Love Letter Liaisons

Notes: Oh look! It only took me two years to update this story! I'm getting faster by the minute...no, actually, I spent the last two years writing German books and totally stopped fanfictions. This means it has also been two years since I wrote English and since I played Fire Emblem. Still, 80 percent of the chapter were done two years ago, so I figured I finally should update it...heh...bad thing is, I forgot what was supposed to happen as well...haha. Still, I updated, so yay to me!

Chapter 1: A misunderstanding

The sun had supposedly risen behind the thick, grey clouds quite a few hours ago, but barely a person was seen outside the tents. It had been snowing in the early morning again, crushing all hopes of leaving the secluded place in the next two days.

Those who were outside, however, were suddenly shocked by an ear-piercing scream coming from the direction of Hectors tent.

The lord had woken up a few minutes ago and decided to check his masterpiece of a letter again to correct maybe one or two mistakes before rewriting it. But after checking his bag twice and not having found it yet, he was beginning to panic.

"That's impossible...!" Unceremoniously, Hector emptied all his bags out onto the cold ground and rummaged around in the mess, but the letter was obviously gone. What if Eliwood had found it?! But Eliwood wouldn't search his bags, right? Right?!

"Where's my letter?!" Too panic-stricken to even think about one of the thieves, he rushed outside, grabbing the first person who crossed his way, shaking the poor warrior. "Where is my letter?!"

Sadly, the victim was no other than Florina.

It took three seconds until her initial shock wore off, but after that she did the only thing she was able to do: She screamed. Loud. Even Serra would have been proud!

Hector was sure he felt his eardrums break - and his breath knocked out of him when Lyn's elbow collided with his stomach.

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Matthew watched the racket from a save place behind a tent. Slowly, he reached for the sheet of paper he had taken, but completely forgotten after he had put the membership card and the gem into Guy's backpack.

While Hector and Lyn were obviously yelling at each other now, Matthew unfolded the paper. Right, this surely wasn't one of Hector's notes. Seemingly, the lord had put a lot of effort into this writing, given the fact that he had tried to make it readable.

"Oh shit..." Reading the letter, the thief got a good idea whatexactly he was holding in his hand, although he could hardly believe that Hector had written this piece of mush. Right, for once in his life he'd return something he had stolen - right now. For he had a good idea who the addressee of the letter would be...

Which proved harder than imagined because this was the second where Guy finally managed to overpower the thief.

With Matthew deep in thoughts, the swordmaster had been able to sneak up behind him and noticed the paper in his hands. It was messy writing - the oathpaper!

For once forgetting about his honor, Guy snatched the letter right out of Matthew's hand. "Ha! Finally!"

The thief whirled around, but Guy had already started to retreat. He had no intentions of ripping the oathpaper, but giving it back would result in one less favour for Matthew.

"No, wait, Guy! Don't read! Don't read!" Matthew yelped. Hector would kill him! He had to get the letter back!

But it already was too late. Guy's eyes widened. "That's a...love letter!"

"Yeah, but not for you! It's for Lord Hector!"

Well, that didn't come out right.

Guy stared at him, wide-eyed. Had Matthew just said he wrote a love letter to Hector? The swordmaster felt his mouth going dry. That was so...wrong. So really, really wrong!

...And why did it bother him so much?

"Wait, Guy, that's not..."

Guy tried to fake a smile. "It's okay. Sorry for prying. I won't tell." He walked back to Matthew, handed him the letter and sighed. "Oh yeah, and that's also from you, I suppose." Adding the membership card and the gem, he sighed. "So, yeah, see you around." And he turned around and ran away.

"Wait, damnit! Guy! It's a misunderstanding! I..."

But Guy was already out of sight.

Matthew cursed. That had not just happened! Sure, he liked to annoy Guy to no end, but he never, never wanted to make him sad! He had to explain, now! But then, he also had to give the letter back as soon as possible. That stupid thing had messed up enough things in his life already!

Starting to run after Guy, he nearly crashed into Sain who just came out of his tent. Perfect.

"Sain! You need to give this to Lord Hector as quickly as possible! Now! Please go!" The thief shoved the letter into Sain's hands, who blinked at him dumbfounded. "Please!"

"Err..okay?"

"Thanks! I have to hurry!" Quickly, Matthew followed Guy.

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Sain looked at the folded paper. Well, it had to be important and Hector could get grumpy if things weren't working, so he better hurried...

...or he could flirt with Rebecca and Louise, who just passed by, chatting cheerfully.

Well, damn.

Or not! For Kent walked towards him just now.

