Kieran was sent with a invitation to the Greil mercenaries. He was...torn in his duty. On the one hand, it was a mission from his beloved Queen, it was a chance to see old comrades, and more than that it was a chance to see his arch-rival, Oscar. On the other hand, it was a chance to see Oscar.

As he rode, Kieran was left with an unusual amount of time to think. His feelings were...confusing. He had been calling Oscar his rival for years, since that horse race when they were fresh recruits. He had focused on being better than his "archrival" to the point of where he hadn't even noticed when Oscar left. He was furious, but, his rage drove Kieran to strive even harder, he would be the greatest knight Crimea had ever seen, and then he'd find Oscar and rub it in his face. At least, that had been his intention when he was a much younger loudmouth.

After a few years, he was still thinking about Oscar, the boy who had been better than him, yet always calm and patient. Kieran had gone half mad with questions about why his "rival" had left. Maybe Kieran's great prowess had frightened Oscar off, but...Oscar had always beaten him, so that seemed unlikely. He worked harder as a new knight, striving to be the best knight Crimea had ever seen, so that when he found that squinty lying coward, he could give him a proper interrogation.

Then the war came, and as he sat in that dungeon only three thoughts went through Kieran's head. Is Princess Elincia alright? Is General Geoffrey fairing well? And always, in the back of his head, Is Oscar still out there? Words, even those shouted loudly into the face of his "rival" couldn't echo what Kieran had felt when he realized that Oscar was the one freeing him from his cell. Thoughts, questions and emotions had rocketed through the knight's brain as he tried to make sense of the situation. Oscar, whom he had wondered about for years, was a mercenary in the service of none other that Princess Elincia! That knowledge alone carried Kieran through the battles to come.

Then, he had met Marcia. She was (as others put it), Kieran's perfect match. Both were (again, as others put it) loud, strange, and all together far too stubborn for ANYONE'S good. He was polite to her, and she was (as others once again put it, loudly, and directly in Kieran's ear) head over heels for him. But his thoughts about her seemed to vanish as Oscar walked into the room and was berated loudly for some minor infraction that not even Kieran was sure existed. He could never put his finger on what it was about the other knight, but they were drawn to one another. It was obvious to everyone, even Kieran, that the two of them worked best together. He had even pointed it out during the Goddess War. There was always Marcia, the pegasus knight who was perfect for him. They had shared a single night, once, clinging together in the throws of passion, but even that was a dim memory compared to every moment with Oscar.

Kieran rode on through the night, pondering his pseudo-relationship with Marcia and his complicated feelings for Oscar. He looked up and noticed the familiar fort in front of him and smiled. There was a lantern lit and sitting in a chair, spear beside him, was a figure that Kieran would have known even if he had been blind.
"Waiting for me! Perhaps an ambush? I would expect nothing less from a coward such as yourself!"
"Is that you Kieran?" Oscar shouted back, raising his light to see a little farther. His lips cracked into a smile and he walked forward quickly to help his old friend with his horse. Kieran half leapt from the saddle.
"I, Crimean Royal Knight-" a hand was clamped over his mouth before he could finish.
"Everyone's asleep Kieran." Oscar said with a smile, his hand was warm against Kieran's face, "Come on in, rest, and tell them in the morning." Oscar pulled his hand away, picked up his lantern and spear, and walked inside, leading his old friend and the horse.

Kieran slept in Oscar's room, the two men had grown used to sleeping side by side during the war and, much though he was loathe to admit it, Kieran slept better knowing that Oscar was within arms reach. He had rationalized this as being a way of "Keeping an eye on the treacherous squinting devil" but at the same time he would admit that it was nice having someone else watch your back.

"Ahem." Kieran said loudly, addressing the Greil mercenaries as a whole as he stood before them in the mess hall. "Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elincia Ridell Crimea-"
"We know who the queen is, Kieran!" Boyd shouted.
"Shut up and give us the message, Kieran!" Shinon added on, angry at having been greeted with Kieran as the "cure" to his hangover.
"Let the man speak." The red-haired deputy commander said, in unison with Oscar.
"Heaven knows we won't be able to stop him." Soren's voice was barely audible over the clamor. However, the group settled down when Ike gave them all a meaningful glare that reminded one or two of them (mostly Gatrie and Boyd) a little too much of their old boss in a bad mood. Ike looked at Kieran,
"You were saying."

"Yes. There is to be a Gala held at Castle Fayre in aproximately 9 days. You are all invited, nay, asked, to attend." There was a little bit of discussion before Ike asked for everyone's opinion.
"For it," said Boyd,
"Same," Mist echoed
"It'll be nice to see our old comrades," Titania said. Shinon grunted, Gatrie laughed and nodded, Mia and Rhys echoed their approval.
"I don't want to," Soren said angrily, but he caught Ike's eyes and sighed, "fine." Kieran looked at Oscar, catching the man's smile.
"I think it sounds like fun, do you have any other invitations to deliever, Kieran? Or are you staying here with us?"
"Um..." Kieran ran the question through his head, "I need no charioty from you, you squint-"
"Yea, you can stay." Ike said, interruppting. "Soren, can I speak with you for a moment?"
"Yes, sir." Soren said, and the two left, causing a slew of giggles from a number of mercenaries.

"Do they really think they're hiding anything?" Shinon said smuggly to Gatrie, the blonde man laughed in reply.
"They're almost as bad as Oscar and-" Gatrie was silenced by three hands (belonging to Titania, Rhys, and Boyd) clamping themselves over his mouth. Oscar flushed bright red and walked out towards the stables. Leaving a single question burning in Kieran's head and emotion that he might have (if Oscar hadn't been a boy and Marcia hadn't been "perfect for him") confused for jealousy.
Oscar and WHO????