(Nightmares/ Promises/ Memories) So, this one I actually had kind of planned out, and am kind of happy with how it turned out. Maybe a bit ooc, but eh.

This one contains some blood and death, just a warning.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Promises to keep

Felix is in the middle of a battle. Nothing big or special, just some bandits that have taken over some old fort in the middle of the forest. But they have been attacking travellers, so their class has been sent to deal with them.

Felix dodges out of the way of an incoming attack and swiftly cuts down his attacker. As the bandit goes down, he turns to look as Sylvain tears into another one with his spear. He catches Felix's eye and winks at him with a grin. Felix nods back at him. Time to get this over with.

He's just stepping forward when a bunch of arrows fly from a tree nearby. It's almost like in slow motion. Felix sees the arrows fly over the battlefield, fired by some hidden snipers hiding amongst the trees. Snipers Felix missed. Because he had been too busy with some bandits to pay attention.

The arrows hit Sylvain in the chest and shoulders, one grazing his throat. His horse panics, rears up on its hind legs, tossing Sylvain off of it and on the ground. He's not moving.

No! No, no, no, no! Is all Felix can manage. He yells at someone, maybe Mercedes or maybe Annette, to take care of Sylvain as he rushes the snipers and all but hacks them to pieces before they have time to react.

As he stands above them, he feels their blood soaking through his clothes and onto his skin. Then he remembers Sylvain and rushes over to him.

As he approaches Sylvain, he notices the redhead still isn't moving. Mercedes and Annette are both kneeling next to him, but they're no longer trying to heal him. Annette is sobbing quietly, and Mercedes looks at him with teary eyes and shakes her head.

Sylvain is laying still. His eyes are closed. There's blood everywhere.

It's like his legs have turned to jelly, as he takes a staggering step forward before collapsing on the ground. His vision is getting all blurry and it takes him a moment to realise he's crying. Someone is grabbing his shoulders and lightly shaking him. Maybe they want him to get up or something. He tries to inch closer to Sylvain, but the person grabbing him is holding on tighter, not letting go.

"Syl-" he chokes out, barely able to make a sound with how choked up his throat is. He starts struggling against the grip on him, trying to get loose. Someone in the distance is yelling his name.

"Felix!"

"Felix!"

"FELIX!"

Felix awakens with a jolt, shaking, sweating and barely able to breathe. He sees Sylvain hovering above him, looking concerned. His vision is still blurry with tears and he's tangles up in something, unable to move at all.

"Felix?" Sylvain repeats his name softly. Strokes his hair gently with one hand, peering down at him.

Just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare. Felix finally manages to take a few deep, if stuttering breaths, to calm down a bit. He's still all teary-eyed, his heart is pounding out of his chest and he feels like he can't draw a proper breath.

He's in his room at the academy. It's the middle of the night and the moonlight is shining through the window, giving the room some light. He's completely tangled in his sheets, which explains why he can't move. Sylvain is sitting next to him, not dead, apparently having just woken him from a nightmare.

"Felix?" Sylvain asks again. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Felix croaks out, not sounding even a little bit convincing. His throat still feels stuffed and he feels a tear run down into his hair.

"Mmmm-hmmm," Sylvain knows better than to say anything about it but untangles the blanket enough to slide in underneath it with Felix. He puts his arms around Felix and pulls them closely together, so Felix's head is resting on Sylvain's chest and Sylvain is nuzzling his hair.

"It's okay, Felix," Sylvain murmurs after a few silent minutes. "We're okay. I'm not going anywhere."

"What makes you think it had anything to do with you?" Felix mutters, burrowing closer to Sylvain. He's warm and comfortable.

"You were saying my name," Sylvain says quietly "It wasn't hard to guess." After that, they're both quiet. Until Sylvain pipes up again.

"You remember that promise we made when we were kids, right?"

"Mmmm," Felix mutters in response, too tired to form actual words.

"So you know I'm not going to leave you, right? I'm going to stick with you until we both grow old and die, and then I'll stay with you after that, too." He pulls Felix even closer to himself, pressing a kiss to his head.

"Shut up and sleep," Felix mutters, feeling his face heat up from Sylvain's words and action. He feels more than hears him laugh quietly before settling down for sleep. Felix also makes himself more comfortable, placing his head so his ear is above Sylvain's heart. He hears Sylvain's heartbeat, feels his breathing and feels better knowing he's here, and alive, and not dying on a field somewhere.

With that, he lets himself drift off to sleep.

"Don't worry, Felix! We'll always be together. We're best friends!"

"We will?"

"Yup! We'll live together, and we'll die together, so we'll never not have each other, ok?"

"Promise?"

"It's a promise!"