Title: By Candlelight

Summary: Bertrand stood before a candlelit table set for two. And his date was being dragged in all but kicking and screaming…

Pairings: Bertrand/Hrothgar

AN: Usually, I like to keep a cliffhanger hanging for a few more days, but I thought I'd be merciful :3c Hope you enjoy~


Bertrand was suspicious.

Highly, highly suspicious.

And the sight before him was the culprit.

In the far corner of the restaurant, in front of a window leading to a small but dense garden sat a small, round table built for two. A white tablecloth with rich red and gold embroidery draped over the table meticulously, with fine crystal glasses filled with no doubt wine and plates of delicious smelling food. The three small candles within the centre of the table cast the area in a golden, ambient light, which flickered every once in a while from the gentle breeze cascading through the open window, bathing the area in a rich flora scent from the abundance of flowers outside. With the half-moon high in the sky and the night well and truly fallen, the ambience was still and serene.

It was honestly beautiful.

It was also romantic.

Which was why Bertrand was suspicious.

"So, care to tell me why I'm the one who is to sit here?" he asked as he turned away from the romantic setting to stare down at the little war magus who had all but pushed him toward said table set for two. "Alone?"

"Because I told you to," Chloe replied with a pout as she pushed up her glasses. "And you won't be alone."

He was afraid of that.

There was also a hell of a lot more to it than that. And he was pretty sure it had everything to do with those two other pink-haired that showed up suddenly. Yeah, the Pinkettes. He had heard of them. And he had been warned to keep a wary eye out for them. Who would have guess that Chloe would choose to run with the wrong crowd? Ah, but she had always been a subtle shit-stirrer herself. She would be in her element with those two.

The three of them together must be rather…potent, for a lack of a better word, if they managed to pull Regina into helping them. They had to be. And if they pulled her into this unwillingly, which signs were pointing to as the chef was huffing and puffing in the kitchen in an frazzled manner, they were even more formable than rumour had painted them to be.

So…what to do?

Suppose the better question would be who was his supposed 'date'? And how were they going to be dragged into this?

The sound of the café door opening abruptly pulled Bertrand out of his musings and he turned to look out of habit. He had to do a double take, however, when the one who had entered wasn't that of the usual variety.

And he couldn't help but realise that his 'date' was to be dragged into this damn near kicking and screaming.

Dressed in casual clothing, Hrothgar was draped over Zeryn's shoulder, the tall highlander keeping him in place with one arm, completely and utterly unfazed by Hrothgar's struggling. Even as Hrothgar kicked his legs and seemed to be hitting him on the back with his hands.

"What are you doing?! Put me down! What has gotten into you?!" Hrothgar all but shrilled.

And Zeryn all but ignored him as he readjusted Hrothgar to sit a little higher on his shoulder before he yelled into the mostly empty restaurant. "Aye, I ave a delivery for Bertrand!"

Bertrand arched an eyebrow and had to bite the inside of his mouth when Hrothgar abruptly ceased in his struggling and made a sound that was similar to a squeak. "W-what?" he stammered as he lifted his head up to look at his surroundings and Bertrand could all but feel his utter embarrassment when he realised where he was.

"Fufufufu~" Chloe chuckled ominously as she walked away from Bertrand and toward the kitchen, and as she passed Zeryn, she jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. "Over there."

"Aye," Zeryn replied, seeming unfazed that he was virtually being ordered around and happily headed in Bertrand's direction with Hrothgar still balanced on his shoulder.

"Can you put me down now?" Hrothgar asked meekly, but surprisingly cutely all the same.

Zeryn grinned widely and honestly very mischievously before he made the motion to lean forward to allow Hrothgar to finally take to his own feet.

"Catch," Zeryn suddenly said and Bertrand instinctively took on a protective stance as Zeryn practically swung Hrothgar off of his shoulder and planted him into Bertrand's subconsciously waiting arms.

Bertrand obviously wasn't expecting to have Hrothgar literally dropped into his arms, but he managed to keep a hold of the other man, preventing him from falling to the floor. He had to quickly readjust his grip, though, and unintentionally pulled Hrothgar tighter against his chest in such a way that it appeared that he was cradling him, curling him closer to him.

Having not made a sound through the entire thing, Hrothgar finally uttered a gasp of surprise and sprung up a fraction, his body tensing. And he grasped at Bertrand's shoulders in a desperate attempt to steady or ground himself. But as he did so, he unwittingly moved his face closer to Bertrand's and their noses brushed lightly against one another's.

"Oh," Hrothgar whispered as his eyes widened and stared directly into Bertrand's, almost as if he was in a trance. Or was simply so surprised that he didn't know what to say or do and just became still out of instinct.

Bertrand couldn't say he was any better. There was no witty retort on the tip of his tongue. No urge to smirk. Nothing like that at all. All he could do was to stare back as well. And notice the dim lighting of the candles seemed to deepen his chocolate brown eyes.

The sound of Zeryn laughing obnoxiously loudly as he turned on his heel and walked away pulled the two of them out of their trance like state. Hrothgar promptly blushed a deep red as he turned his face away from Bertrand's to look at the floor, inexplicably keeping his hands on Bertrand's shoulders and making no attempt to remove himself from his arms. Even more mysteriously, neither did Bertrand.

"See ya later!" Zeryn called out to anyone who was listening and promptly left through the front door, letting it clatter noisily behind him.

"Sorry," Hrothgar murmured after a silent more as he finally and hastily pushed himself out of Bertrand's arms and to his feet. "T-thank you for catching me, but sorry a-all the same."

