A tidy pile of books surrounded her on all sides as she sat at the library table, stacked like a makeshift wall warding off invaders. Annette was on a mission. Her quill scratched across the parchment at a furious rate, but it still wasn't fast enough to keep up with the rush of ideas and strategies as she plotted them on paper. A small bundle of cookies, courtesy of Mercedes, sat untouched by her elbow. There would be no accidental napping this time, even if it meant relying on a small, sugary boost if necessary.

But it wasn't just external distractions Annnette was attempting to ward off. Felix's request—well, it was more of a command, she reflected, to become her adjutant left her utterly flummoxed. The more she tried to understand his reasoning, the more confused she felt.

But even more confusing were her own feelings. She unthinkingly tickled her chin with her quill and blushed, her mind drifting back to their sparring session days earlier. That was the closest she had ever come to another man's face. And up close, Felix was actually quite handsome, especially when he wasn't scowling. Her mind continued to drift, and another possibility began to slowly sneak up on her.

Oh no.

Oh no.

No no no no no.

Impulsive songs, intrusive thoughts, confusing dreams—

No way. Absolutely not. I do not have...I don't feel that way!

Right? Right.

… Right?

"Wow, Annette. I didn't know you could write so fast! Is this all for this month's campaign?"

"Oh!" she jumped in her seat and quickly motioned to prevent her inkwell from spilling. The direction that train of thought was heading down was not one she felt prepared to continue, so maybe an interruption wasn't so bad after all. "Ashe! I didn't see you there."

A familiar face peered over the shortest stack of books. "Well, in your defense, I almost didn't see you either," Ashe smiled. "But I heard you writing, so I figured I'd come take a look." The young man tilted his head, glancing at her neat handwriting as he idly ran a hand through his silver hair. "This looks awfully complicated...I'm impressed!"

"Maybe a little complicated, but I need to make sure I'm extra ready for this month's mission, so it's all worth the effort."

"Me too! Although I'm taking a slightly different approach this time."

"Really?" Annette looked up from her notes, "But the professor said you were our MVP for the last battle!"

Ashe's freckle-dusted cheeks turned pink. "Actually, I was considering serving as…someone's adjutant for the next battle," he looked at her from across the table and hesitated, "That is to say, if I'm going to be a great knight, I can't get complacent and rely on the same tactics every time. I assume that's why you're studying too," he gestured down at her notes and seemed more than happy to redirect the attention away from himself.

"I guess you could say that," she giggled and breathed an inward sigh of relief as the subject steered away from adjutants, "But I'm sure you didn't stop by just to watch me write!"

"No, I actually just finished a book. A really fantastic one too, I'll never tire of rereading it. Would you like to borrow it?"

"Sorry, Ashe. Maybe once this upcoming battle is over. And your taste in books is so great, I just know I'll be pulling a different kind of all-nighter if I get sucked into a good story!"

"No worries, the best thing about books is that they'll always be there waiting for you when you're ready." Ashe pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down, peering through the gap between the pile of books.

Annette carefully pushed the stack aside, giving him a clear view from across the table. "I hope you don't think I was being rude. I promise I wasn't ignoring you, I can't really see anything from here."

"Not at all. I guess you could say you were… getting lost in a good book…?"

"Oh dear," she stifled a giggle.

"S-sorry, I picked that one up from Alois."

"That explains a lot."

"Actually," Ashe sheepishly grinned, "this works out great. I was looking for you."

"You were?"

"Well, not me, specifically. I was on kitchen duty with Dedue, and he wanted to know if I'd seen you recently."

Something clicked in her memory. In all the excitement, she had forgotten about their conversation and the embarrassing gaffe with the overflowing pot of stew. "Oh! It's probably about a recipe we were discussing!"

"He did mention something about that. I think he had a few ideas he wanted to run by you. Although, I don't mind helping too, if you need it?" Ashe's eyes darted down to the cookies by her side, and he smiled again. "If I know you, Annette, I'm going to guess you're planning to cook for someone else, not yourself. Am I right?"

She laughed, and she knew it sounded more flustered than she would've preferred. "It wasn't exactly a secret, but yes!"

"Well, I'll give you a bit of a tip, although you probably know already," he leaned forward in his chair, "Mercedes isn't very fond of spicy dishes, but I've noticed she's trying to slowly increase her tolerance. I'm sure we can figure something out that's just hot enough without going overboard."

"Mercedes?"

"You...you are cooking for Mercedes, aren't you?"

"Oh, no!" she blurted out, then immediately lowered her voice. They were, after all, in the library. "Not at all! I'm actually trying to think of something Felix would enjoy."

"Felix? Is he unwell again?"

"No," she hesitated. Of all the distractions, the memory of their sparring session days earlier was the most bothersome of all, and not one she could simply block off with a tower of books. Suddenly she wished she hadn't divulged as much information to Ashe in the first place. She glanced down and realized her quill had scratched a long, squiggly line across her most recent paragraph of notes. "I...just thought it would be nice to cook something for him."

"Huh," Ashe raised an eyebrow. "I guess so. I admit, I'm not too sure what his preferences are," he trailed off in thought, then quickly bounced back with another smile. "Annette, are you familiar with this particular story?" he reached over and grabbed a nearby book, the same one he offered to her moments earlier. A proud knight in shining armor was splayed across the cover in a dazzling, full-color illustration.

