There were only a few scraps left from dinner by the time Felix and Eve got to the dining hall. Felix had sat her down at the end of one of the long tables and she waited patiently as he retrieved whatever food was left.

In the end, they had a couple of rolls, some bone broth, and a plate of roasted vegetables that had been slightly burned. But in their exhaustion, they were happy to have any food to eat.

"You're not angry with me." Eve noted as she tore off a piece of a roll, dipping it in the broth before bringing it to her mouth.

"Why would I be?" Felix paused his eating to frown at her.

"Well…" Eve paused.

It struck her as odd how both Dimitri and Felix had reacted rather uncharacteristically to her use of her Crest. She expected Felix to be angry with her because Dimitri had been. But instead he didn't seem much bothered by it.

He had been angry with her when they were fighting, smacking her hand away when she used her Crest on him. And she had expected for him to resume that anger once they got out of their battle.

"If you're talking about using your Crest, the Professor told you to." Felix said when Eve didn't continue. "What else were you supposed to do?"

"I suppose you're right." Eve muttered, still in thought.

"I don't like the way you use your Crest." Felix grimaced at his food. "But it's a strategic advantage that we'd be stupid to ignore on the battlefield."

There was a pause as he took a rather aggressive bite out of his roll, eyes still fixed on the food before them rather than Eve's face.

"Besides." He said quietly with a small blush. "You promised you wouldn't die."

"And you believe me?" Eve asked with a hint of incredulity.

"Shouldn't I?" Felix raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's just I don't exactly have the best record when it comes to telling the truth." Eve explained. "I guess that says a lot about me that I'd be surprised someone trusts me."

"You wouldn't lie to me." Felix said with an astonishing level of certainty, fiercely holding Eve's gaze. "You've put yourself in difficult positions just to tell me the truth."

"I adore you." The words slipped out of Eve's mouth before she could stop herself, surprising even her.

Felix blushed at that, returning his gaze to his vegetables. "Y-you too."

"Hm?" Eve cocked her head to the side curiously.

"You too." He said slightly louder, clearing his throat. "I, uh, adore…you."

Eve couldn't help the laugh that burst from her lips, clasping a hand over her mouth as soon as the sound escaped. Felix glared at her, unamused, as his face became increasingly flushed. They were both grateful, albeit for different reasons, that the dining hall was devoid of any life except for them and two cooks that were far too busy in the kitchen to pay them any mind.

"What's so funny?" He asked, his features fluctuating between anger and embarrassment.

"Would you hate me if I said you looked cute when you said that?" Eve's voice still held the lilt of laughter as she smiled at him.

"I wasn't trying to be cute." Felix grimaced. "But… I'll allow it. Just this once."

"How very generous of you." Eve grinned, clearly enjoying herself.

"Whatever." Felix clicked his tongue, though the corners of his mouth betrayed him as they pulled ever so slightly into a smile.

They both returned to their food in silence, simply enjoying each other's company. Eve could feel the fetters of fatigue settling around her, but she was reluctant to forfeit this time with Felix. Right now, they had an excuse to be like this—alone together late at night. But who knew when next they would be able to have a moment like this. When could they truly sit together and speak freely and enjoy each other's company?

However, Felix was also clearly feeling the effects of the battle they had just endured. It was late and they were battle worn and, though neither of them wanted to admit it, they were both in need of rest.

"Let me walk you to your quarters before you fall asleep sitting here." Felix stood and grabbed Eve's plates before she could protest.

He walked away to return their dirty dishes to the now empty kitchen and Eve watched him carefully. He truly did reminder her so much of his brother. Every step he made was intentional; every movement fluid and yet solid. Even at this age he truly had the makings of a wonderful knight. She knew he would hate to hear that, though. Felix's feelings regarding knighthood and chivalry were a mystery to none.

It reminded her of when Glenn's belongings came home. She had watched their family fall apart, stood by Rodrigue's side as he said those words that buried the seed of resentment in Felix.

"He died like a true knight."

Eve always knew it had been Rodrigue's way of rationalising Glenn's death to himself. He told himself, told her on many occasions, that Glenn had died an honourable death, that his life had not been snuffed out meaninglessly.

Rodrigue could continue to live with himself if he believed that Glenn had died like a knight rather than like a pig at the slaughter. But his words always made it seem as if he hadn't truly cared all that much for Glenn.

It was why Eve always understood Felix's resentment for his own father. He had idolised Glenn, cared about him much more than he had ever cared about anyone else.

"Eve." Felix's voice snapped Eve from her thoughts. "Ready?"

She nodded and stood, pushing in her chair quietly. She fully expected Felix to ask what was on her mind. After all, she wasn't foolish enough to believe that her trip down memory lane hadn't been evident on her face. But he said nothing as they left the dining hall and walked through the courtyard towards her room.