"Kent! Kent! Here, for you!" Trusting that the paper would most likely be addressed to Hector, he threw it towards Kent before running after the two women.

Kent sighed and picked up the paper. "For me? Now what has he done this time?" He unfolded it. "W-what!?"

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Guy sighed again - maybe for the 100th time in the last ten minutes. He was sitting on a stone near the camp, trying to figure out why he was sad as hell.

"Guy, what's up?" Eliwood stepped to him. "You don't look good."

"Oh, Lord Eliwood. I'm fine, really."

Eliwood sat down next to him. "Yeah, and that's why you look like Serra has bothered you for five hours straight...has she?"

Guy had to laugh. "No, she hasn't. It's just some private stuff, you shouldn't worry so much. You truly have enough to deal with."

Eliwood smiled. "Well, but I care for those who aid me in battle. So...Matthew bothered you again?"

Guy gave a wistful smile. "Yeah, Matthew. Nothing unusual. Really."

"I could talk to Hector about him, you know?"

The swordmaster winced visibly at that name. Eliwood frowned. "Guy?"

"I...no...you don't need to. I actually don't know why it's bothering me so much..."

"What bothers you?"

"Matthew is...in love."

Eliwood gave him a beaming smile. " I knew it! It was so obvious! Congratulation!"

"W-w-w-what?!" Guy stared at him. "So you know about him and Lord Hector!?" he blurted out before covering his mouth with his hands. He promised not to tell!

Eliwood stared back. "What?"

"W-well, he wrote him a love letter and...Lord Eliwood?" Guy looked at the lord, confused. Eliwood looked...shattered?

The young lord stared at the ground, biting his bottom lip. It looked like was deep in thought, but for a second, the myrmidon thought he had seen a tear…then again, right now he also felt like he'd start crying for no reason, so he suspected there were some pollen in the air. It obviously had to be hayfever time!

"Guy, tell me…do you want Matthew to get together with Hector?" Eliwood finally spoke up without looking at him.

'N-no, Lord Eliwood. I mean…it's none of my business, but somehow...I don't know. It doesn't feel right."

Eliwood finally raised his head again and looked at the other warrior. "But if it would make Matthew happy…and Hector, too. You know, Hector is my best friend and I really want him to finally find someone he loves, but I had always hoped, against all odds, that…well, you know."

"N-no, I am afraid I don't", Guy admitted. He had hoped to find a word of consolation, but Eliwood had managed to confuse him even more. "I just feel sad somehow and I can't explain why." A small chuckle escaped his lips. "Maybe I'm just so used to Matthew's annoying attention that a perspective with him being not around me so much actually scares me a bit. You know, loneliness and all that."

"Or you love him", Eliwood stated bluntly.

"W-what?!" Guy screamed a few octaves too high-pitched for the ears of the lord. "No, no, no! You misunderstood me! I mean, why would I love Matthew?! He annoys me, yes, you could even say he tortures me with my oathpaper! He has no manners, doesn't respect my privacy, my wishes or pleas…"

"And you deem him sexy."

"And I deem him se---wait, no!"

Eliwood smiled. "Guy, everyone can see that you two are meant for each other. Actually, I always thought that Matthew's habit of stalking you was his own way of showing you his love. But if he really loves Hector…" His voice trailed off.

Guy went silent. Clearly Lord Eliwood was mistaken…right? He hated Matthew! He only wanted his oathpaper and then he'd finally be freed of Matthew! Well, actually, it would be a little bit boring. Matthew always was cheerful and even when Guy was having a bad day, a little chase always managed to get his spirits up again. Well, or at least it brought his resolve back.

Maybe, yes, maybe he needed Matthew. At least a little bit. The thief had brought a sparkle into his life and the swordmaster didn't want to lose that. A tiny voice in his head whispered that this sparkle was called 'love', but he punched it into its tiny face…if a voice had a face, that is.

"Well, I suppose I should stop Matthew then…" Guy stood up. "Thank you for listening to my worries, Lord Eliwood."

The lord look up, his eyes wide. "You want to stop him? Stop him from claiming Hector?"

Guy winced at the thought of Matthew and Hector. "Yes. I don't really know why, but I will."

"Then I shall help you."

"What? But why? I-it's not that I don't appreciate your help, but…"

Eliwood shook his head. "Please, don't ask. Just be assured that I am Hector's best friend and if someone can convince him to avoid Matthew like the plague, it's me."

The other man thought about it for a second, then he smiled. "That is true. Thank you, Lord Eliwood."

"No, I have to thank you for your courage. Now, let's hurry before it is too late."

