Habits can change remarkably quickly when given the proper incentive. For as long as Elliot could remember, his waking up routine involved sitting up and stretching his arms out. But, over the last several days, that had ceased to be the case. The reason for the sudden shift was currently asleep and being held against his chest.

It wasn't often that Elliot woke up before Fie. It was far more common that the first thing he saw in the morning were a pair of lime green eyes staring up at him. He couldn't blame her; the things they had gone through at Garrelia Fortress the previous day had taken their toll on all of them -Fie especially. The way she had taken point in battle, running straight up to the enemy and weaving around their attacks, keeping all of the attention on her, had Elliot both worried and astounded. Her being more tired than him, who had stood at the back of the group and kept everyone on their feet, was completely understandable. Regardless, Elliot took advantage of this role reversal to enjoy the sight of the target of his affections resting peaceful with her cheek over his heart.

He reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a breath mint to suck on. The first morning they woke up together, Fie told him his breath stank. She had just meant it as a sleepy observation, but it mortified him enough to put a roll of mints on both his and Fie's bedside table to avoid the situation in the future.

As he sucked on the peppermint candy, he felt a stirring under the blanket. Elliot looked down and watched as Fie opened her eyes for the first time that day. She was met with a smile. "Good morning," he said.

Fie yawned loudly and nuzzled his chest as she blinked against the daylight. She planted a kiss over his solar plexus. "G'morning," she greeted sleepily.

"Ready to get up?"

"Almost." Fie put her hands on either side of Elliot's torso and slid herself along his body while she pushed herself up, leaving them face to face with Fie hovering over him. She descended and caught his lips in a kiss deep enough for Elliot to lose his mint. "Now I'm ready," she said, smiling as they finally pulled apart.

Elliot pulled the blanket off of them and Fie rolled off of him to sit on the edge of the bed, stretching out her shoulders. Elliot leaned onto his side and watched her for a moment before getting up and going to his drawer to get dressed. Fie got onto her feet soon afterwards and headed to the door.

Every morning they woke up together, they found a bag of clothing thoughtfully left hanging from the doorknob outside of whatever room they had slept in; an outfit for Fie if she had spent the night in Elliot's room, like she had last night, and vice versa in the opposite case. While it had taken them both by surprise the first time it had happened, they were grateful for the thoughtfulness and both made sure to thank Sharon at breakfast.

The bag was retrieved, the door closed once more, and Fie started to strip out of her pajamas. It had been just a bit over a week since the first time Elliot and Fie had seen each other change clothes and it had become more comfortable all around. It's not that they were used to it exactly, Elliot didn't think he could ever get used to the sight and worried what it would say about him if he did, but the awkward feeling was gone. His cheeks still copied his hair and hers still acquired a faint dusting of rose but they no longer felt the impulse to look away.

Elliot had gotten quite good at buttoning up his shirt without looking at it.

They were both dressed fairly quickly, Fie finishing first then coming up behind him to fix his collar.

One final good morning kiss was shared and they exited Elliot's bedroom to join the rest of their dorm for breakfast.

Elliot returned to his bedroom alone. He had invited Fie to walk back from classes with him, but she had made plans with Emma to help her practice a new craft she had thought of. It was no problem, he had some things that needed to be taken care of which he could use to occupy his time.

Thus he found himself staring at a pack of new violin strings side by side with a piece of paper on his desk. Replace his worn out strings or write a letter to his sister. On the one hand, replacing his strings was always a pain and that made him want to take care of that first. On the other, he hadn't written to his sister in quite some time and she was probably worried about him given yesterday's battle with the terrorists.

Even though he knew that the letter would reach her at the same time regardless of if he wrote it now or later in the day, the guilt he felt about putting off reassuring her made his decision for him.

The strings were pushed to the side and the paper adorned with ink. He made sure to tell her that he was fine, that he had been unharmed, and that he was doing well. The detail about how the thud of the terrorists collapsing to the floor rather than be taken in had haunted him for hours afterwards went unmentioned. That it had taken Sara and Neidhart giving the whole class a talk on the train back to the dorm for him to stop fixating on it was left out entirely. There was such a thing as being too open, even with your siblings. Especially with your siblings.

With that first paragraph out of the way, he started talking about lighter things. How he had played first violin in the wind orchestra performance following Hibelle's injury and done a pretty decent job. How he had gotten over a ninety percent on their last economics quiz. Small positive details like that.

