Only three months this time, that's an improvement, right? Well, I hope you like this one, at least some romance.

If you find the characters a bit OOC, it was unintentional, I tried to keep them as much In Character as could, while making them behave like I wanted.

Disclaimer: FE doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent System.

A/N: By the way, english is not my first language, spanish is, I'm from latin america. I have a beta now, ThorHammer17, so I hope there's nothing wrong.

Chapter three:

"Loving you."

The room then fell into a comfortable silence, neither of the two bothering to do a thing about it, both too deep in their own thoughts.

ººººººººº

Eliwood stole occasional glances at the girl besides him, wondering if he should take this opportunity to confess his true feelings for her. No matter how much he wanted to tell her, the possibility of being rejected always stopped him.

What if she doesn't feel the same?, he thought.

Lyndis' train of thought wasn't much different from his. She wished to tell him how she really felt for him, but she couldn't, for she was certain she would be rejected.

I don't want him to feel guilty for not returning my feelings, she thought.

While she had been thinking, she had let her guard down for a few moments, her confident and cheerful façade had fell, letting her face show the sadness she felt at the moment. And it wasn't until Eliwood called her name that she became fully aware of her carelessness.

"Lyndis, what's wrong?"- he asked, concerned.

"W-what are you talking about?"

Eliwood grabbed her hand, sending a shiver through her body.

"For a moment there you looked very… somber and hurt, as if you were going through a lot of pain. What's wrong?"

Lyndis looked at him, feeling troubled. I can't tell him… I just… can't…

"Lyn—"

"I'm sorry, Eliwood."

The Pheraean lord was surprised to hear that. "What for?"

"Your father… You don't deserve go through that kind of pain…"

He stayed silent, although admittedly he had nothing to say. He was confused. He knew something was troubling her, something beyond his father's death.

She looked so sad, so… heartbroken… Yes, it had to be something else. But then, why would she lie to him? Didn't she trust him? Weren't they friends? Because no matter how much he wanted them to be something more, how much he wanted her to love him, she only saw him as her friend. And the least he could do was to be a good friend and help her with whatever was troubling her.

Lyndis could feel his gaze on her, but she refused to meet his eyes. Her heart was aching too much, and she was sure that what remained of her confidence would melt if she looked at him, so she focused on the fire.

"Don't be a fool… You can't tell him… He loves Ninian… If you tell him, you'll just end up heartbroken… You are just a friend to him, so don't do something foolish… Or can you bear the thought of him rejecting you?"- chided a little voice at the back of her head.

No… I could not bear that pain…

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she closed her eyes thigh, scolding herself mentally, for she was sure she had let her guard down again, for the umpteenth time that night.

"Lyndis?"

"Yes?"- the young woman, turned to look at him, trying to seem cheerful so to not worry him, however she could see clearly the concern in his eyes.

"Please, tell me what it is that's bothering you, because I know it's not my father's death, Lyn."- he rarely called that anymore.

Lyndis resisted the urge to look at him, keeping her eyes locked on the fireplace.

"Let me help you… please…"

"You can't help me."- she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"There is nothing you can do to help me…"

Eliwood tried to catch her eyes, but to no avail.

"There must be something I could do, anything…"- he moved to kneel in front of her, finally meeting her gaze. "I'll do anything to make you smile, I don't like to see you sad."- he grabbed her hands.

Lyndis looked as though she was about to cry and she averted her gaze again. Why did he have to be so kind? "I can't tell you…"

"What? Why not? Aren't we friends?"

She bit her lower lip.

Friends, only friends, that's what they were.

"That's why I can't tell you, because we are only friends."

Eliwood was surprised and a little confused by her words. What was that suppose to mean?

"I don't think I understand…"- he said.

Lyndis held back her tears, mentally reminding herself not to break down, again, and she turned to look at him. "Can't you see, Eliwood? I can't tell you, because if I do, I'll end up hurting you… You'll feel guilty and that will hurt you… I know it…"

"Lyn, nothing that you do or say will hurt me, really. So, please, tell me what's wrong."

"But it will hurt you!"- Lyndis stood up, walking a few steps away from the fireplace, putting as much distance between them as she could.

Eliwood stood up as well, not knowing what to do; he walked a little closer to her, just within arm's reach.

"Lyndis… it's all right, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to…"- he said, grabbing her arm softly and pulling her to him slowly, giving her the opportunity to stop him, but she didn't, so he hugged her, trying to comfort her, without much success. "It's all right…"- he whispered, feeling as his shirt began to dampen.

