have to ask: Why are you still fighting in your condition? That seems extremely irresponsible of the two of you."
Ugh, of course they were going to bring that up. And given the nods of agreement it was clear that her best friend wasn't the only one with that concern. "Look, I'm fine. I've already promised Rean that I'll stop as soon as he notices it affecting my performance, but right now the worst that has happened are the occasional bouts of dizziness and morning sickness."
Her attempt at convincing the others didn't go nearly as well as she had intended. "And yet you still refused to spar with me for the first time in years. Were you perhaps afraid that I might notice a discrepancy in your movements?"
Damn her and her annoying perceptiveness. "Of course not. It was like I said: Xeno and Leo showed up the night before and we didn't get much sleep. That's all there was to it... Mostly." As much as she wanted to she wasn't one to entirely lie to her best friend.
"Oh, shit!" Ash let out a laugh as realization set in. "Those two idiots totally found out, didn't they?" A few frowned as they began to comprehend just how many people who weren't them already knew about it. "I bet they weren't happy to find out that Schwarzer knocked up their little princess!"
"Ahaha..." Rean laughed nervously. Fie wasn't really sure why. She felt like he got off pretty easy, all things considered.
"Laura does bring up a valid point." Emma spoke up, steering the conversation back onto its unfortunate topic. "You really shouldn't be doing anything that can harm your child. That includes fighting!"
It was clear that the supposedly kind witch had no intention of budging on the topic and unfortunately it seemed like there were quite a few in the group who agreed with her. "Ugh... It's just for a little while longer, alright? Nothing we've been doing has been that exerting, I swear."
"Not good enough! You need to promise me that you will stop no later than the beginning of your second trimester!"
Second trimester...? "That's only a couple weeks away! I'm still fine now! I can't promise that!" She protested. And who were they to make these decisions for her!
"Sorry Fie, what you want doesn't matter." The grin on Sara's face made it quite clear that she was not going to like the next words out of her mouth. "Lest you forget, I am still your superior. As soon as I get back to the office I'll process the paperwork to transfer you to the reserves. Better enjoy these final weeks while they last, cause you're gonna be stuck behind a desk filing paperwork for the next half year or so~"
She gaped. They were really doing this to her! She was Fie Claussell, the badass jaeger turned bracer Class VII graduate! Being stuck working as a receptionist for that long would actually kill her! Desperately she looked around for any support among her so-called friends, but couldn't find a single sympathetic face in the group. Even Rean seemed supportive of that idea. He would pay for that...
Wait. That was an idea. "What about Rean? We all know that if we take our eyes off him he's gonna do something stupid and get himself killed. And don't tell me that any of you trust Sara to handle it."
She easily ignored the annoyed sounds from her lover and big sister as she watched the rest flinch under her statement. They all knew it was true. Now all she needed to do was-
"I suppose I must expedite my plans, if that is the case." Fie's eyes widened at the voice. She had completely forgotten about Altina! She needed to stop her before- "I will need these two weeks to prepare, but I will be submitting my application to the Bracer Guild by the end of the month to resume my position as Rean's support."
Absolute treachery from all parties! Fie couldn't believe this. She had always believed the youngest member of Class VII was an ally and a friend, but no true friend would ever stab her in the back like that! The little bunny couldn't even keep up her emotionless facade as she grinned smugly in her direction!
She casually dismissed the notion that that is absolutely something she would do were their positions reversed. That wasn't what was important.
"Hot damn! Not only do I get to see Fie being a pouty little brat, but now Altina is joining the guild? Today has been a pretty amazing day!" Rean and Alisa actually had to physically restrain her before she could lunge at her mentor.
Beset on all sides she had no choice but to concede defeat. "Fine. Whatever. I don't care." ...At least for now. Eventually these nosy jerks will get bored of interfering with her life and she can get back to doing what she does best and-
"We are going to need to constantly check in to make sure she adheres to our demands." Jusis pointed out dryly.
Crow let out a laugh. "Right? She's spent too long around Rean. Stupid is contagious, after all."
She leveled a glare at the jokester for that comment. "It's a good thing you died then. Saved us from whatever it is you have.