Oh, and I have some great news. I have a girlfriend now! Her name is Fie, you met her during the

Elliot had to stop himself mid-sentence. Girlfriend. Was Fie his girlfriend?

No. No, she wasn't. That had been something his father had taught him during one of his many, many talks on manhood. Unlike most, which involved things like proper eating or exercise information or other things Elliot tuned out, this conversation had begun with his father making sure he was listening and speaking carefully.

Elliot learned a lot that day. About emotions and urges. About not confusing physical desires for emotional cravings. About the importance of conveying intention and being honest with people but especially himself. And, arguably most important of all, about not pushing someone into something just because he wants it and how that went for multiple desires, not just the obvious.

Then his father gave him a pack of condoms, a coupon for a store Elliot was certain he couldn't legally enter, and left him to think about it all while promising to be available to answer any questions he may have.

He hadn't really thought about it before, but the natural way it flowed from his pen made him certain. Elliot wanted Fie as his girlfriend. The most likely way for that to happen would be for him to ask her. But did she want him to be her boyfriend? Fie had never shown interest in them pushing their relationship forward, she seemed happy with how things were. On the other hand, he had been the same way. He didn't even know that he wanted to move forward until his unconscious had taken over his writing.

But Fie wasn't like him. Fie was assertive and direct, it was some of the things he admired about her. Surely, if she had wanted them to be more she would have asked him by now.

Elliot realized he had to cut off that line of thinking. He couldn't put the onus onto someone else to fulfill his desires. Hopefully Fie felt the same as he did, but maybe she didn't. That was the situation he was in, any odds or probabilities he tried to think up would be just him trying to put a logical face onto his fear.

He liked the situation they were in. Would trying to take that next step be worth potentially ruining what they already had? Then again, if it wasn't shared he had to know soon or risk the potential emotional pain of rejection getting even worse. But what if she didn't want it right now but started wanting it in the future? There were risks all around.

The question ran through his mind for the rest of the evening. The letter was tucked away in his desk, the strings opened up and attached to his violin, and the sun steadily lowered in the sky as he sat at his desk. He was still no closer to having an answer.

His door opened up, startling him out of his thoughts.

"Hey," said Fie as she put her bag down near the door. She eyed him, tilting her head out of curiosity. "You okay?" she asked. The warmth in her voice. The look in her eyes. The lingering feeling of her lips on his cheek as she stood behind him and draped herself over his shoulders. Elliot found himself landing firmly on one side of the fence.

He smiled at her and gave her a peck on the lips. "I was just thinking and you surprised me. How was Emma?"

Now he just had to plan it out and practice to make sure he did it right.

Elliot's behavior wasn't making any sense and Fie was getting a little worried.

It started at the end of lunch. They hadn't eaten together that day, Fie wanted to eat quickly and take a nap before the evening classes so Elliot had had lunch with Rean and Gaius instead, but he had been acting normal when they went their separate ways in the classroom. Then Fie had woken up with a message on her phone saying Elliot wanted to ask her something and if they could meet up right before class resumed.

This was a little strange, but didn't raise any red flags for Fie.. Sometimes you didn't want to leave a paper trail of your correspondence, Fie could respect that. So, she agreed and they met up in the hallway outside of class.

Elliot had been nervous, which wasn't unusual for him. Fie honestly found it kind of cute, it reminded her of how he would play with his fingers right before inviting her to lunch the first couple of times he had asked her out. This time he was inviting her to have dinner with him in his dorm room, saying he wanted to cook for her.

Fie couldn't think of anything else she might have wanted to do tonight, so she said agreed. Normally when Fie said yes to one of Elliot's offers, his fidgeting stopped. This time it just diminished. It was unexpected enough for her to take note of it, but nothing to be concerned about. Any number of things could be stressing Elliot out, especially in their school.

In fact, she had almost forgotten about it by the time she had shown up to his room. Elliot opened the door with a big smile on his face, welcomed her in with a kiss, and seated her at a little table he had set up in the center of his room. But his eyes kept darting around the food and his room, like he was worried about something. Fie assumed he was concerned about what she would think of the meal, and so she made sure to compliment him on each course. It was easy to do as all of them were delicious, from the egg soup to his gratin to a delicious pudding quartet for dessert.

While she could tell her compliments were appreciated, no amount of stress could diminish the smiles he gave her with his thanks, his worries didn't leave. If anything they seemed to almost get worse as the meal went on.

