Interviewing Garreg Mach (Fire Emblem: Three Houses one shots)

Letters under your door (Bernadetta von Varley)

As a shy person

I relate

Also she may be the hardest character to write for, even harder than Felix or Jeritza. 

She just reminds me of all my insecurities but this was a special request so... Let's give it everything we've got. (No, it's not punishment time, that series is over XD) 

[This chapter contains fluff and mentions of anxiety]

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After being paired up with Bernadetta, or Bernie, you didn't see her. At all. 

You asked Dorothea about where Bernadetta could be. You were directed to her dorm room. 

You learned that she spends most of her time in her room due to social anxiety. That was really fair, a lot of the students at the officers academy were... Loud is a kind way of putting it. You understood why she would want to stay in her room and not leave. You just hoped she was getting enough food and water. 

Figuring it wasn't going to be easy to coax her to come out of her room, you were going to have to get creative with your approach. 

Luckily, you weren't the one who made the first move. 

Late at night, a letter appeared under your dorm room door. You wondered who wrote it and delivered it so late. You opened it and started to read it. 

Y/N, 

Sorry about you being paired up with me for the project! I am really uninteresting and not fun to be around. Because I don't like coming out of my room much, I figured I'd write you a letter and give it to you when I went for dinner! I... Couldn't do it in person. I got too scared. But writing it is a lot easier for me anyway. I would just stumble over my words and make you hate me more. 

Uhhhh, I like sewing! That's something I enjoyed since I was young. Spending a lot of time isolated has allowed me to hone my craft! I'm pretty okay at it, not the best or anything or even really good at it. 

I also like cake! There's a bakery in town that makes the best lemon cake slices. I have a small stash in my room whenever I really don't want to go outside. 

I'm okay at archery! I don't like going on missions or training all that much. Blood and death are... Not easy for me to handle. 

I hope you'll write me back! If not, that's okay. I understand if you hate me or find me boring or AAAAAAAAAAAAA I just need to end this letter now so okay bye!

-Bernadetta von Varley

You chuckled a bit to yourself as you read her letter. How could you hate her? You've never even had a real conversation with her. 

Deciding against going to sleep, you moved to your writing desk to compose a letter back to Bernadetta. Once you wrote something that would be up to par with what you wanted to tell her, you went to put it under her door. 

You only had to wait about 15 minutes before her next letter found its way under your door. 

Y/N, 

Thank you for trusting me to tell me about yourself! Though I don't understand how you could trust me at all, you've never actually seen me. I appreciate it all the same. I wanted to know your favorite sweets so if we ever do meet face to face I can get some for you! I hope that's not too forward. Oh goddess that's way too forward. Never mind, completely disregard that please. 

It's getting pretty late, huh? You should sleep. I mean I should too but I don't want you to stay up too late just writing letters to me. Your sleep is more important than I am. Unless you want to. But only if you want to! Though you probably never want to hear from me again. I am so sorry! 

Anyway, write back whenever you want to. Or don't. 

-Bernadetta von Varley 

This time you were full on laughing. 

You went back to your desk to pen out your response. You told her your favorite sweet and would appreciate it greatly if she did get some for you. You also said you were just fine with staying up late in order to write more letters to her. 

And that you did. 

You both ended up staying up quite late in order to continue your secretive correspondence. Neither of you minded the circumstances at all. You got to know a bit about her life before coming to the academy. You really felt for her. Her father sounded like a really awful man. You wished her circumstances growing up were different. And yet knowing she is safe now at the officers academy was a great relief for you. 

You wrote a bit to her about your past as well. How you were a wandering merchant with your brother and had been on adventures from all over Fodlan. You recounter Derdriu, the ocean town in Alliance territory, where the wind was soft and the sea was gentle on your feet as you stood in it. Enbarr, the towering capital of the empire, where the people were unkind yet the culture there was varied. The food and drinks and entertainment were top tier. Fhirdiad, the capital of the kingdom of Faerghus. The cold was biting and yet the people were warm and gentle. 

She wasn't interested much in travel herself, yet she wrote to you that hearing you recount your memories of travel made her feel like she was there too. Like the wind was blowing on her face and she could smell the salty sea air, like she could taste the exquisite imperial treats and drinks, like she could bundle up and be warm with people who were just as warm. She seemed to live vicariously through your stories of travel, enjoying every single detail. Even the ones you considered leaving out. She seemed the most interested in hearing about how treats varied all over the country. She clearly has a very large sweet tooth. 

You had gathered quite a few recipes from your days traveling, some of them including sweets. You wrote back to her saying that sometime, if she felt comfortable coming out of her room, you could teach her how to bake some of them. If she wasn't comfortable, you could bake some for her and deliver it to her door if she wanted. 

She responded with excitement. She would love to try whatever sweets you made but only if you were sure you wanted to bake just for her. In your next letter, you reassured her that you wanted to and would be happy to do so! 

Eventually, she wrote back saying she was getting tired and was headed to bed. You decided you should do the same. It was quite a bit later than you imagined falling asleep, yet you were very happy you stayed up to talk to her. You got to know more about this elusive seamstress who spent most of her time behind the door of her dorm room. 

You were very very excited to throw more letters under her door in the coming week and with one of the letters, you left a basket of baked treats underneath. 

Bernadetta was very very happy. Those who payed attention to her during class could see a small smile gracing her features at all times as her thoughts constantly went back to you throughout the day. 

She would snack on the treats often and would think of you whenever she did. 

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Not gonna lie, I knew I wanted to do an idea like this (letters under the door instead of talking) but didn't know who to do it with. So when my partner requested I write one for Bernie, I knew the prompt was going to fit. 

I always thought writing letters like this was really cute and decided heck it, make it a prompt! 

And yes, my partner knows about this book. Hi babe. I know you're reading this. 

See you next chapter for another request??? What??? 

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