"Ouch. That one actually kinda hurt." Despite his words he didn't seem all that hurt.
"Crow's... uniqueness aside, they do bring up a valid point. We should make an effort to check in on Rean and Fie as much as possible to make sure everything is going alright. I'm sure Celine won't mind us stopping in whenever we're in the area..." For some reason they suspected that Celine would mind, but nobody had the heart to tell Emma.
Alisa frowned thoughtfully."Roer is a bit far away, but I should at least be able to send Sharon to check on them once in a while..."
"Trista isn't far from the Vander School, so I should have plenty of chances to check in on Instructor Rean and Fie."
"Jusis always has me traveling about, so I can hop on Lammy and make it here in a jiff! Big sis Millium will always be here!" The worst case scenario, realized.
Said duke let out a sigh. "I'll... try and keep her restrained. At least as much as possible." He especially knew the futility of such a task. "Still, my duties often carry me to the capital, so stopping in once in a while should not be a hard task."
One by one the members of Class VII voiced their support and the young couple soon realized that their future would be filled with many different caretakers. Or jailers, most likely.
She shared a glance with Rean who looked equally bemused by this turn of events. "Haha..." He laughed nervously. "Thanks, I think?"
On one hand, it was definitely an appreciated gesture. There was no denying that the two were simply winging it to the best of their ability, so having extra support in the next few months would be helpful. On the other hand she doubted that a single one of these morons had any more knowledge than they did so she wasn't sure how much value they could actually provide. That didn't even count the likes of Millium or Sara who were hazards at the best of times...
"Whatever." She reluctantly conceded. "Too much effort putting traps in front of the door each night to keep you guys away." At least it should be entertaining seeing their friends all the time, if nothing else.
"Sooo..." Rean looked over the large group currently infesting their home. "Is that everything you wanted to ask us?"
"I got one more." Crow killed their hopes as he kicked his legs up from the spot on their couch he had claimed for himself. "So what's for grub?"
She blinked. He did not just say what she thought he said, did he? A glance towards her partner confirmed that he had the same perplexed expression on his face. "...What?"
"Grub! Food! You guys need to feed us! We were promised a meal!" Azure looked towards Ashen with a pleading look on his face.
They definitely did not promise that. Surely the more sensible members of Class VII were about to shoot him down for that insane idea. Any second now...
Silence. Hope faded under fifteen expecting pairs of eyes. Practically half of them had servants of their own and yet they still expected the two bracers to feed them? Oh how she loathed her dear friends in that moment.
"...You could have given us a little heads-up, you know? I think we have enough food, but this place isn't really equipped to feed all of you..."
"Think of it as experience for when you have your kid. Gotta be good at improvising and all that." Sara nodded sagely, as if that failure of a woman had any experience on the matter.
She was just about to call out her mentor on it when she was rudely interrupted. "Yeah!" Millium shouted with a grin on her face. "So hurry up and feed us, mom, dad!"
"W-What?" The normally unflappable Sylphid recoiled in shock. She thought herself immune to the teasing of her friends, but being called 'mom' was something she didn't realize just how unprepared for she actually was.
"Haha! Nice one! The little fairy is all red and Schwarzer looks like he swallowed a lemon." The troublemaker of New Class VII held out a hand which Millium slapped with a whoop. "C'mon, you old farts. We're getting hungry here."
Even the supposedly kind ones like Elliot and Emma were giggling at her expense. They were older than her! How was this even remotely fair? She had already known that her cool reputation was gonna take a hit once the others found out about her pregnancy, but this was just brutal.
"If you guys don't shut up I'm gonna feed you my fist..." None of them seemed to take her threat seriously, but at least they managed to get their laughter under control. "One meal and you idiots are out the door, got it?"
"Actually..." She did not want to hear that word, even if it was from the mouth of her best friend. "...We all managed to get some time off and thought it would be a wonderful idea to spend the night here."
It took her a fair minute to comprehend Laura's statement. Almost immediately after she felt the onset of a headache that had nothing to do with her pregnancy.
Rean let out a forlorn sigh. "...I don't think this house is big enough to hold that many people."