When the food was all gone, he offered her a hand out of her seat and invited her to come sit with him on his bed. Fie accepted but took the opportunity to voice her concerns as he lead her to the bed. "Is something wrong?"

Elliot halted and took a deep breath. "No, nothing's wrong," he said as he turned to face her. "I'm just nervous."

"About what?"

"About this." Another deep breath and Fie felt his grip on her hand tighten as they made it the rest of the way to the bed. His body language remained jittery as they sat and he let go of her, but his voice became steady. "I like you Fie. A lot. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Fie may not be the most outwardly expressive, but her feelings were just as strong as anyone's. So, whenever she told someone she didn't understand something only to be met by bewildered surprise, it hurt and made her feel stupid. Such experiences had bothered Fie so much that her first instinct was to respond to Elliot's question with a no. While she was of course familiar with the terms boyfriend and girlfriend and knew they meant being special to someone, she wasn't sure what it actually meant to be that to someone or to have someone be that for you. The boss had told her to never agree to anything when she didn't fully understand what accepting would entail, and saying no would have followed that advice while avoiding potential negative feelings.

But the look in Elliot's eyes had made her hesitate. Fie may not know what the terms mean, but they were clearly important to him. So, she gave him the benefit of the doubt and confessed her ignorance.

"What does that mean?" she asked. For a split second she was worried that he was about to react like Vivi had when Fie asked her why she kept giggling at pictures of eggplant.

Thankfully, her fears were unfounded. While Elliot had clearly been surprised by her confusion, his response was to try and answer it and not mock her.

"Well, it means a lot," he said awkwardly, trying to earn time as he looked for the words. "Basically it means not doing the types of things we have been doing together with other people. N- not studying together or just eating together, stuff like the- the kissing and cuddling and holding hands and sleeping together." As he recounted the things they did together Elliot's cheeks lit up like a furnace and his voice grew tiny, like he couldn't believe, in a good way, they really did those things together. He cleared his throat and kept talking. "And it means things like making plans in advance to do things together, things beyond getting lunch together or studying together."

Fie was quiet and it made Elliot nervous. He could tell his explanation for what it meant to be a couple was hardly the most enticing sales pitch. His teeth clenched and he reminded himself that he had known rejection was an option. That didn't make him feel any better about the possibility, but at least it wouldn't be a surprise.

He wanted so badly to break the silence, to ask her what her response was, but he forced that impulse down. Fie would answer him when she was ready, he couldn't and, more importantly, shouldn't push her. He tried to distract himself by counting the petals left over on the daffodils on his desk. They had long since dried up but Elliot remained hesitant to throw them away.

"I need to think about it," said Fie, finally breaking the silence. Elliot finally allowed himself to exhale through clenched teeth. It wasn't a yes. It wasn't a no. It wasn't anything but her being polite and telling him he wouldn't get an answer right now.

"Don't overthink it," he told himself as he unclenched the hand he hadn't been aware of making into a fist. "I understand," he said, looking at her. He thought about forcing a smile but the thought of lying to her, even to that extent, made him feel dirty.

Fie nodded. She stood up from the bed, her gaze avoiding Elliot. "I'll take the dishes down to Sharon."

"Thank you," said Elliot, the words propelled from his lips by anxiety.

There was silence as Fie collected the dirty dining equipment and left the room. She didn't return, but hadn't Elliot expected her to.

The book on her desk could have been completely blank and Fie wouldn't notice. It was supposedly one of Emma's favorites; she had loaned it to her a couple weeks ago with an assurance she would love it. Tonight, as a last resort, Fie finally opened it. It hadn't worked.

For the tenth time in as many minutes, Fie opened her ARCUS unit to check the clock. It failed to register just as much as the other attempts had. All she knew for certain was that it had been over twenty-four hours since she had left Elliot's room. Twenty-four hours since the last thing she had said to him that wasn't an awkward "hi" or "bye" in the morning or at the dinner table.

Fie was no closer to an answer now than she had been when she left. She knew she enjoyed all the things they did. She could feel just how badly she wanted to go down to his room and do them. Especially the cuddling -Fie felt like that would be a huge help to her current emotional state.

Even not touching him, just sitting across from him at dinner last night and talking, felt good. They had been doing all that just fine up until yesterday. What was wrong with just doing what they wanted when they wanted too? Why make it an expectation? Fie didn't want to do anything they had been doing with someone else, but why make it a rule?

