Oh, dear goddess, I love this pairing so much, probably as much as OscarxKieran. As far as stubborn insistence upon pairings goes, I actually will defend this one before GeoffreyxElincia or even IkexSoren. Anyway... it's fluffy! :-D

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She rolled over lazily to face him, features half-buried in red hair. "I wonder," she finally said, somewhat thoughtfully, if a bit muffled, her eyes still closed, "if anyone knows I'm here."

He couldn't help but smile. Having been awake for some time, he'd been watching her rouse little by little from slumber, face at first dreaming and peaceful, then stern and annoyed as she began to wake, and finally blissfully, lazily conscious. "Probably not. And if they did, no one would care. After all, everyone's known about us for how long?"

One of her shoulders raised in an infinitesimal shrug, graceful and white as the comforter slid from it. "Years," she murmured, voice like honey. Unable to stop himself, Rhys raised himself on one elbow and kissed the shoulder; as Titania shivered in obvious delight, he pulled the down comforter up over her bare skin. There was a vague sound from the courtyard outside; to him it sounded vaguely like someone's voice, upraised, perhaps arguing. Titania didn't appear to notice; warm all over once more, she snuggled closer. "Mmm. We don't have to get up anytime soon, do we?"

"No," he answered. Though she still hadn't opened her eyes, there was a curve to the corner of her mouth that he recognized, and her tone was unmistakable. "No, I doubt we'll be called for any earlier than noon. The Queen mentioned last night that she'd be holding promotions for the Knights around that time, and I'm not sure we rank any higher on that list."

"Good," she whispered, still half-asleep but in that dangerous state where rational thought was quite impossible. She'd been more than rational last night, Rhys reflected: nervous, actually. Having escorted a quarter of a platoon (most of them recuperating from serious injuries) back to Melior, the Greil Mercenaries were going to be thrown into profile once more. Nothing, in his experience, ever made Titania more upset than having the Mercenaries take the spotlight on the Crimean stage; like Greil, she wanted only to help people, and becoming heroes was not necessarily part of that deal.

Of course, he reflected distantly as she began to nuzzle even closer, warm, sleepy hands descending, Greil's motivations for being contra-popular had been totally different. He'd been in hiding, for one, trying to avoid the detection of Daein; beyond that, his daughter had been in custody of an extremely dangerous and closely sought medallion that could instantly turn anyone who touched it into a madman. Those were quite specific reasons for trying to evade the Crimean royalty's (or indeed, the general population's) high attentions…

Rhys gasped suddenly as her hands went lower than he'd expected, and as they did something even more unexpected, he made an even less dignified sound. "Do you really want," her husky, dreamy voice said, "everyone in the castle to know I'm here?"

Finally, he managed to reply, "N-no…but if you…" He felt himself dissolving somewhat as her lips descended on his, and that was all he could think of for a moment.

Abruptly both of them started, away from one another, as an outrageously loud bellow came from somewhere in the courtyard. Rhys felt his hair stand on end, convinced momentarily that someone had fallen out of a window, that the bandits had somehow penetrated Melior's outer defences, or that someone had decided to fight an early-morning duel and had been stabbed. Then another voice, raised in self-defensive protest, followed, along with another yell of anger.

He felt Titania relax at the same time as he himself realized who and what it must be, and her body shivered briefly with a soft giggle. "The goddess," he said faintly, "can't he even shut up this early in the morning?"

"I sincerely doubt it." She sounded much more awake now, and as she sighed, moving her hands back to his hips, he realized her intimate mood had been totally shattered by Kieran's vocal intrusion. It was probably just as well, Rhys reflected; though he could think of nothing more pleasant than another hour's fooling about, what he really wanted to do with Titania was talk.

"Well, at least we can happily know that he and Oscar are on the mend," he said. "If they're bickering like an old couple, which, by all accounts, it seems as if they are doing, then at least Kieran's got his verve back." Another few words were discernible, wafting through the courtyard; then suddenly silence reigned, breathless. Rhys couldn't help but laugh out loud. "And I'm willing to bet that Oscar just got the upper hand, as usual."