And in the darkness, lit only by the moon above them, Eve made a realisation. As he walked several paces before her, silent as ever, she realised she adored Felix for the simplicity of him.

That wasn't to say he was simple, no. But being with him like this was. He didn't ask questions, didn't pry. Eve wasn't sure if this was because he simply didn't notice or because he respected her enough to not mention anything.

It was why being with Dimitri could be so tiring. Despite all her best efforts, the prince seemed impossibly adept at seeing through her. He would pick up on her slight inflections, the tiniest shift in her brow, and ask what was bothering her—desperate to help.

Sylvain at least had the courtesy not to say anything. But he wasn't exactly cunning when it came to his attempts to cheer Eve up. Whenever her mind was preoccupied, Sylvain would suddenly have a new restaurant in town he wanted to try. She knew he at least wouldn't ask, but it was embarrassing none the less to know just how much of herself she betrayed.

But it was never like that with Felix. He seemed to trust her, however earned or not, that she would tell him the truth of what was on her mind. Perhaps it was because he himself didn't divulge his inner thoughts to others that often. But whatever the reason, Eve found herself enjoying that simplicity as they made the unfortunately short walk to her quarters.

"I guess, uh," Felix looked away as they stood at her door, rubbing the back of his neck, "goodnight."

"Thank you for having my back on the battlefield." Eve said softly.

"Same goes for you." Felix's eyes flickered to hers, a small smile forming on his lips. "You're one hell of a fighter. I like having you on my side."

"Always with the fighting with you." Eve exhaled in resignation, shaking her head though her lips curled up into a smile.

"Get some rest." Felix said firmly. "You need it."

"Same for you." Eve smiled and nodded.

And though their conversation was done, neither made a move to leave. Felix stayed rooted to the spot, watching as Eve made no motion to open her door and step into her room.

Swiftly, Eve let her eyes scan around the surrounding area. When she was satisfied that there was not a single pair of prying eyes to be seen, she quickly leaned in to brush her lips against Felix's.

"Goodnight, Felix." She said once she had pulled back.

"G-goodnight." Felix stuttered, looking away as he brought his closed fist up to his face in an attempt to hide the blush on his cheeks.

Sufficiently embarrassed, Felix walked away without looking back at Eve. And though he chastised his heart for how it hammered away in his chest, he couldn't help the warmth he felt.

With Flayn rescued and now a member of the Blue Lions class, the rest of the Horsebow Moon passed rather peacefully. And though the thought of the Death Knight and the Flame Emperor loomed heavy on every mind, everyone also seemed rather happy to accept the momentary quiet.

Though no one was as grateful for the peacefulness as Eve. Thanks to the Professor telling Seteth she had been instrumental in Flayn's rescue, Eve no longer had to contend with the Archbishop's right-hand man breathing down her neck. He seemed to give her a begrudging distance as if to say he was thankful for her help, yet he still didn't fully trust her.

Eve didn't mind, though. She didn't need Seteth to trust her, she just needed him to leave her alone.

There was another reason for Eve to enjoy the quiet that filled the remainder of the Horsebow Moon. Because everyone within the monastery walls was feeling safer than they had the previous months, it meant less knights patrolling Garreg Mach. There weren't prying eyes around to see things and spread rumours.

And as such, Felix and Eve had been able to create tiny moments for themselves to be together. While Eve was still quite careful about who she was seen alone with, she allowed herself the luxury of kisses stolen in shadowed corners and words spoken softly over the clash of steel in the training grounds.

Despite herself, Eve found her heart growing fonder for Felix with each of their secret trysts. It was just so easy to be with him. They didn't talk about Dimitri or what would happen come the Ethereal Moon. Felix didn't ask questions when Eve got that far off look in her eyes that came with memories of the past; he didn't pry about little things like when Eve's fingers became increasingly bandaged.

For Felix's part, the time they spent together that moon solidified his unwillingness to give Eve over to the boar. Too much did he enjoy clashing sword with her and revelling in her fighting spirit. In all that had happened, he had almost forgotten that the fire that ignited in her eyes when she fought was the whole reason he had been drawn to Eve.

This was not to mention that some small part of Felix relished the rebellion that came along with involving himself with Eve. She was promised to the boar, yet she chose him. And this was made even more satisfying by the fact that the boar prince had foolishly fallen in love with Eve.

However, the boar prince continued to be a thorn in Felix's side. He constantly had to watch the two of them eat together, have tea together, walk around the monastery together. And ever since Ferdinand had joined their class, the Professor no longer had Dimitri acting as a cavalry unit. Now, he was always placed on the ground right next to Eve.