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"Wil!" Serra rushed towards the archer.

Wil smiled. He had just finished his breakfast and was about to go looking for Rath, but saying no to Serra was...difficult. "Ah, Serra, how nice to see you, say, have you---"

"Not now", she interrupted him. "Look, I'm searching for a letter. It's important that it gets found and there could be trouble if the wrong person reads it. So, if you haven't seen it, search and give it to me as quickly as possible! You got that?"

Wil looked kind of dumbfounded, but nodded. "Okay…but you know, it's kinda hard if you don't tell me what exactly I'm looking for, you know. But maybe I can ask Rath, he won't tell and read it, you know, he's pretty quiet and secretive and..."

"Yes, yes alright. You know, sometimes you are quite the talker. Be secretive now, you hear? No telling that it's me who's looking for the letter. Some people might jump to conclusions..." Serra sighed dramatically. Lord Hector was such a dunce sometimes! Why hadn't he asked her for advice?! And now he lost his letter! She bet it wasn't even good, as if someone like him could write something so delicate! No, the graceful hand of a woman like her should write a letter instead of him…well, considering that it was most likely crap and that she needed her beauty sleep, she had decided that some help was in order. And since the chatty archer, wow, what a gossip he was, was well-known, he probably would get the job done.
She nodded to him once more, then walked away. Erk needed to get her some breakfast later.

"...Wil." Rath appeared from behind the tent where Lowen served breakfast just a minute after Serra had left.

"Ah, Rath! Good thing you're here! I mean, not only for practice, but also because I'm looking for a letter!" Wil chirped. "You know, it's all secret and stuff, but I know you won't tell. Fact is...um...I need to find the letter quickly and it's an emergency, so if you find it somewhere, tell me, alright? But since it's kind of personal, don't read it, okay?"

Rath blinked. It seemed strange that the normally open archer kept secrets, but then, so did everyone, right? "...Alright. Now, I'll get the horse for training."

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"Eep!" Lucius squeaked when something red suddenly bumped into him and knocked him down.

"I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry!" a voice the monk identified as Kent called back before the knight took off again.

"Oh my." Lucius sighed and got up, trying to smooth down his robes. Then he noticed a letter on the ground, most likely from Kent. The knight, however, was already out of sight. Lucius picked up the paper. Kent had been in such a hurry, maybe it was a message which needed quick delivery? Biting his lip, the monk looked around. It wasn't nice to peek, but…

Carefully, he unfolded the letter. The writing was kind of messy and clearly not Kent's, still, it was legible enough that it made Lucius blush. Oh, how he wished Raven would write such lines for him one day...Lord Raven...?

Snapping out of his daydream Lucius read the letter once more. This letter…sounded like it was dedicated to Raven! "No..." He read it again and again. No, this could not be true! Maybe Kent was the addressee! "Yes, Kent!" Lucius chirped. Someone had sent a love letter to Kent and now the knight was off, looking for his love!

"...Excuse me?"

Lucius turned around. "Oh. Good morning, Rath." He smiled politely. The Nomad normally tended to avoid people if possible and even more rarely talked, so if Rath wanted something, it had to be important. "How may I help you?"

"...I am looking for a letter. Wil told me to do so, for it is important."

"Wil?" Lucius' eyes flew back to the paper in his hands. Wil and Kent? Well, they knew each other for quite some time...but he would have never thought that there was something like that between them. "Well, I indeed found a letter, but Kent dropped it by mistake...and..." Lucius stared at Rath. If Wil had lost the letter, it meant it wasn't for Kent at all. And the archer had pestered Raven quite often…

Rath looked confused when Lucius sat down on a nearby stone, suddenly pale. "...Can I have the letter now?"

"Ah...I...I..." Lucius clenched his fist around the paper. If Wil and Raven were meant to be happy, who was he to interfere? But it hurt so much... Sensing that Rath still waited for an answer, he made a resolve. "Yes, take it, but please, don't give it back to Wil right away." He handed him the letter. "You know about the letter...so...what do you think about it?"

Rath was silent for a moment. "...It is Wil's personal business."

Lucius sighed. "You are a good friend, Rath", Lucius told him. "Still, please keep hold of the letter for a few minutes. I need to talk to Raven about this first. But if he also returns the feelings I hope I can be as...supportive as you. I'll hurry now. Goodbye!"

Rath stood there, letter in hand and kind of confused when the monk left. What had he gotten into? Feelings...? No, he would not pry...he would not...but Wil was kind of fond of Raven...

And so, the letter was read once more.

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Sheba