a/n: hiya! Wow, I've been gone for a while. Babysitting twin nephews is time consuming haha. Also the next chapter of Save Me has me a little stumped. :/ Not to worry, it will be done.

This was requested by the lovely ThreeRainyDays! We've been talking back and forth and I'm so happy we're becoming friends because it seems like we're always making each other smile haha. :)

I have a strange love of randomly placing Tharja in these? I need to write one just for her. Also all the Eliwood references oy. I'm a fire emblem newb so I've only played awakening, but I've been watching playthroughs of Fe7 and I love it. I'm already shipping Eliwood x Ninian so hard.

Inigo and Owain's supports are so freaking sassy I couldn't resist including pieces of it haha.

by the red hair of Eliwood

OwainxNoire

A whole lot of eavesdropping leads to a fated romance.

"Give it back!"

Owain would never harm his friends under normal circumstances, but right now, he was certain he could kill Inigo. The dancer made sure to keep his distance as he mocked his friend with the book he held.

"You shouldn't have left it in the open."

"You shouldn't have gone in my tent!"

"Fair point. But now that I've discovered it, it's too good to simply just give back to you."

"Why are you doing this to me?!"

Owain screamed and lunged at Inigo, who jumped out of range and smiled. He opened the worn, leather bound journal and raised his nose in the air, making quite sure to sound as derisive as possible.

"Oh, Noire, your smiles are as bright as the sun, and your rage as red as the great Lord Eliwood's hair."

"Quit reading it!" Owain groaned. He fell to his knees dramatically. Unbeknownst to both of them, a girl was hiding behind a nearby tent, twisting a piece of her blond hair around her finger. Her face lit up with a wild blush. Noire hadn't intended to spy on them. (Father said eavesdropping was bad, but Mother did it all the time, especially when Robin was concerned.) Their loud theatrics had drawn her, and she was surprised she was the only one.

Inigo frowned. "Did you really just compare her to the color of some old dead man's hair?"

"Hey, he's just 'some old dead man' he-"

Before Owain could launch into the retelling of the legend, Inigo opened the book again. "Together, we could strike fear into hearts of even the greatest of our foes. I would be your loyal knight, ever so-"

"Hyah!" Owain threw his shoulder into Inigo's chest, causing him to break off his dramatic reading with a surprised gurgle. They wrestled on the ground for a moment, and got nothing out of it except elbows to the face and fresh new bruises.

Noire covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Hey!" Inigo yelled, shoving Owain off. "Okay, okay, take it!" He snapped the book shut and chucked it away from them. After snapping it up greedily and clutching it to his chest, Owain breathed in slowly, attempting to be rid of the redness flushing his face and neck.

"I cannot believe you, my most noble of companions, would be reduced to such scornful acts. O, how the mighty have fallen!" he cried, shaking his fist in the air.

Inigo shook his head and stretched out comfortably on the soft grass. "Perhaps you should name your next move 'Eternal Chastity', what with the way you speak of romance."

"Sure, why not? I've got the perfect teacher for it right in front of me!"

"Hey! No need to be that way, my friend. I'm merely saying that you're not as...experienced as I am in these matters."

"Yeah, that's why all those girls turn you down."

Inigo winced. "I'll have you know, I have a date for tonight."

"Your mother doesn't count, Inigo."

Noire burst into laughter, then quickly shoved her hands over her mouth. If they caught her, what would he think? She had settled down, content with watching them bicker, when all of a sudden someone else's hands slipped around her head and covered her mouth. She tried to scream, but the person fought back and shushed her.

"Gawds, Noire, what are you doing?"

Severa released Noire, and knelt on the ground beside her as the archer tried her best to calm her rapid heartbeat. "I-I'm not spying."

"It sure looks like it. But hey, if I can get some juicy information out of it, I won't judge," she said, winking. Noire wasn't sure what to make of it. The two of them focused their attention back on the boys. Owain had his arms crossed, and was pacing rapidly back in forth.

"I can't do that, Inigo. I'm not like you."

"Really, Owain, with your enthusiasm, it shouldn't be that hard."

"It's not like I-"

"Come on! You write all these pining, lovesick things, and you're afraid to tell her? Say what you will about me, at least I'm no craven idiot!"

Owain growled, but Noire didn't hear his reply, because Severa was shaking her.

"Did you hear that? He likes someone! It has to be you, Noire. Unless it isn't, but in any case, you have to tell him now, before it's too late!"

Noire's blush was made all the more fierce by the fact that she knew it was her. "W-Why would it be too late?"

Severa scowled, turning her eyes back to Owain and Inigo. "You can be so naive, gosh. Boys are fickle. They don't know what they want half the time, and it's up to us to lead them!"

"Oh so you'll go through with it this time? I applaud your courage, my friend," Inigo was saying.

"Yeah, yeah. Now are you off to get rejected again?" Owain shot back.

"Wait, what did we miss-"

Severa cut her off, grabbing her shoulders. "Great, he's decided. You have to move now!"

Noire stuttered a protest, but Severa was physically stronger, and managed to haul her up and shove her out into the open. It was as if fate had aligned behind them, because at the very same moment, Inigo pushed Owain toward the girls' hiding place.

The two crashed together in an awkward display of sprawling limbs. Owain attempted in vain to steady them, but ended up falling backwards, clutching Noire to his chest. Instantly, both of their faces were as red as Eliwood's hair.

Severa and Inigo stood back, muffling laughter and exchanging knowing glances.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Noire cried. She hastily stood to her feet.

Fearing the girl's infamous wrath, Severa quickly fled the scene, then came right back to eavesdrop in a place she wouldn't be noticed.

"Uh, um...No, don't apologize. The fault was...mine," Owain said, giving Inigo a pointed glare.

They stood there for a moment, staring at each other, and it wasn't until Inigo snickered that they realized they were still holding hands. Flustered, Noire finally erupted. "BEGONE, INGRATE!"

Inigo yelped and made himself scarce. Noire calmed down, and the two of them studiously avoided each other's eyes.

"I have something to ask you!" they broke the silence together, nearly screaming and startling Inigo and Severa, who lay hidden behind a different tent.

"You go first," Owain asserted.

"O-Okay. I managed to find some ingredients to make cakes. I was wondering...if you would like to try them, when I'm finished?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I would!"

Noire smiled brightly. "What did you have to ask me?"

"Not now," he said, twining his fingers with hers and leading her off. "Delicious confections await us! We can talk as you cook, Okay?"

"Deal."

The two set off, hand in hand. Back in their hiding spot, Inigo and Severa smiled to each other.

"That worked out perfectly," she commented.

"Yeah, now to-"

Both of them paused. A creeping feeling made the hairs on the back of their neck rise.

"My, my, eavesdropping, are we?"

Two screams split the air, and they fled, leaving Tharja alone behind the tent. The dark mage smirked, and slunk back off into the night.