Felix had once asked Eve why she spent so much time with the boar. She explained that while it was now known their marriage was arranged, she still had to act as though it was something she wanted. Something about it reflecting badly on both the Church and the crown if she appeared to be coerced into this marriage.

"I have to go, Felix." Eve said one weekend afternoon as they trained.

"I thought you had the whole day free." Felix frowned.

Today there was the celebration of the founding of the Alliance, so everyone had been given the day off. The Professor didn't even have them going out on a skirmish like she usually would have them do on a weekend.

"I have tea with Dimitri." She offered a sympathetic smile as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "I need to wash up before I see him."

"You'd think the boar has some kind of tea addiction with how often he asks for you." Felix grimaced as they returned their training weapons to their rightful spots.

"Come now," Eve placed a kiss on the tip of Felix's nose, knowing full well they had the training grounds to themselves at the moment, "jealousy doesn't look good on you."

"Who's jealous?" Felix growled, turning swiftly to push Eve into the pillar behind her—obscured from the view of the door should anyone come in.

"You tell me, Felix." Eve smirked, quirking a challenging eyebrow up at him.

With a throaty snarl, Felix descended upon Eve's lips fervently. His hands held her firmly in place, his fingers sinking into the flesh at her hips as his teeth pulled at her lower lip.

"Mmph. As much as I'd love to stay and talk," Eve breathed as her tongue darted out to soothe her swollen lip, "I've really got to go."

"Forget the boar and his tea." Felix moved in again to capture Eve's lips.

"You know I can't do that, Felix." Eve lightly chastised him as she brought her hand up to stop his advance, pressing two fingers to Felix's eager lips. "A few of us from the class were going to have dinner with some of the Golden Deer tonight, will you join us?"

"Who's 'us'?" Felix pulled back though his hands stayed firmly on her hips.

"I think Ashe, Dedue, and Sylvain all said they'd join Dimitri and I." Eve pursed her lips as she thought. "Annette and Mercedes already had plans, and I'm not sure what Ingrid's doing. As for the Deer, I'm not sure who else Claude managed to rope in."

"Yeah, whatever, I'll be there." Felix conceded.

It wasn't like he particularly wanted to go, but he could already imagine how good of a time Eve would be having with them. Felix especially didn't want to think about leaving her alone with both Claude and Sylvain.

"Good." Eve placed a kiss on Felix's forehead as she stepped out of his grasp. "I'll see you then."

She walked away briskly before Felix could have a chance to grab at her and delay her any longer. However, the ghost of his kiss lingered on her lips as she prepared her toiletries and a change of clothes to take with her to the baths.

Bathed and clothed and with her wounds redressed, Eve found her way to the courtyard. Her hair was still slightly wet, but she didn't mind the coolness it provided in the warmth of the afternoon sun. The days were getting cooler, though—an ever-looming reminder of how quickly winter, and the Ethereal Moon, would be upon them.

"Eve." Dimitri stood when he saw her approaching, walking around the table to pull her chair out for her.

"Sorry you had to wait for me." Eve took her seat as she apologised. "It took me a little longer to get ready than I expected."

"You have nothing to apologise for. I have only just got here myself." Dimitri lied with a smile.

"What are these?" Eve asked as she glanced at the plate of sweets Dimitri had put out for them.

"Oh!" He exclaimed excitedly. "They're from a new shop in the town that Annette told me about. It's called 'marzipan'. I've never heard of it myself, so I wanted to try it with you."

"Marzipan…?" Eve repeated curiously, looking at the intricately shaped snacks. "Dimitri, these could not have been cheap."

"Please, you needn't worry yourself about that." Dimitri shook his head with a smile.

He was clearly excited to share this new experience with Eve, but she couldn't help but sigh at the prince's eager smile.

"Dimitri, you don't have to do all this for me." Eve sighed with a small frown. "You're always giving me so much more than I can return."

She felt especially guilty remembering why she had been late to meet Dimitri.

"Is it not enough that I simply want to do these things for you?" Dimitri asked, his excitement wavering. "I ask for nothing in return, Eve."

"You're right, I'm sorry." Eve looked away. She felt awful for dampening his good mood. "Thank you."

"I was told these are made from almonds, so I went ahead and prepared us some almond tea as well." Dimitri smiled, seemingly pleased at Eve's acceptance.

Eve watched as he excitedly poured the tea for the both of them. She reckoned that Dimitri reminded her so much of the sun with his brightness and his optimism. It was just a shame that she preferred to live in the shadows.

"Eve, what happened to your hands?" Dimitri asked, voice dripping with concern, when she finally removed her hands from her lap to pick up her teacup.

"Oh, this?" Eve glanced at her hands, both of which were bandaged all the way up to the first knuckle of each of her fingers. "It's nothing, really."