But then there was the way she had felt when she walked into his room last night and saw the meal he had specially prepared for the two of them. Nothing they had done before had made her feel quite the same way, and she knew it wasn't something that could be arranged on the spur of the moment like everything else had been. She had tried telling herself that even if she said no that things like that might still be possible, but she knew it was a lie even if she couldn't tell why.

Fie held her head in her hands. She missed her dad.

Her door swung open and Sara barged in, not bothering to ask for permission. The former bracer had made herself comfortable on Fie's bed by the time the door clicked shut.

"What's up, Fie?" the instructor said in her overly chipper way. "You barely ate anything at dinner."

Fie closed her eyes, at once annoyed by and grateful for the distraction. "I wasn't hungry."

"When has that ever stopped you?" Sara teased, well aware of Fie's father's teachings.

"..."

"Hmmm, how about this," said Sara as she leaned back on her elbows. "I'll start saying what I think is up, and you can tell me if I'm right or not. How's that sound?"

"..."

"Alright!" Sara said as she straightened back up and clapped her hands together, plowing onwards. "I think you're worried about making a transition. Your whole life you've had things be either casual or serious, and you don't know how to feel about something going from one category to the other. Am I right?"

"..."

"You're probably also worried that once the category changes, that'll change how the thing itself works, huh?"

"..."

"Well, you're right!" Sara said with a thumbs up that Fie saw out the corner of her eye. "Things do change when they become serious. Even your way of thinking about them will change. You won't be able to just take things as they come anymore. You'll have to start keeping it in mind when you make your schedule and not just fit it in whenever you find yourself with free time. You'll be putting restrictions on yourself."

Fie's silence continued but her shoulders fell.

Sara's voice changed to a warmer tone. "That's not a bad thing though. I know it's scary, especially when it's new, but the upsides are worth it. You keep it in mind when you make your schedule because you know it's stable and any plans you make together are most likely to go through. You accept the restrictions because you can trust that they'll be doing the same. And that's just the baseline. There's also having the knowledge of having a level of priority in someone's life. Knowing there is someone who will support you and be there for you no matter how you're feeling. That is, as long as you don't take advantage of them of course."

"..."

"At least, that's what it should mean. I'm not gonna lie to you and tell you that's how it always works. Sometimes people don't hold up their end of the bargain and betray your trust. Even if that doesn't happen, things can just deteriorate. People change, circumstances change, and sometimes what you had isn't there any more. Sometimes, even if it's still there, things have gotten to a point where it's hurting more than it's helping and it has to end for everyone's sake. Sometimes…" Sara's voice got so quiet Fie had to strain to hear it. "Sometimes you just get unlucky."

The room got quiet. Fie looked at her bed in concern and saw Sara's head hanging as she picked at a loose thread on her sleeve.

Sara cleared her throat and the quiet moment passed. "Anyways, it's a risk. But, with the right person, it's a risk worth taking. Elliot's a good kid. So are you. The worst you'd have to worry about with him is things just not working out. And if you want something, if you want to be with someone, you can never avoid the possibility of things not working out. The only certainty that can ever exist is that if you don't try then it definitely won't work."

"..."

Sara looked at Fie, waiting for a response that never came. "Well," she said as she stood up. "I've said my piece. Good luck Fie." Sara made to exit the room.

Right as her hand touched the doorknob, Fie spoke. "Thank you."

Sara turned and gave her student a massive smile. "No problem," she said as she left. "That was totally worth owing Sharon a favor," she thought as the door closed behind her.

The crackle of the radio was all Elliot had to distract himself. There was nothing he could do. Nothing to do but wait and pace and be nervous and scared. The uncertainty was killing him, almost to the point he would rather she had just said no. Almost.

He opened his ARCUS, perhaps he had missed a message. No. Back to pacing.

The sound of a knock at his door nearly made him jump out of his skin. Once his heart rate lowered and he could breathe again, he went to answer it. He expected it to be Rean or perhaps Sharon, someone checking in on him and who he could maybe distract himself talking to them for a little bit.

What he got was a pair of arms around his neck as soon as the door opened. Lips were on his before he could so much as blink in surprise. The kiss was over quickly and Elliot pulled away from it to see a pair of smiling green eyes looking up at him.

"Yes."