Sadly for him, reason and rational thinking held no place among a bored Class VII. "I'm sure you'll come up with something, oh fearless leader."
Normally she would experience great joy in Rean's suffering, but being stuck in the same boat as him made for a sad Fie. "Nothing we say is gonna convince you all to leave, is it?" A chorus of negative responses answered her question. She exhaled loudly "...You all suck, you know that?" And yet the corner of her mouth couldn't help but twitch upwards.
"Woohoo! This is gonna be. So. Much. Fun!"
"I have to admit, this does make for a better reunion than our time in Crossbell. Perks of not having a friend in the hospital, I suppose."
"Dibs on the couch."
That last comment caused some eyes to turn. Not because someone was cheeky enough to claim the couch for the night, but just who the speaker was. "You can't do that, Kurt!"
The Vander shot the Crossbellian a flat look. "I can and I did."
Musse giggled in amusement. "My, how devious. Certainly not what I would expect from a member of the Vander family."
And yet the younger swordsman was nonplussed. "There's a time and place for honorable conduct. Whatever this is is not it. Therefore the couch is now mine."
Seeing the group begin to descend into squabbles as they fought over spots to sleep for the evening afforded her the chance to make her escape. "...And where are you going?"
Tch, damnit. Sure she hadn't been putting her stealth training to use, but still. "You idiots want food, right?"
"Alright! Best mom ever!" She did not twitch at that comment. Not at all.
While the others once again resumed their argument, Rean approached her. "You got an idea?" He asked curiously.
"Mmm. Been meaning to find something to do with all the vegetables I harvested a few days ago. This seems as good a time as any." There was probably something special about sharing the products of her hard work with her dearest friends, but honestly she just wanted to use them up while they were still fresh.
"Not a bad idea." He agreed readily enough. "How about a stir fry? I'll need to go get a few items from the store, but I was already planning on that since we're gonna need a lot of plates and utensils to deal with them." Knowing Rean he would probably come back with extra blankets and pillows and whatever else they would need to house a bunch of idiots too.
His suggestion was an easy enough one to do so she agreed to it. It was only after Rean left that she realized she was stuck in their house alone with fifteen morons who had gone back to fighting over territory in their modest house. It would have been nice if a couple of them volunteered to assist, but given how the conversation was going...
"I'm telling you! Their floor is awfully comfy!"
"...So why don't you sleep on it instead of trying to make me?"
"Whaaaat? No way! I'm far too delicate for something like that!"
"Oh! I have an idea! Gaius, you're like the world's number one wind supporter, right? So why don't you sleep outside so we have more space. Everyone wins!"
"I may like the wind, but I have no desire to sleep outside, thank you very much."
"You sure your noble sensibilities will will let you sleep on the floor like a commoner, Jusis?"
"Says the man who slept in a hole in the ground..."
"Hey! Cut me some slack! I was dead!"
Fie shook her head as she listened to the conversation while washing her vegetables. There was no doubt in her mind. Class VII, both new and old, were all a bunch of idiots.
And yet she couldn't help but smile. They were her idiots and she wouldn't have it any other way.
"Hey Tilly, why don't we steal the bed for ourselves!?"
"...Their bed was pretty comfortable, but I'm not sure I want to sleep on it now that I know about their disgusting behavior. Still, it does beat the floor..."
"What!? You've already slept with them? No fair, Tilly!"
"Oooh! That's a good idea. I think I'll join you two."
"Pass."
"Tilly's right, Sara. You snore too much."
"What!? I do not!... I don't snore, right guys?"
"..."
She took it all back. They were just idiots. She no longer wanted to be associated with any of them. "Alright you jerks! None of you are stealing our bed, got it?!"
Eventually the inane arguments did die down and a few of her more useful friends did offer their assistance with the prepping and cooking. Soon after Rean returned and together they put together a meal that while simple in its nature, was both plentiful enough to feed the entire group and tasty enough to prevent any complaints. As expected, Rean made sure they had enough stuff for everyone to survive the night, but with just one couch and only a few chairs seating was at a premium. Most ended up eating on the floor, but thankfully most had the good graces to not complain about that as it was their fault for showing up unannounced like that. Despite being the owner of the house Rean too found himself situated on the floor. She herself only avoided that fate by turning her partner into her chair, which earned the duo a few snickers from the peanut gallery.
