A Series of Rune Factory 4 One-shots

I Love You(Dylas x Frey)

Dylas sat underneath the moonlight, rubbing the ring on his hand between his fingers as he stared down at the lake. He watched the shadows flicker underneath the soft waves, and he wished he'd thought to bring his fishing rod. It would've been nice to have a simple distraction from the thoughts that ran around his head in an endless circle.

Frey had given him the ring as the gift the day before. She'd sworn that it was purely a gift for her lover. No double meaning, no extra commitment.

He cherished it all the same.

"I love you," he whispered to himself, twirling the ring between his fingers. his gaze never left the water.

It was such a simple thing to say. He could do it. It was easy. And yet whenever Frey said it to him he could never properly reply. His heart would hammer in his chest, and his brain would turn to mush and all he could manage was a measly "me too." Even that would leave him flustered.

He knew that he liked her. He loved her, more than anything. Why couldn't he just say it?

He closed his eyes and pictured her face. Smooth skin, silky hair, kind smile. She was beautiful. He was lucky. A girl like her with a grump like him. It was so unlikely; sometimes he felt like it was a dream.

But the dates, the times they held hands and kissed, those were all real. He knew that. He knew how happy they made him and how happy he hoped they made her.

He loved her.

He bent his head down and slipped the ring onto his finger, gripping the fabric of his pants within his hands. Why? Why, when it was so easy to say? Why couldn't he say it?

"Dylas?" A soft voice, like music in his ears, spoke. He immediately shot up, ears perked and hands shaking. He kept his back to her and tried to keep calm.

"F-Frey. Why are you up so late?" The woman herself scooted around from behind him and into his vision, and he stood still, afraid to move.

Even in such darkness, she shined. He couldn't help but stare at her.

"I came out to look for you. Porcoline got worried because you hadn't gone home yet."

"I don't have a curfew," Dylas said.

"Aren't you tired?"

"No."

She got on her toes to brush her fingers against the dark circles underneath his eyes. He felt the blood rush to his face at the simple touch and turned away, hoping she wouldn't notice anything else.

"You look tired."

"What about you? You're usually asleep by now." He could see Frey frowning at him out of the corner of his eye. She was probably worried, just like she always was. He wished he could tell her that she didn't need to worry. He wanted to let her know that he was only acting this way because he wanted to tell her something really important. More than that, he wished he could just say what he had to say and get it over with.

The words caught in his throat and stuck there, so he kept his mouth closed and remained silent.

"If there's something going on, you can tell me, you know," she said.

"I know."

"Then look at me." He turned to face her and she smiled up at him, grabbing his hand. He felt his own smile begin to spring up and he looked away again, using his other hand to quickly cover his mouth. He was happy, really happy.

"Hey, Dylas, want to go on a date tomorrow?" Frey asked, scooting a bit closer to him. The question caught him off guard, and he tried to remember if Margaret was working that day. Usually, he could move a few things around in his schedule if she was there to work in his place.

"Tomorrow? Sure. Where to?"

"You decide!" He glanced down at her, and she was still smiling up at him, just as she always was. Honestly, he wasn't used to making decisions, so he was kind of drawing a blank.

"How about Carnation's?" he suggested, thinking that if nothing else, flowers always made her happy.

"Sounds great! We can meet up at the usual spot, at the normal time." They both knew that they'd arrive early anyway, no matter what the set time was, but they kept it the same regardless.

Frey turned to face the lake, and Dylas turned to watch her.

"Dylas?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"Me too."

And then he pulled his hand away from her so he could slap himself in the face.

"No, that's not what I meant to say..."

"You don't love me?" Her frown made his heart heavy with guilt, but each passing second was making his brain more of a mess, and he didn't know how to fix the situation.

"No! I do, but I..."

"But what?"

Without warning, he pulled her into his arms, and he rested his head on her shoulder.

"I love you, Frey." She was silent for a moment, then...

"Can you repeat that? I didn't hear you."

He pulled away, facing the away from her as his face turned red.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I jus haven't heard you say it in a long time!"

"You're not going to hear it anymore if you keep pulling stunts like that."

"I said I was sorry!" She locked her arms around his waist from behind and let out a quiet giggle.

"I love you too, Dylas."

Even though he eventually forgave her, he continued to only say "me, too" in response, somewhat because he still was a bit offended, but mostly because he knew that she understood how he felt no matter how he expressed it.

Plus, saying "I love you" all the time was super embarrassing.