For as long as Annette could remember, kitchens were a steadfast source of comfort no matter what life may throw her way. They were warm, safe, and full of good smells. Even better, the food crafted in the kitchen brought all the precious people in her life together. Those memories spent together with her family—her whole family, father included—were dear to her.

But despite how delightful Garreg Mach's kitchen smelled, or the cozy glow by the stove, all she could do was sullenly stare at the plate of fish waiting to be cleaned. And unfortunately for her, the fish stared back with hollow, glassy eyes.

"I am impressed you caught so much," Dedue said, wiping his knife along a soft towel. "You are quite skilled, Ashe."

Ashe rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish chuckle. "You give me too much credit! It's all thanks to Flayn. She mentioned it was a great time for fishing, and… well," he gestured out to the fish, "she certainly wasn't wrong."

Normally this was the point where Annette would feel inclined to jump into the conversation and admire Ashe's hard work, or perhaps agree with Dedue that it was worthwhile praise. But the words of her friends seemed almost muffled, as though she were hearing their voices from far, far away. And her mind drifted to that far, far away place, bathed in moonlight and surrounded by the exotic plants of the greenhouse, the sensation of his cheek against her lips—

I can't believe I did that.

Why did I do that?! 'I'm your girl'? Who says that?

What is wrong with me?!

The plate of fish continued to stare back at her. They knew all her dark secrets.

"Don't look at me like that..."

Ashe and Dedue glanced her way, then back at each other. The concern in their eyes did not escape her notice. She felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. Of course the fish weren't watching her, much less judging her.

But if they could judge me… I bet they would.

"Annette? Are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine! Sorry, you two," she waved her hands and immediately began busying herself with the nearest kitchen duty by mopping down the interior of the sink. "Are you sure you're still okay with helping out? I'm sorry I… I got caught up yesterday and didn't make it over."

Caught up? Is that what I'm calling it?! Some 'friend' I am…

Annette shuffled, feeling guilty. After all the hard work Ashe went through to swap chores, gather fish, and set aside time to cook with her and Dedue, it felt downright scandalous to stand both of them up. Of course she had every intention of meeting in the kitchen after dinner, but…

The memory of Felix's bewildered face and his rigid, frozen stance in the center of Garreg Mach's greenhouse as she stepped away from him the night before haunted her. It was never meant to happen. She decided to set aside her feelings and cherish the camaraderie and friendship between them instead of pushing her own selfish whims, then turned around and did the exact opposite of what she resolved not to do.

I ruined everything. How could I be such an idiot?!

Annette glanced down at the towel in her hands and realized she had been wiping down the same small spot in the sink and sighed. If only wiping Felix's memory was as easy as a kitchen chore.

"That is all right," Dedue said. He began cleaning the scales off the fish with smooth, precise motions. "We are all busy preparing for the final battle."

"The final battle…" Ashe murmured. Annette noticed his hand waver unsteadily for a moment as he sorted through a bushel of herbs. "It all comes down to this, doesn't it?"

Dedue set aside the last cleaned fish. "Yes," he said, then turned to Annette, his eyes warm and kind. "This is a good idea, Annette. I would like to prepare dishes for everyone to aid in the coming battle."

It felt comforting to tear her mind away from spiraling back to the earlier evening and all the guilty feelings associated with it. Annette smoothed the front of her apron, then plastered on a sunny smile. "Absolutely, Dedue! I'm just so grateful for your help! I don't want any mishaps again," she said. "I doubt it would do anyone any good to boil over another pot of stew! So what are we making?"

Ashe and Dedue exchanged looks again. This time Ashe was grinning. "We were talking about that yesterday, actually," he pulled a cookbook off a nearby shelf and flipped through the pages with nimble precision that suggested they did more than just discuss possible dishes. He stopped on a yellowed page with aged markings circled around the list of ingredients. "This entire book is full of great recipes specifically tailored for wartime prep!"

Annette leaned over his shoulder. The margins of the page were covered with tidy notes, written in the most meticulous penmanship she had ever seen. "This isn't your cookbook, is it, Ashe?"

"Mine?" Ashe laughed. "Oh gosh, no. Mercedes helped me find this, actually!"

"Mercedes?! Really? It doesn't look like her handwriting."

"Well, it's not her cookbook either," he said. "I told Mercedes about your idea, and she said she knew of some great resources in the library. Apparently this particular cookbook was specifically written with wartime cooking in mind. It takes into account rationing and maximizes your ingredients for the best outcome. I bet even the professor would be proud of us!"

Her eyes drifted down the page as she continued to half-listen to Ashe's praises. A charmingly vintage illustration of lemons hanging heavy on the boughs of a tree adorned the decoration at the preface of the recipe.

She smiled in spite of herself. Of course Mercedes managed to find the perfect book, and one with lemons, no less. Somehow, no matter how much Annette tried to conceal her feelings, her best friend always knew. "Mercie found this? Did she suggest this particular recipe?"

"You bet," Ashe said. He set a cluster of herbs in front of them and began separating them into smaller bunches. "Originally Dedue and I were discussing maybe a Swift Fish Gratin, but this—" he pointed to the recipe on the page, "seemed like an even better fit. It supposedly bolsters the immune system and your concentration, plus a little speed boost as well."

"Poached Queen Loach in citrus sauce," she said, reading the recipe name. "I haven't even heard of this one before."

"No," Dedue sidled between them. He selected a bunch of herbs from Ashe's assortment and spread them evenly across his tray. "You would not. It is a dish from Duscur. A favorite of my parents, in fact."

