R.K.'s birthday countdown: 1 day

Bold is emphasis

'This is a thought'

And no, I don't own Fire Emblem…so unfortunate…

11 HOURS

GEOFFREY

In a different circumstance, Geoffrey would have killed himself before he had let another woman in his tent. He knew he was a faithful, respective man who would never do anything to hurt the woman he loved, in this case, Elincia. But she had hit his male ego in a way he never thought was possible and he needed unbiased advise (which excluded Lucia and almost every woman he knew) to help resolve his dilemma.

"I just don't understand why she would do something like that…" Geoffrey said as he stared at the ground.

"Please, Commander. Don't beat yourself up about it. Tomorrow, when things have calmed down, you should go talk to her about it."

"The weird thing is that I don't want to…"

"That's the pain talking."

"But why should I? She loves Ike and she sleeps around with Boyd. It's clear that our relationship was one-sided."

"I saw the pain in her eyes when her secret was revealed in front of everyone. I could tell she regretted it."

"Laura, I hate to tell you that you're wrong…"

"Commander, you didn't even look at her face…"

"But I've known her since, well, forever and I could tell that she was ashamed to have been humiliated in front of everyone."

"There was also regret…"

"She regretted having been caught."

"Don't speak badly of her, you'll regret it later on…Now, get on your bed and rest for a while." Laura said as she stood up from the bed and tried to pull him up. (He had sat on the ground.)

Geoffrey sighed and sat on the bed. He pulled Laura down, making her sit next to him.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to look at her the same way…"

"Give it some time. Get away from her if you have to."

"I'm a Knight of Crimea and she is the Queen. I really can't get away."

"Then we have to think of something that will put your mind to ease, something that will make you happy."

"Do you have any suggestions right now?"

Laura nodded and stood up, "First, I would recommend that we go to sleep. We'll think better in the morning. Second, I would recommend that you avoid talking to her for the moment. You are clearly still in pain and I fear that you will say something that you'll regret later on."

Geoffrey pondered at the thought, taking his shirt off (unconsciously) and laying down on his bed. He threw it somewhere on the ground. "I guess that could work…"

Laura had turned away at the sight, blushing. "I will leave now…"

Geoffrey sat up, "Why?" he asked waiting for Laura to turn around.

"So that you can rest…" she said as she walked towards the flap.

He jumped off his bed and beat her there, blocking her exit and grabbing her shoulders. Nervously, Laura turned away again. "Laura, what's wrong?"

"You're…improper..." Laura said, trying not to giggle.

Geoffrey looked at himself and laughed, "I'm sorry. I didn't even notice…"

"Oh, Commander Geoffrey…"

He looked around for anything to cover himself up with, "Laura, you have to stop using the Commander prefix…"

She was still giggling, more because she was nervous, "Okay, just lie down again." Laura said as she pushed him towards the bed. He noticed that her eyes were focused on the ground. He laid down and Laura threw his blanket on top of him, not wanting to look at his naked torso any longer.

"Oh, Laura, you are much to kind to me." He said, smiling mischievously.

She giggled softly. "Okay, now I really have to go back to my tent…"

"You can't go out there by yourself. I'll take you." Geoffrey said as he got up.

"That really isn't necessary," Laura said shaking her head and looking away from Geoffrey, "I'm sure it's perfectly safe out there…"

THUMP!

Laura stopped and took a step closer to Geoffrey. He rushed to the flap and grabbed his lance that was nearby and he walked out.

Laura sat down on his bead, half scared at the noise and half scared that something would happen to Geoffrey. He came back in.

"Are you okay?"

Laura nodded.

He dropped the lance, "I suspect that someone was eavesdropping but I wasn't able to chase the culprit. I didn't want to leave you unprotected."

Laura was silent for a moment. Geoffrey sat down on the bed and put his arm around her shoulder. Laura couldn't help but blush.

"At least we know their gone. Now it's safe for me to leave."

"Like I said before, I'll walk you…unless you want to stay here…"

Laura stared at him and remained silent for shorter period of time. "No, let's go…"

CRASH!

Laura jumped in her place, hugging Geoffrey and forgetting that he was still shirtless.

"What za hell!" someone yelled outside.

Geoffrey walked outside with his lance, again.

"Commander!?" Astrid nervously shrieked.

Makalov tried to get on his feet, failing in the attempt. "Geoffs, zome idiot poot theez damned cratez in mah wey…"

"Lady Astrid, what's going on?" Geoffrey asked her, dropping his lance and helping Astrid pick up Makalov.

"Sir Makalov has just lost in a male competition and I'm trying to take him back to his tent…"

Geoffrey avoided a snort, 'Male competition…right…more like a drinking-until-I-make-an-fool-out-of-myself competition…'

He placed Makalov's arm over his own shoulder, "Come on, I'll help you." He said as they both carried him to his tent, which wasn't that far away. He walked Astrid to her own tent and ran back to his.

Laura had apparently fallen asleep in a very awkward position. Her body was twisted so only her torso was on the bed while her feet were still touching the ground. Geoffrey carefully grabbed her legs and placed them on the bed. She made no sound or movement that indicated that her sleep had been disturbed. He took off her shoes and threw somewhere. After making sure she was comfortable enough, Geoffrey grabbed some of his own clothes and laid them down on the floor. He blew out the tiny candle that had illuminated the tent and slept on top of his clothes.

But the night had been a cold one. Geoffrey opened his eyes when he felt the cold breeze hit his body. Half asleep, he sat up and looked at Laura. Her body was huddled up in a ball-like position. He then got up and in bed with her, hoping that they could both warm up. Her legs stretched out slightly.

***

Geoffrey woke up once more, a little after dawn. He turned to stare at Laura, who was still in the same position, her back to him. He leaned over her, as if to see if she was all right. He saw that there was a tiny smile on her face and it made him smile.

'She was right. A good sleep would clear my head…' he thought to himself as he turned and hugged her, whispering a soft thank you in her ear. The girl smiled as if she had been tickled. Geoffrey lifted his head and moved some stands of hair with his other hand. He played with it until he leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the cheek. He proceeded to contemplate her thin body, pulling the blanket to cover everything but her head and running his fingers all over her arm.

"Geoff…rey..."

Geoffrey frowned as he slowly turned around, not wanting to wake Laura up.

A wide-eyed Lucia and a red-faced Kieran were poking their heads in. Geoffrey sat up, blocking Laura's body from their sight, although not intentionally.

"Yeah…?"

Lucia gulped, "Um…if you're…" she turned to stare at Kieran.

Laura turned.

"…finished…?" he whispered softly.

Lucia nodded, "…there's an urgent meeting going on…"

Laura's eyes opened and she tried to sit up, but Geoffrey pushed her down. She hid under the blanket when she saw the two strangers.

"I'll be right there…" he said.

Both their heads disappeared.

Geoffrey turned to Laura and pulled the blanket off her head. "I'm sorry…"

She nodded and he saw that she was blushing. "It's okay…"

Geoffrey sat up and he mentally smacked himself. His sister and subordinate had just seen him shirtless…in his own bed…with Laura…and he had barely realized why they looked so surprised.