Seating arrangements aside, with tasty food and good company everyone had a good time and there was nothing to complain about. "...So where's the booze?" Unless your name is Crow, of course. "Don't give me that look! You all know you can't have a fun party without seeing some of you stick-in-the-muds getting completely sloshed and making fools out of yourselves-"
"Crow Armbrust!" Fie snickered. It wasn't a good sign when Emma started out by saying your full name. "There will be no drinking in this house! How can you even suggest something so irresponsible like that?" Emma was a good friend, but she already knew that.
"H-Hey! I didn't mean it like that!" The former terrorist looked around for an escape, especially as a few of their other friends joined the witch in glaring at him." Crow was a kindred spirit, but he kinda deserved what he was getting by bringing up that annoying restriction while it was still raw.
There was no mistake, but a distraction did speak up. "I am sure Fie is mature and responsible enough to hold back while the rest of you drink. I certainly would not mind pouring a few drinks for Instructor Rean~" One of these days she really needed to deal with the mint-haired harpy. The Cayenne estate was an eyesore and she doubted anyone would mind if it got demolished. And with enough explosives she could even do so without physically exerting herself and earning the ire of Rean and her more boring friends!
"...Pretty sure the little fairy is just happy she has an excuse to not remind us how much of a shitty drinker she really is." Ash was another one who she probably should deal with at some point. The punk totally deserved getting slugged in the face at least once. And he seemed to be the kind of person who would respect a move like that.
"There will be no drinking in this house." Rean was such a bore, but at least he made up for it by being so cute.
"Tch. Stingy bastard..." Crow desperately turned to his one remaining ally. "C'mon Sara, you brought something, right?"
Many eyes turned towards the most infamous drinker in the room. Sara merely scoffed. "Of course not. I left all my travel supplies at home."
"That's a bit surprising..." Machias was the one to voice what they were all thinking. Sara never went anywhere without a drink close at hand and she didn't seem to be chomping at the bit to go hang out at the bar either.
Said senior bracer shrugged in reply. "What? Sure I love teasing Fie as much as anyone, but they're absolutely making the right call here. I'm not gonna do anything to risk the safety of that baby." Huh. Sara could be surprisingly thoughtful when she wanted to be. Fie had totally expected her mentor to say something stupid in an attempt to get a rise out of her. "...Aidios knows that it's already doomed enough as it is with these two." And there it was. She just couldn't resist that parting shot, could she?
"I think it's safe to say that you have been overruled." Gaius informed the older man. "Perhaps you should drop the topic?"
"Boo. Fine. I'm done getting chewed out when we should be chewing out our horny friends instead."
With Crow properly defeated Rean looked at the assembled group. "...I still can't believe you all showed up here on such short notice. Was that really alright?"
The young Duke Albarea scoffed. "Please. Erebonia isn't going to collapse into chaos and mayhem just because we decided to leave things to our subordinates for a day." It was impressive that he sounded so sure of himself cause she certainly wasn't. "...Probably." He amended quickly after noticing her dubious look
With all the important and the inane out of the way conversation soon shifted to funner topics. Elliot was on the cusp of finishing a new song and promised to let them know when it was ready for performance. Kurt had recently sparred against his father, and although he had lost, was quite pleased at his ability to hold out for a long time against the legendary swordmaster. Emma had invited Celine along, but the cat had turned tail and fled as soon as the witch and familiar arrived at Trista. Fie made a mental note to leave a bowl of milk and dried fish out just in case.
Naturally those weren't the only things they discussed, and it was well into the night when contagious yawns and drooping eyes brought an end to the fun. With no little reluctance one by one the members of Class VII began preparing for bed and securing whatever meager space they could find for themselves.
And of course it all once again culminated in a long and brutal campaign for control over her bed. It was a battle she could not afford to lose and even Rean was resolved to fight alongside her against their friends. What followed next was an epic battle the likes of which Erebonia has never seen before...
So she couldn't believe it when in the end they lost and she was forced to sleep on the floor with all the rest.