Titania's head shook against the pillow, her face buried in its downy fluff. "Those two. I missed them." Then she looked up, frowning a bit. "I wonder…" Blushing, she asked, "You and I both knew about them. Practically everyone in the Mercenaries did. I'm willing to bet that most of Fifth Platoon did, too."

"Hard to imagine that they didn't," Rhys murmured. "Kieran being so subtle and all."

She snorted, but he noticed that she wasn't as entertained as she usually would have been. And she was still blushing. "Delightfully so. I wonder, though… you say that everyone has known about you and I for a long time, too. Doesn't that… bother you?"

Rhys closed his eyes, wondering alongside her. Did it bother him? He knew why she had asked: the situation was somewhat comparable. Oscar, of course, didn't mind everyone knowing; he liked everyone, and they all liked him. But Kieran, oblivious to how obvious he was, probably still didn't know how many of the Mercenaries had (highly entertained but still respectful) given the two knights privacy for their "archrival" relationship. Rhys, having spent more hours healing the cavalier's gaping wounds and making sure he didn't split his head open, had gathered just enough information to know just how much it would bother Kieran to find that out.

Similarly, it probably bothered Titania that everyone knew. She was a terribly private person, if for completely different reasons than Kieran. On top of that, she still struggled daily with her former love, unfulfilled for close to ten years. But as for himself… "No," he finally answered. "No, it doesn't bother me if anyone knows. I mean, what would they say? Clearly it hasn't affected either of us negatively."

"But it doesn't bother you that we can't be… I don't know… affectionate around others?" she asked, somewhat hesitantly.

Surprised, he replied, "Who says we can't?" He himself had never been quite clear on that subject: but sensing that she would rather keep their relationship private, for one reason or another, he'd never made public overtures. Now that she was asking, though, it seemed sort of silly: which of the Mercenaries cared one way or the other if they slept together? Sure, he was a bit younger, but…

She, too, was clearly taken aback. "Well," she began, then frowned. He knew that she was trying to put on a casual face, but that his question had struck a nerve. Her face changed several times, too quickly for him to read its emotions. The sun was just beginning to illuminate the rest of the room; since they were on the east side of the courtyard, its rays didn't penetrate directly inwards but rather lit everything with a soft glow.

Finally, he couldn't watch her struggle with words any longer. This was, after all, almost a perfect conversation to lead into what he'd wanted to ask her in the first place. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that: I know you've wanted us to stay private, and so I've always complied. And if you can't explain why all of a sudden it bothers you that we do, well, I won't ask you to. But I love you, Titania. I realize this is a terribly unromantic way of putting it, but…" He sat up, taking her hand a little formally, and asked, "Would you like to get married?"

His heart sank a little at her face, as her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in obviously total surprise. But immediately it changed, to a strangely frightened but somehow hopeful expression, as if she couldn't quite believe that she'd heard what she wanted: satisfaction took over. "Not just for convenience, either. I mean, obviously if we get married then we can be as public as you like about our affections for one another. But…on a purely romantic note, I think we're meant to be together."

She nodded slowly, as if still a little bit in disbelief. In the back of his mind, Rhys thought that perhaps she was shocked at his forwardness. And to be fair, he usually wasn't the one who took the reins, not in their relationship or anywhere else. Being considered mild-mannered had definite drawbacks, but one of the perks was that you surprised people when you did or said something daring. "Well, yes, of course. Yes, let's do," she finally said, sounding totally bemused. "But I'm older than you—"

"By about four years, for heaven's sake."

"—and it won't be very long before I can't fight any more—"

"That's okay, I'll still be able to heal."

"—and I certainly won't be able to have any kids—"

"Not unless we adopt them, which we could."

"—and we'll finally have to tell your parents about us—"

"Titania," he said gently, feeling a little impatient. She stopped. "Stop giving me all your objections. You said yes."

"Yes, of course I said yes," she answered, softening. "I love you, too. I just… I don't want you to be stuck with me forever if you don't want to, that's all."

Rhys wanted to laugh aloud but managed to nobly stifle it. "Oh, dear… That may just be the silliest objection I've heard yet, love. You might be older, but think about it. I may not live another ten years, with my health."

