Baltholst anon here! Though I'm requesting a different ship this time. XD Marianne and Claude for the hand-holding prompts, "grabbing the other's hand to show them something." Thank you if you decide to pick it up!
Baltholst anon beloved!! Happy to see yah again :D
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Marianne looked upon the flower with unease. It wasn't the flower's fault-- its purple and pink petals stirred in the breeze with well-deserved innocence. Marianne tried to come up with something insightful to say about it, but to no avail.
The Riegan Estate gardens boasted many beautiful flowers. Objectively, it was quite a lovely place. Right by the sea but protected from the worst of the wind by clean white walls, well maintained by a dozen or so gardeners, popular with painters and the children of visiting nobility. With the war heating up, however, there were few taking the time to visit such places. The recent fight on the Great Bridge of Myrddin had apparently reminded the people of the Alliance that they weren't as safe as they might have first thought. Today the gardens were empty but for Marianne and her partner.
Claude gave Marianne's hand a squeeze before tugging her towards a row of rose bushes. "You might like these better. They're bred to bloom faster and stay open longer. My grandfather explained it to me but I'll admit I don't understand it much."
"I've liked all the flowers so far," Marianne said even as she let Claude pull her along.
"Are you sure?" Claude pressed, a worried tilt to his voice. "You don't really seem to be enjoying yourself."
Marianne reached out to caress one of the rose petals. Apart from the roses perhaps being a bit larger, she couldn't see anything unique about these compared to normal rose bushes. "I'm not sure what this has to do with the war." Marianne's hand dropped and she turned to look at Claude, wondering what she had missed. What part could the Riegan gardens have to play in this conflict that he was hoping she would see?
Her confusion only deepened when Claude gave a nervous laugh. "They don't have anything to do with the war?"
"They don't?"
"No?" Claude scratched his chin, his normally easy smile turning strange. "But they do have something to do with a date."
"A date?" Marianne repeated. "So this-- We're on a date?"
"Not a very good one if you didn't realize it," Claude said with that same laugh.
"O-Oh..." Marianne lowered her head. The leaves on the rose bush looked smaller to her than they should be.
Claude squeezed her hand again. "Hey, don't be like that. I should have been clearer." His tone took on a teasing note as he added, "I just figured you kissing me when we went riding that once time meant you might like a date at some point."
Marianne's cheeks burned at the memory. The two of them had been paired up for a scouting mission soon after the Empire had attacked Garreg Mach, and something about the near-death experience had caused Marianne to act... improper.
Now she felt silly for trying to find war clues in a rose bush. A date, a date with Claude, sounded wonderful.
Squeezing Claude's hand in return, Marianne lifted her head and tried for a smile. "Do you want to try again? Dating, I mean."
Claude brightened. "Absolutely. And we have plenty of time-- it'll be a few more weeks until the Alliance lords figure out how many troops to send us."
"I meant right now."
"Now? Uh, sure! Where did you want to go?"
Marianne giggled and began pulling Claude towards the wrought iron gates. "To the beginning. Show me everything again so I can appreciate all the flowers properly."
The grin that took over Claude's face caused Marianne's own smile to widen. The lords could take their time as far as she was concerned-- Marianne wanted to fit in as many dates as possible while she still could.
