Fire Emblem Afterthoughts

Secret Patrols and Secret Feelings (Prompt #3)

SPOILER WARNING!

The following post contains spoilers for anything past:

Fire Emblem Awakening: Chapter 9

Don't say I didn't warn you.

I actually came up with the best thing ever for this. Again, it all comes from lying there at night. I may get carried away with this one, too, so prepare yourself. Just a note, this story is actually pre-relationship, but it has plenty of fluff to go around. 😉

Secret Patrols and Secret Feelings
(Ella-May's POV)
Sometime between Chapters 10 and 11
11:29 PM

"Did you think I wouldn't notice you sneaking out?"

I froze, tensing up. My heart lurched. Whoever that was nearly gave me a heart attack, and I had the sinking feeling I knew who it was. I turned around slowly. Let that be any voice but his, any voice but his, any voice bu-crud.

Chrom was standing behind me, arms crossed over his chest. He looked tired, as if he had kept himself awake to confront me. That just made me more nervous. Something inside of me, some tiny, crazy voice inside of me, was glad to see him. I pushed it away quickly. "Ella-May." His voice was questioning, and I could hear concern in it. Something about his voice just made me want to hug him, squeeze all his worries out of him. No. That's really disturbing. "What are you doing out here at this hour? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Think of something. Think of something quick. "That's just the thing," I lied, trying to keep my voice steady. "I can't fall asleep. So I thought a little walk would help clear my mi-"

"You're not telling the truth." I tensed up. How did he read me like that?! "The side of your mouth twitches whenever your lying." My eyes lit up. How long has he been observing me like that?! He frowned at me, expecting an answer. I pulled myself back together. I needed to think of something to tell him.

I sighed. "I-I'm not- I don't-"

I stopped talking and practically drowned in the silence and tension. How long had he known I was doing this? What would I tell him? Why on Earth did he have to look so cute when he frowned at me like that?! "Ella-May." He repeated my name, anger apparent in his voice. "For the past couple nights you've been leaving your tent at around this hour, and by the time you return I've fallen asleep. When do you sleep?! Please tell me you've been sleeping!" He was raising his voice with every sentence. He had to stop and remind himself to keep his voice down so he didn't wake anyone up. "And what in the world could be so important that you have to do it in secret in the middle of the night?!"

I gulped. I hated seeing him like this. It was obvious he was furious with concern. I had no choice but to tell him the truth, which would just make him angrier with me. "Well," I began quietly, trying to find a way to explain myself without sounding completely stupid. "It's just that... the Risen come around here frequently. The Shepherds do patrols around the borders, but nobody actually guards the camp. What if a Risen were to slip past the patrols? Nobody would see it. It could hurt someone. I can't sleep knowing that everyone could be in danger. So I thought... I thought I might as well patrol the camp myself... Just for a little bit, to make sure-"

I never got to finish. Chrom looked like I had set off a fuse inside of him. "What have you been doing?!" he cried. I shrunk back. "Are you out of your mind?! What were you thinking?!"

"I set limits for myself," I protested quietly, which didn't seem to sway him at all. "And I was worried that the camp could be attacked-"