The young Lord was utterly surprised by recent events; he could not have guessed that she could carry so much pain inside, because she was always was the first person to offer a supporting smile to whoever needed it. But if she needed support right now, he would be more than happy to give it to her.

Then, suddenly, Lyndis pulled away from his grasp, looking quite upset.

"Why, Eliwood?"- she began. "Why do you have to be so kind to me?"

Eliwood was confused, but said nothing.

"Why do you have to be so… so perfect?"

"I don't—"

Lyndis cut him off.

"Why can't you be an insensitive fool, so I won't have a reason to love—!!"- she gasped, cutting her sentence, not fully believing that she almost confessed her feelings in a moment of frustration.

Eliwood found himself somewhere in between shocked and utterly confused. "Lyndis…?"

Was she really going to say what he thought she was going to say? Oh, he needed to know.

He tried to search for any sign it would give away what she was thinking, but her expression was blank. Sometimes he wished she would allow him to see through her façade, but Eliwood knew that, in order for that to happen, they needed time. And right now, he didn't have time.

Lyndis turned around and began to pick up her things; her clothes were dry. "Damn you."- she muttered under her breath.

Eliwood, however, heard her, but didn't know if she was talking to him or to herself.

"Hey…"- he tried to touch her shoulder, but she flinched, stepping away; that hurt.

"No, Eliwood… I'm deeply sorry, I shouldn't have said that…"- she said, walking a few more steps away from him. "You have someone else to love and I don't wish to get in the way…"- she whispered very softly.

The young man only caught the last part of her whisper. What did she meant by 'get in the way'? Then, it hit him. She thought he was courting someone else.

"Lyn, wait!"

She was standing by the door already, and looked ready to go. "No, just… forget what I said, okay? It will be better for all of us… Goodnight, Eliwood."- she grasped the door knob.

It's better this way… I'll get over it, eventually.

Eliwood rushed to her side before she could step out of the room, he grabbed her upper arm, stopping her. Very quickly, he spun her around and pulled her close to him, closing the door in the process. He knew what he was about to do was highly improper, but right now he cared very little for what was or wasn't proper.

The young Lady didn't have time to utter a word of protest, for she was silenced by a tender, loving and beautiful kiss. She froze on the spot, not knowing what to do, but then, slowly, she relaxed and leaned into the kiss.

The Lord of Pherae sensed this and allowed his arms to surround her, one of his hands went up to her neck and the other settle itself at her waist, bringing her body closer to his. He pinned her to the door and added a little pressure into the kiss, still very tender and delicate.

The need of air became too much to be ignored and so they parted. They took deep shaky breaths, trying to calm the torrent of sensations inside them; neither daring to open their eyes for fear of seeing a sign of rejection.

It was Eliwood who first decided to open his eyes and face whatever would come. He could only stare at the sight of her: head against the door, tilted backward, mouth slightly open, taking deep breaths, cheeks flushed. For Saint Elimine, she was beautiful.

"Why…"- she whispered and opened her green eyes. "…why did you kiss me, Eliwood?"

There was something about the way she spoke that question that made his heart skip several beats; it demanded and, at the same time, begged for an answer, as if everything depended on it. Unfortunately, he never got his chance to give her said answer.

"You don't love me… so why?"

Everything became clearer after that statement and Eliwood found the answer to his previous question, her unfinished (and half-yelled) question completing itself in his head. She had been about to say what he thought she would. It was not difficult for him to put two and two together and drawn a conclusion. He was almost one hundred percent sure that Lyndis thought he was courting someone, and she probably thought he was in love with this certain someone, too.

She cannot think that I…

Eliwood opened his mouth to explain, to tell her she was wrong to think he was courting someone, but what came out was not what either of them expected to hear, not yet anyway.

"But I do love you."

Shock was written all over Lyndis' face and Eliwood felt as shocked as her, neither could believe what had been said. She couldn't believe he felt that way towards her and he couldn't believe he had had the courage to confess.

Emotions were running rampant inside both of them, some foreign and some familiar, all melding together in a strange, beautiful rush. Eliwood did recognize the strongest one, for it was the one he had been feeling ever since he saw her again in Caelin.

It was love.

"You… love me?"

Eliwood smiled at the glimmer of hope he saw in her eyes, that was enough for him to believe she might love him as he wanted.

"Yes, I do love you, very much."

He had said it, he truly had. All she had to do now was follow his lead and tell him exactly how she felt for him.

"Really?"

He hugged her close to him, kissing her forehead tenderly; he could tell she was afraid, though of what, he didn't know. "I wouldn't joke with something like that, you know."

