"Annie?"
Ananias looked up from where he was sitting to find Morgan standing in front of him, a shamefaced look on her face. Ananias went back to properly lacing his boots. "Yeah?" he asked, intending to lace his boots and talk to Morgan at the same time.
Ananias saw Morgan's feet shuffle sheepishly. "I just… came to apologize," Morgan answered.
After Ananias finished lacing his boots, he sat up to properly face Morgan, an eyebrow raised slightly out of mild curiosity. "Apologize?" he asked. "For what?"
Morgan blushed and averted her eyes to the side. "For trapping you in a noose and beating you up while you were all tied up." She looked back at Ananias. "It was a little much."
Ananias nodded understandingly. "Yeah, well," he stood up, "I was the one who set your throat on fire, so as far as I'm concerned, we're even."
Morgan furrowed her brow dubiously. "Really? Are you sure?"
Ananias gave her a disinterested, but reassuring, nod. "Yeah."
Morgan smiled thoughtfully. "I'm starting to wonder if buying you dinner was enough to pay you back," she mused. "You let me get away with so much."
Ananias simply shook his head. "It was enough," he reassured her. "And besides," he said, blushing slightly and averting his eyes away from Morgan's gaze, "if that wasn't enough to pay me back, than seeing you smile so much definitely was."
Morgan's face turned red as she released a small gasp of surprise. "Oh Annie, that's so sweet!"
Ananias gave her a quick nod as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks," he murmured.
Morgan giggled at the uncommon behavior her usually straight-faced friend was displaying before giving him a friendly nudge on the side with her elbow. "I bet you say that to all of the ladies," she teased.
Much to her surprise, Ananias gave her another quick nod. "Yep, sure do."
Morgan frowned. "Um, what?" Did she hear that right?
"I say that to all of the ladies," Ananias clarified monotonously. "The guys too."
Morgan's eyes widened in astonishment. "W-What?"
"Whenever I go through a lot of trouble to help someone out and they ask me what they can do to repay them, I always say something along the lines of, 'Seeing you happy makes me happy'." Ananias patiently explained. He nonchalantly shrugged. "What can I say? I like happy people."
Morgan's features softened due to receiving the admittedly disappointing revelation. "O-Oh." She once again began to awkwardly shuffle her feet. "S-So when you blushed when you told me that seeing my smile was payment enough for all of the pain you had to go through, was that because…."
Ananias blushed and once again began to embarrassingly rub the back of his neck. "Yeah. I'm not particular good with sentimental stuff. So when I actually have to do it, I get all awkward, you know?"
Morgan nodded understandingly, though her disappointment and sadness evidently showed. "I see," she said softly.
Ananias raised an eyebrow in mild surprise due to the strange behavior Morgan was exhibiting. "Morgan, are you alright?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"
Morgan looked sadly at Ananias, and at that moment, she made a decision that would greatly change both of their lives. Morgan took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. When her nerves refused to calm down however, she realized that she'd have to make do. "Annie," she began, "I have a confession to make."
Ananias' eyes widened in surprise, but despite that, he nodded obediently. "Um… okay, sure. What is it?"
Morgan took one last deep breath. "All this time, I wasn't just using you to help me become a better tactician," she answered. "The truth is," she looked back up at Ananias longingly, "I just wanted an excuse to spend more time with you!"
Ananias' eyes widened even further. "R-Really?"
Morgan nodded, a blush quickly spreading across her face. "And the reason why I wanted to spend time with you was because… I really, really like you!"
Ananias couldn't believe his ears; he just continued to stare at Morgan incredulously. "R-Really?" he asked quietly. "You… like a guy like me?"
Morgan nodded eagerly. "Of course I do! Who wouldn't?!"
Ananias sheepishly shrugged. "I don't know," he murmured. "Someone like you?"
"What?!" Morgan cried. "Why?"
Ananias shrugged. "It's just… you're so full of life, you know? And… I'm not exactly the most exciting or the most interesting person in the world."
"Annie!" Morgan cried, punching him on the shoulder angrily. "How could you say something like that?! So what if you're not the most exciting person in the world?! What's not to like?!" She then began to count the reasons on her fingers. "You're sweet, you're kind, you're reliable, you're always patient with others even if they don't deserve it, you're handsome, and you have such an interesting mystique surrounding you! The list goes on and on!" She looked back at Ananias to find that his face was completely red. "Why wouldn't I like someone like you?"
Ananias looked at Morgan skeptically. "Are you serious?" he asked.
Morgan nodded impatiently. "Of course I'm serious! When you told me that my smile was enough reason to go through everything you did, it made me so happy! And when you told me that you said that to everyone you helped -"
"You were sad?" Ananias finished.
Morgan nodded. "Yeah," she answered, her voice cracking slightly from being on the verge of tears. She then gasped as Ananias slowly and awkwardly pulled her in for a comforting hug.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear, as tenderly as he could muster. "It's just…."
"You're not very good with sentimental stuff?" Morgan finished as she lightly pushed him away and looked back at him, a small, knowing smile on her face.
Ananias blushed, but nodded regardless. "Y-Yeah." After a moment of silence, Ananias reached for Morgan's hands and tenderly, but at the same time awkwardly, began to rub them. "I don't know if it's too late to say this or not, but… I really, really like you too."
Morgan released a small gasp before beaming at Ananias happily. "You do?"
Ananias nodded. "Of course I do." He combed a bit of her hair with his hand. "What's not to really, really like about you?"
Morgan giggled. "Well, when you put it that way…." She then looked at frowned, and asked, "But why tell me this now?" Before Ananias could answer however, Morgan quickly came up with a conclusion herself. "Let me guess, you didn't think you were good enough for me, did you?"
It was at that very moment that Ananias finally smiled at Morgan. Using one hand to caress her cheek, he happily answered, "Looks like you've got me all figured out."
Morgan returned his smile with one of her own. "Well of course! How could I ever hope to be a great tactician if I can't even figure out the man I love?"
Ananias couldn't help but chuckle. "Right, of course."
Ending: Ananias – Dull Anomaly
Ananias became the official messenger between the multitudes of Annas. Despite his relatives welcoming him with open arms, their customers refused to believe that such a man could ever be related to the well-known family.
Ending: Ananias and Morgan
Ananias became the official messenger between the multitudes of Annas. While Morgan's memory never returned, she didn't really seem to miss it, and the two lived out their days most happily.
Author's Note #1: Who knows how many other hearts Ananias has broken every time he said that?
Author's Note #2: Well, that's the end of that. Female Morgan's supports were fun to write, but the ship has officially sailed. Next up: Owain!
Followed by:
Inigo
Severa
Anna
Female Robin
Male Robin
Father
Tan'bay
Lucina
Gerome
Is a character you want to see Ananias support with not on the list yet? Check the list of possible supports on chapter one/paralogue and request them! Supports are chosen from a first come first serve basis.
