𝐓𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐲 ┅ 𝖦𝖾𝗇𝖺𝗎 & 𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋
𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵-𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘶, 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦.
﹙𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭﹚
NOTE: this is an indulgence work and rlly nothing more lmao. Theirs just nothing anywhere for my man Genau 😭 like he’s fine asf, sure he’s a lil mean but like I like em like that…
The northern nights were always bitter, but the tension at the ruined village made the air over their little camp feel twice as heavy.
Around the low-burning campfire, the flickering light caught the sharp lines of Genau’s face. He was, as usual, silently reviewing maps. Sitting a few feet away, Stark was aggressively sharpening his axe, the rhythmic schf-schf of the whetstone the only sound competing with the crackle of the wood.
Given how much they had been forced to coordinate over the last few hours, Stark had grown surprisingly comfortable around the formidable First-Class Mage. Or, more accurately, Stark’s lack of a filter had finally overridden his fear.
He let out a heavy, dramatic sigh, resting his chin on the handle of his axe. "Hey, Genau?"
"If it is about the church barrier, it is already settled," Genau replied without looking up.
"No, it's not that. It’s... well, a guy problem you could say." Stark rubbed the back of his neck, staring into the flames. "I was just thinking... my entire party is just Frieren and Fern. They’re both women. And honestly? Most of the time, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on in their heads. Especially Fern. One second she’s treating me better than usual, and the next she’s giving me the silent treatment."
Genau’s quill paused for a second, but he didn't speak.
Taking that as an invitation to keep venting, Stark chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I wanted to ask another guy for advice, but..." He glanced at Genau, taking in the man's notoriously stoic, unbothered demeanor. "Well, I doubted you’d really get it. You don't exactly strike me as the type to deal with relationship troubles. Or, you know... women in general."
Genau finally lowered the map. His dark eyes fixed on Stark, unblinking. The silence stretched just long enough to make Stark break into a nervous sweat.
"Women are fickle beings, aren't they?" Genau said, his voice dropping into a low, dry rumble.
Stark blinked, completely thrown off. "Wait. What?"
"They demand absolute clarity, yet communicate entirely in subtleties," Genau continued, his expression remaining perfectly deadpan as he rolled up the parchment. "And if you fail to read those subtleties, you are treated as though you committed a blunder."
Stark’s jaw practically hit the dirt. "Hold on. You... you actually know what I'm talking about?! You have someone?!"
"I have a wife," Genau said flatly, as if stating the weather. "We’ve been married for a year now."
"A wife?!" Stark shrieked, instantly clapping a hand over his mouth so he wouldn't wake the rest of the camp. He leaned forward, eyes wide with pure, unadulterated shock. "You? You're a married man?!"
"I fail to see why that’s such an impossibility," Genau replied, crossing his arms.
"It’s just—you’re so scary!" Stark whispered fiercely. "How did that even happen? What is she like? Does she know you're... like this?"
A microscopic softening appeared at the corners of Genau’s mouth—blink and you'd miss it, but Stark, hyper-observant in his shock, caught it.
"She is... patient," Genau said quietly. "Extensively so. She works in the administrative sectors of the City. When I am in the capital, she ensures that when I leave I actually consume meals that don’t consist entirely of rations. And she has a habit of adjusting my cloak every time I leave the house, regardless of how many times I tell her it is perfectly straight."
Stark stared at him, a slow, goofy grin spreading across his face. The terrifying First-Class Mage was completely whipped. "Wow. That’s... actually really nice. Do you miss her?"
Genau looked out into the dark, shadowed expanse of the northern territory.
"I have been deployed on dangerous missions before. Dozens of them. Before I met her, survival was merely a logical necessity to continue my duties to my mistress Serie," Genau said, his tone shifting into something steady, grounded, and fiercely absolute. "But things are different now. I have come to a definitive conclusion on this campaign."
“And what’s that?" Stark asked, captivated.
"I must live," Genau said, turning his gaze back to Stark. "I will survive this, and I will return to the magic capital to my wife. At all costs. I have no intention of letting some demon make a widow out of her."
Stark felt a sudden surge of profound respect. He looked down at his hands, thinking of Fern, her quiet presence, the way she nagged over him even when she was worried, and the terrifying, exhilarating realization of his own feelings for her.
"Yeah," Stark murmured, a determined spark igniting in his eyes. "Yeah, I get it. We gotta make it back to the people we care about."
Genau let out a sound that was remarkably close to a huff of amusement. He stood up, patting the dust off his coat.
"Then ensure your axe is sharp, Stark. A man cannot return to his missus if he lets his guard down." Genau turned to head towards the barracks, pausing just before the threshold. "And as for your Fern... buy her something sweet the next time you pass a town. It simplifies things for at least a day or two."
Stark sat by the fire for a long time after Genau left, a massive grin on his face. Who knew the scariest mage in the Northern Plateau was actually the ultimate bro?