"Don't say that," she said instantly, and for a moment he saw her lip tremble. Oh, no, he thought, with a faint surprise. She's much more upset about this than I thought.

"All right," he said, very gently. "But all I meant is that I've already thought of all those things. I just want you. And as long as I'm alive I know I won't let you want for anything… if that's even something you were worried about. If you'd still like to have children, we can ask around and see if any orphans have been found recently. My parents will be overjoyed, they love you. There are no real reasons."

There was a short silence, and finally she sniffled and beamed, sitting up and throwing her arms around him. "You're right. I'm being silly. Let's get married." Titania paused, and drew away, squinting at him. "Are you allowed to do that?"

Rhys opened his mouth, then stopped. "Um…" The truth was, he didn't really know. Mist and a couple other clerics had gotten married in the last few years, but to date he didn't know any priests who had. After the fall of the Begnion senate, there hadn't really been any hierarchy for priests to turn to. And while he remembered that marriage and sexual liaisons had been strongly discouraged when he was first in training, he also faintly remembered it only having been discouraged between priests. "Sure. Yes. I don't know why I shouldn't be allowed. Who's going to say I'm not, anyway? You're the commander."

She laughed; it had only been a question of curiosity. They embraced once more and kissed briefly, affectionately but with too much excitement to have it last long. "Oh, I'll have to tell Mist when I see her…" Titania said after they parted, fussing with her hair distractedly, evidently trying to pull it back into its normal braid. "It'll be another excuse to go shopping with her."

"That's the spirit," he said, laughing. "But I didn't really—"

"Rhyyyyyys!" The interruption of a cheerful female voice, coupled with energetic pounding, startled them both. "Rhys, are you awake!? I need your help!"

"Speak of the devil," Titania gasped, clutching her heart in mock alarm.

Rhys laughed, as Mist continued to pound on the door. "Rhys, would you get up!? I can't find Titania, do you know where she is?"

Titania snorted in mirth, burying her face in the covers to muffle the sound. Rhys cleared his throat. "Thanks for the wake-up call, Mist. And for the heart attack."

There was a giggle. "Sorry. But… Titania promised me that we'd practice sparring today! We haven't had a chance for so long, and now that we've got some leisure time I thought we could use the Knights' courtyard! She's not in her room, do you know where she is?!"

"She knows perfectly well I'm in here," Titania whispered. "She's trying to embarrass you. And me. I can't believe I forgot: I did promise to spar with her…"

He shook his head, reaching down to the floor to find a tunic. "I'm sure she remembers, Mist. She probably just ran off to talk with someone and got distracted." There was another semi-hysterical snort from the bedclothes, and he continued, "Try her room again, maybe she's back now."

"Okay," said Mist's voice, as blithely cheerful as ever. "How are you feeling this morning, Rhys?"

"I feel just fine, Mist, thank you. If you let me put on some clothes, I can come out there and we can have a real conversation about it, you know."

There was another burst of high-pitched giggling, this time gleeful and immensely entertained. "Hee hee… no, that's all right. Okay, I'm going to go see if I can find Titania again! 'Bye!"

Titania managed to keep in her laughter for another moment, until Mist's footsteps had receded down the hallway, and then let her mirth explode, face bright pink. "I'd better go," she finally said, gulping for air, "before she comes back again." She threw her arms around Rhys once more, and he felt his ribs creak as she hugged him tightly. "I love you. I'll tell Mist, if you don't mind, and then we can tell everyone else together. Later, maybe at dinner."

"Okay," he answered, pleased. She slid out of the bed, quickly pulling on shirt, corset, trousers, and boots. "Don't worry about anything. Anything at all. I'll see you later, after the promotion ceremony."

She smiled wordlessly, beautifully, for a moment as radiant as the dawn, the lines around her mouth barely visible, and dashed out the door. Rhys was tempted to follow suit, but immense laziness finally won out, and he laid back down. He would probably need the energy as the day went on; and anyway, Kieran would probably wake him up before long. That turned out perfectly, was the last thing he consciously remembered thinking, before falling back to sleep.