"Nothing you could help," Bertrand replied, finally able to find his own voice and wit.

Hrothgar flashed him an embarrassed smile as he set about trying to smooth down his hair while also calm his frazzled nerves. "Ah, yes. Flavio warned me that Chloe made friends with the Pinkettes," he said before he trailed off to speak under his breath. "I wasn't expecting them to come after me first, though…"

Bertrand folded his arms over his chest. He honestly was a little surprised himself that Chloe would choose to play matchmaker for him, matching him with Hrothgar. Although she had always been the mischievous, cunning type, so not even he knew what she was thinking and planning all the time. Bertrand supposed he should be grateful that she chose to match him with someone reasonable, someone he knew, and not some stranger who was all looks and no character.

He was also genuinely relieved that they didn't do the same to Hrothgar. He was a sweet and lovable guy, after all, and Bertrand was sure that he had more than his fair share of admirers. Some, no doubt, with less than honourable intentions.

Never mind that now. There were two important questions they needed to find answers to. How far Chloe was willing to play matchmaker and what it would take to get her, and those infamous Pinkettes, to leave them alone?

"Any way to weasel our way out of this?" Bertrand asked with a surprisingly humorous tone.

Hrothgar uttered a small laugh at the question before he winced and shook his head. "Only one, really."

"And that is…?" Bertrand prompted him to continue.

The blush Hrothgar had sported before returned softly and he scratched his cheek. "To get into a relationship…"

Bertrand couldn't say that was at all surprising. "And faking one wouldn't work?"

Hrothgar looked genuinely surprised by the question and tilted his head to the side in thought. "I…don't think so."

Bertrand shrugged idly. "Just an idea."

"Hm, yes, of course," Hrothgar replied politely as he righted himself. "Anything at this point I suppose."

"The best thing we can do at this point is to simply go along with it," Bertrand said as he glanced over his shoulder toward the kitchen, only to find Chloe at the bar watching him like a hawk.

She wasn't watching out of sadistic glee, not entirely at least, but to ensure that neither of them made a run for it. If she managed to get Zeryn to happily carry Hrothgar over his shoulder, through the city and into the café, he was fairly certain she, not the mention the other two Pinkettes, had the expertise to create an even more embarrassing method to pull two people into a date.

"Let's just sit down and get something to eat," Bertrand continued as he pulled out a chair, only to leave it and pull out the second chair to plonk himself down upon. "If we're lucky, they'll be content with that for now."

Hrothgar gave him a small, bashful smile as he idly brushed a strand of his hair from his eyes and lowered himself into the seat Bertrand had pulled out. "Yes, I suppose so. It honestly could have been a lot worse."

Bertrand, however, felt a frown tug at his lips when he noticed a white plaster bandage just under Hrothgar's hairline, hidden behind the thick bangs of his hair. "What's this?" he found himself asking the moment Hrothgar settled himself down into his seat and he lifted a hand to brush aside the hair so that he could get a better look.

"Oh, that?" Hrothgar said as he lifted his own hand, which subtly brushed against Bertrand's own before he gently pushed his hand away. "It's nothing. Just a minor graze left over from what happened yesterday. A rookie guild thought they could defeat a raptor without preparation. I found myself getting involved rather quickly."

For some inexplicable reason, Bertrand felt a surge of protectiveness rush through him, along with the urge to ask the seasonal protector to leave the rookies be and stop putting himself into danger because of them. He was more important to the longevity of the city and future guilds than those brainless rookies who made careless and reckless mistakes.

But Bertrand managed to bite his tongue. It wasn't any of his business what Hrothgar chose to do with his time in the labyrinth. So…

"You received a head injury?" he unwittingly asked.

Hrothgar gave him another somewhat sheepish smile. "Only a graze," he insisted. "No fractures or a concussion, so there's nothing to worry about. That guild managed to get away as well with only a few injuries of their own."

"Is that so?" Bertrand murmured as he lifted his drink to his lips and took a slow, drawn out sip.

He had to remind himself that, no, there was no need to hunt down that guild and give them a stern talking to. They've probably already learnt their lesson. There was no need to be that protective of another.

"You weren't thinking of putting the fear of god into them, too, were you?" Hrothgar unexpectedly asked.

"Why would you ask that?" Bertrand returned as he lowered his drink back to the table.

Hrothgar shrugged lightly as he reached for his own drink. "You just had a fiercely protective look on your face for a moment."

Bertrand unconsciously relaxed his features, only to feel the corner of his lips twitch into a half smirk when he heard Hrothgar chuckle under his breath at his reaction. "You've seen a few protective grimaces in your time?"

"Oh yes," Hrothgar replied. "I've even worn a few myself."

"Even so, you're more important than any of those rookies," Bertrand found himself stating before he could consider his words. "Make sure to put yourself first sometimes."

Hrothgar blushed lightly as he turned his gaze toward the open window. His eyes soften into an indescribable warmth as he brought his wine glass to his lips and took a slow sip. He seemed…subtly thrilled by Bertrand's comment.

For his part, Bertrand found himself gazing at the redhead himself. The way the candlelight shone in his eyes, the way the shadows danced across his skin, the ambience of the night; he really was quite beautiful.

"This isn't so bad," Hrothgar whispered softly.

Bertrand could only utter a word of agreement. "Yeah."

Good food, good drinks, good company; yeah, it wasn't all that bad actually. Oh he was sure the Pinkettes had other things planned, this was just a test to see what they could do or not do in a public restaurant.

He truly pitied the poor fools that were the Pinkettes' next targets.