Lyndis nodded.

"Now, come on, let's go back to the fireplace, the temperature is probably dropping."

Eliwood began to lead her back to the fireplace, but Lyndis tugged at his hand, stopping him. He turned around and was greeted by a tender smile, making him blush.

Lyndis resisted the urge to giggle, feeling suddenly as if a weight had been lift off of her shoulders after his confession. It felt good.

"What is it now?"- he asked.

"Nothing… I just… I think it would be better if I went back to my room; dawn will come soon."- she said. "I don't want anyone to worry or jump to conclusions, which will happen if they don't find me in my room by then."

"Ohh…"

Lyndis moved closer to him, pulling herself up to his cheek, she kissed him. All her usual confidence departed for that instant, she felt like a shy little girl. She kissed his lips then, ever so lightly, almost not touching them at all, and pulled away before he could respond.

"Good night, Eliwood, sleep well."

When she turned around, Eliwood's hand moved on its own accord and grabbed her wrist. Lyndis turned around, tilting her head to the side in a questioning manner.

"Stay."- he said. "Stay with me… just for tonight, please…"

Lyndis began to blush slowly when his words started to sink in. "E—excuse me?"

Eliwood, too, blushed once he replayed his words in his mind.

"I—I didn't mean it that way!"- he stammered.

"I think it's… all right, then…"

Eliwood took her hand and lead her back to the fireplace; her things were lying forgotten on the floor next to the door. Once they were all settled, they remained quiet for a few minutes, just enjoying each others' presence, until he broke the silence.

"Lyndis?"

"Yes?"

"May I ask you something?"

Lyndis smiled amused, because he just asked her something, but said nothing and only nodded.

"Well, I really don't know how to say this… but I need to hear it from you to be sure I'm not dreaming any of this…"- he took a deep breath.

Confused, the lady of Caelin opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't say a word when he looked into her eyes.

"Do… do you love me?"

By the look on her face, he knew she was not expecting that question and he almost hated himself for having to ask it, but he knew it was necessary. He really, really, needed to hear it, loud and clear.

"I…"

Lyndis was speechless; he couldn't be seriously asking her that, she had been very obvious with how she felt towards him in the last minutes (probably more than she'd liked it), she had practically screamed it (sure, the confession never leave her lips fully, but Eliwood couldn't be as dense as to not hear it hanging in the air afterwards).

"Eliwood…"

There was a tone of finality in her voice that made him flinch. Oh Elimine, he was wrong. He misunderstood the signs. She didn't love him, she didn't love him, she didn't love him… she didn't love him.

The pain began to crawl under his skin and it must've been showing in his face, for he found himself being engulfed in Lyndis' arms a moment after he acknowledged the throbbing sensation in his heart.

"It's not what you think, Eliwood, I do feel the same as you, really… but, right now, I don't think I can say it…"- she whispered tenderly and somewhat sadly. "I can't quite explain why, but I can't… I will say it, eventually, I promise… but not right now."

The pain ebbed away and Eliwood was inexplicably reminded of the slaughtering of her tribe, the sorrow he felt when his father life came to an end and the heartbreaking sobs that escaped her in the middle of their sparring. And, suddenly, he understood why she couldn't say it at the time, what was holding her back.

So, he smiled, because everything was fine and clear, because he hadn't been misleading himself. And he wasn't going to push her, he could wait until she felt ready, and till that day, Eliwood was going to stay by her side, showing her how much he loved her.

"I understand…"- he said.

I'll wait as long as you need, because I love you, don't forget that, Lyndis, he added in his mind.

"Thank you…"

Eliwood kissed her forehead and pulled her into his lap, sliding his arm around her waist and, oh, how good it felt having her in his arms. He smiled when she snuggled up into him and his mind focused on her completely, forgetting just for tonight his worries about the uncertain fate the awaited for them in Bern; tonight, it was just the two of them.

Lyndis breathed deeply, trying to fight the tiredness that washed over her so suddenly; she was emotionally drained from the past several hours. She struggled to keep her eyes open, but the movement of the fire and the soft sound of Eliwood's heart beating, lulled her slowly to sleep.

When the young man felt her relax in his arms, he lowered his gaze to find the young Lady already asleep. A little smile made its way to his lips and he sighed deeply, content to have the woman he loved in his arms. He shifted his position slightly until he was comfortable. He knew that he would cherish that one moment forever.

To be continued…

Okay, that is all for now. I don't know when will be next chapter, but I'll try to finish it as soon as possible.

Your comments are always welcome!!