Annette squinted and tried to read the title. It wasn't one of her reference books. Nor was it one of Ashe's favorites, Loog and the Maiden of Wind. But judging by the spine, it was still well-loved. "I don't think I recognize that one," she shook her head.

"It's a great story," he gushed, "and I really appreciate how the main character's friends all come together despite their differences. They're gallant and brave, and their friendship is what helps them make the world a better place."

"That does sound great," she nodded and wondered where this was going.

"Well, the knight in this story is just like Felix!"

"W-wait," she suppressed a second giggle. "Are you sure? That doesn't sound anything like Felix! He's a lone wolf, not exactly someone I'd consider part of a merry band of knights."

There was an excited gleam in Ashe's green eyes. Clearly this story was dear to his heart, and he was relishing every minute of his retelling. "That's why it's such a great story. Even though the knight seems cold and sarcastic, he's actually a really great person deep down, and he cares a lot for his friends."

Annette's mind wandered back to the pine-scented cloak draped across her sleeping shoulders and she blushed again. It was an awfully nice gesture, and certainly not one she ever would've expected from someone as irritable as Felix. She was starting to see where Ashe was going with this comparison.

"So...you're saying…"

"I'm saying that no matter what you decide to cook for Felix, I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Ashe smiled and gave the book's cover an affectionate pat, "even if he might not seem like he does."

"I suppose that does sound just like him," she couldn't help but nod along. "You're really insightful, Ashe!"

"I try," Ashe looked embarrassed again. "Anyways, don't stress too much about it."

"You're right! I need to focus on the upcoming battle! There will be plenty of time for books and cooking once it's over!"

Ashe leaned back in his chair and placed the book atop the nearest stack with care. "So what are you studying? This looks a little different from some of the other spell sets I've seen you write out."

"You're not the only one trying something new," she waved her fluffy quill at him with a smile, "Actually...oh! Ashe, maybe you can help me figure this out!"

"Figure… this out?" he gestured down to her spell formulas, "I...I can try, but my magical aptitude isn't the best…"

"No no, your insight."

"A-Annette, I'm not used to all this flattery," he laughed. "Honestly, I wouldn't even call it insight. I just love this story, and I see the similarities. I really do recommend you read it though, if you can."

"Well then, how's this scenario?" Annette's quill bobbed in her fingers, as if trying to summon the answer from him, "Did the grumpy knight in your story serve as an adjutant at some point?"

Ashe perked up in his chair. "Oh! That was a great arc," he nodded, "it was probably one of my favorite parts."

"So he did! But why? If he was so grumpy, wouldn't he prefer working alone? Or consider himself above being an adjutant?"

"Ah…" he trailed off as his face turned a curious shade of red.

"Ashe…?"

"Annette...did…Felix ask to work as your adjutant?"

"Yes! Oh, I knew you were insightful, Ashe! So what does that mean?"

"Well… it… it is just a story, after all."

She frowned. Where was that earlier passion and enthusiasm? It felt strange seeing Ashe downplay the very same tale he was just praising minutes earlier. "Did… did it end badly? Did they lose the battle?"

"N-no, it's not that."

"Oh no! Would this spoil the story for me when I read the book?"

"Not at all! It's just… well," he swallowed and became very interested in examining her stack of spellbooks, "there was a member of their party the knight was… very fond of, but he didn't know how to express it. He thought serving as her adjutant would maybe help him find another way to show how he felt."

"Ahhh," she nodded. "I get it!"

…

Oh no.

I get it.

The ticking of the library's grandfather clock carried on as a brief stretch of silence spread between the two of them.

"W-well!" Annette immediately stood up and began gathering her parchment, "like you said, it's just a book! Not real life. They're two totally different things!"

Ashe stood up at the same time as her, as if on cue. "R...right! I'll just… I'll put this back on the shelf, so you can borrow it any time, okay?"

"Of course! That's...yes! Yes, of course. I definitely will!"

"Absolutely!"

"Yes, absolutely!"

"So…" Ashe shuffled in place, his eyes darting across the empty library, "Um… are you…?"

"Going to read your book? I promise, I definitely will."

"N-no, I meant…"

Something akin to a ball of lead dropped to the bottom of her stomach. His question had nothing to do with the book, no matter how much Annette wished it did. "Well, I mean… he asked—actually...it was more like a demand—"

"Y-yeah," Ashe laughed nervously, "It's hard to say no to something like that, right?"

In all honesty, it wasn't very difficult at all to accept. In fact, amongst the jumble of emotions she was still trying to sort out, there was a part of her that was definitely tickled pink at Felix's insistence. She tried to quell her own nervous laugh. "I'll say. But… what about you? Weren't you planning on taking a similar approach? Your new strategy?"

Ashe's freckles burned an even brighter pink, and he cleared his throat. "That's… that doesn't matter. I'm sure we'll both do great in the next battle, right?"

"Right!"

"Right."

The clock continued to tick.

"I...should let you get back to work, sorry for interrupting you, Annette. I'll let Dedue know you'll stop by later, okay?"

"S-sure!"

Ashe offered one last bashful nod before quickly making his exit, leaving Annette alone with her stack of books, the chiming grandfather clock, and the sound of her own pounding heart.