"Are you training too much?" Dimitri's brow furrowed. "Perhaps you should regrip your weapons if they're callousing your hands that much."

"No, it's not that." Eve shook her head, instantly kicking herself for telling the truth.

It would have been easier had she just let him believe whatever it was he thought had caused her injuries. But for some reason Eve's first instinct with Dimitri was no longer to lie. Perhaps because too often he saw through those lies.

"No?" Dimitri crossed his arms in thought. "Then what happened? Perhaps you burned them during kitchen duty? But then surely Dedue would have told me as such since he had kitchen duty with you last."

"If I tell you will you leave it be?" Eve interrupted his musing. "I don't want to ruin these lovely sweets you've bought us by making you worry about me."

"I suppose I can agree to that." Dimitri nodded.

"I'm trying to get better at healing spells." Eve admitted as she reached out to gingerly grab one of the marzipan creations Dimitri had laid out. "But it turns out I'm lousy when it comes to Faith magic."

"Healing spells?" Dimitri echoed when Eve paused to take a bite of her sweet.

"These are delicious, Dimitri." Eve's eyes widened in surprise as the sugary taste coated her tongue.

Dimitri would have revelled in the excitement that glittered in Eve's eyes, but he was too concerned with what she had just told him.

He decided to tuck away the memory of how she looked in that moment for later when he would no doubt find his mind occupied by her as it so often was. It was why he did these things for her; sought out new teas and sweets and trinkets in the markets to see the glimmer in her eye when she truly enjoyed what he brought her. All of this so that his daydreams could be of the happiness he caused her rather than the anguish or, even worse, the happiness caused by Felix.

"Eve, why are you practicing healing spells?" Dimitri frowned. "What about your Crest?"

"I always thought of myself as a healer." Eve said, looking at her bandaged hands. "But I don't make the pain go away I just make it go somewhere else."

"It is not your responsibility to take pain away from others." Dimitri placed his hand on the table between them, an invitation for her to reach back out to him that she never took.

"Isn't it?" Eve asked, nibbling at her marzipan. "Why else do I have this Crest?"

Dimitri drew back his hand with a sigh, reaching back out only to grab one of the marzipan pieces. He bit into it as he watched Eve with sorrowful eyes. The sweetness of the treat sat in stark contrast to the oppressive air that had settled in around them.

"I'm sorry." Eve pushed back in her seat to rest her elbows on her knees and drop her head into her hands. "I always do this don't I?"

"What are you talking about?" Dimitri looked at her worriedly, only thinking of what he could do to right this wrong.

"You do these nice things for me and as thanks I just make things so depressing." Eve laughed bitterly, lifting her head to look at Dimitri.

"Please, do not think like that." Dimitri pleaded. "I am just happy that you trust me enough to be candid like this."

"I want to do something nice for you, Dimitri." Eve said suddenly. "Tell me your most selfish desire and I will see to it. I want to balance the scales even just a little bit."

"My… most selfish desire?" Dimitri blushed at how suggestive the notion sounded.

"Anything." Eve nodded. "You're always so kind to me, it's not fair that I take advantage of you like this."

Dimitri knew that his true most selfish desire was absolutely out of the question. What he truly wanted was to know what her lips would taste like upon his. He wanted to envelop her in his arms and worship her mouth with his own. And, however shameful to admit, he wanted to embrace Eve and hear her say his name the way he had heard her say Sylvain's many times before. His nobility would never allow him to admit this to anyone, but he was only a man and he had desires of his own.

"Let me heal your wounds." Dimitri cleared his throat to speak when he realised he hadn't yet answered Eve.

"What?" Eve's brow furrowed.

"The Professor initially wanted me to aim to pass the Holy Knight class exam by the end of the academic year, so I have been training in Faith." Dimitri explained. "I can show you how to heal your wounds and then you can practice with me."

"I ask you for your most selfish desire and your answer is that you want me to let you do something for me?" Eve sighed, though a small smile formed on her lips.

"Because I know otherwise you would not let me tend to your wounds." Dimitri answered, matter of fact.

"I suppose that is true." Eve agreed. "Well, I promised to do anything, so I suppose I have no choice."

"Come, then." Dimitri stood from the table abruptly. "We can go to my quarters and practice before dinner."

"Right now?" Eve asked, surprised.

"Why not?" Dimitri frowned.

"Right." Eve nodded, standing from the table as well.

A promise was a promise, after all. And Eve's guilt was increasingly weighing down on her. While Dimitri did everything in his power to make her happy, she went behind his back to have her secret trysts with Felix. And he was so kind, so optimistic through it all. Like the marzipan he bought her he was sweet on the tongue, but she had never really been one for sweets.

(A/N: This chapter inadvertently ended up super long, but I hope you enjoy!)