"D-Duscur? Really?! But... I thought no one documented Duscur cooking!"

Dedue nodded. His gentle smile extended to the corners of his eyes, and he handed Annette a lemon. "It is not exactly as I remember, but the author… he put forth a commendable effort. There is little of my culture that has survived, so every attempt is appreciated."

"It's titled Around the Same Table," Ashe said. "The author was actually a knight himself! He traveled during wartime and tried to document recipes from all different places. I was shocked to learn Garreg Mach actually had such a book… it's the first of its kind I've ever seen. But there are all sorts of rare books in the library, so you never know what you'll find."

Annette began slicing the lemon into thin rounds as Dedue and Ashe continued to discuss the merits of the cookbook. Her mind began to wander. Would they still be on the brink of battle with the empire if they managed to all come around the same table and eat together too? Annette couldn't deny that a good meal and good company had healing qualities. It was one of the biggest reasons why she enjoyed working in the kitchen. But the time spent with her former classmates five years ago had been full of laughter and tasty food, yet here they were, in a future full of war.

And then there's my own personal war… if this was a battlefield, I'd already be dead for letting my guard down!

She puffed out her cheeks and slammed the knife down a little too forcefully. The platter of fish rattled.

That's right! A moment's hesitation in battle can mean life or death! Even Felix himself knows that! So I can't hesitate. I'm just going to have to get even stronger than my enemy!

But when her private battles were being waged against her own impulses and intrusive thoughts, how on earth was she supposed to get stronger? She was her own enemy. Repeatedly spending time in Felix's company only seemed to exacerbate the problem (and the simple thought always managed to make her palms sweaty). Avoiding him only made things worse. So what was left?

I suppose… I could just pretend it never happened.

The scent of lemon washed over her as she reached the end of the fruit. Annette stared down at the thin slices spread across the cutting board. The fragrance was unmistakable. Just like it would be futile to hide the scent of a freshly-cut lemon, masking her own feelings was next to impossible. That approach might've worked months ago, but there was one painful sticking factor that tossed a wrinkle into her strategy.

I don't want to pretend it never happened.

"I think that's everything!" Ashe wiped his hands clean on a towel as he finished laying out the fish. "We just need to place the lemon on top, and we're all set."

"Not quite," Dedue said. "In Duscur, we typically add something to offset the citrus. The author did not include this in their recipe."

"Offset?"

"Yes."

Ashe glanced around the kitchen. "It's an acid… so perhaps something salty? Or dairy, but that might not pair so well. What did you use in Duscur, Dedue?"

"The nectar of a Zanado Treasure Fruit… but given that this is a cookbook for wartime, something like that is not easy to come by. I believe this is why it was omitted."

"Something sweet…" Annette murmured to herself. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Ashe asked.

"Something sweet!" Annette repeated. A rising tremor of excitement swelled in her chest. "Oh, this is perfect!"

"I… well, yes, I guess it would be perfect if we could get our hands on a Zanado Treasure Fruit," Ashe chuckled, "but even if the seeds we planted yesterday yielded them, they wouldn't grow that quickly—"

"No, no! It's in my song! The answer was in my song all along!"

"You wrote a song about Zanado Treasure Fruit? Wow, Annette, I'm really impressed," Ashe said. "You truly do have a song for everything."

"I'm not that creative!" she giggled. "Not even close!" Annette hastened to the shelf above the stovetop, standing on her toes to reach a small jar near the edge. "Honey!"

"Ah! You're right. Garreg Mach keeps bees. It's how Mercedes has been sweetening her pastries."

"It's a perfect match!" Annette twirled in an excited little circle before handing Ashe the jar of honey. Showing Felix her support through food was only one part of the equation, but with this added touch… surely he'd understand the reference. After all, it was their song. Even if he didn't feel the same for her, it was a way to communicate her feelings without explicitly putting him on the spot or making him uncomfortable. She could always hide behind the excuse that it was only intended to be a boost before the final battle and nothing more.

The solution to her dilemma was in front of her all along. This would give her the best of both worlds. If he chose to accept…

If he didn't, she had plausible deniability. Sure, she couldn't outright retract her kiss in the greenhouse any more than she could hide the scent of lemon filling the kitchen, but at least this gave her a convenient out. And if he did accept..

Well, he wouldn't.

But if…

If he did, it would be awfully nice. Annette allowed herself a moment to imagine that possibility before stifling the warm, tingling sensation building in her chest. She grinned and couldn't help but burst back into song.

"A bitter lemon, sour and sharp,

You cut through every dish you meet…

All that's missing to curb your edge

Is a little dash of something sweet!"

A loud grunt jarred her from her reverie, and she spun around. Felix stood in the kitchen doorway, a burlap sack slung over his shoulder. His sharp eyes stared straight through her.

"Felix!" Ashe offered a friendly nod. "Your timing is great! We were just—"

"Grains from the market," he said and dropped the sack on the floor. He continued to stare coldly at Annette, and she remained frozen in place.

How… how much did he hear?

"Ah, thanks. I was going to stop by and pick some up myself," Ashe said. "You saved me some extra trouble. I really appreciate it!"

"Okay. Bye."

He was gone in the blink of an eye. Annette slowly stepped away from the shelf and stared at the empty doorway. All her earlier enthusiasm and relief twisted into a mixture of panic and embarrassment. Felix was typically curt, but even for him…

"Huh," Ashe picked up the sack of grains and handed them to Dedue. "I guess he didn't want to stick around."

"No. I suppose not."