nice guys finish last

...

i.

In all honesty, Stahl should have known better than to say something like that. It was the stupidest, most idiotic mistake he had ever made, and the consequences of his actions seriously hurt.

Okay, so he and Sully were sparring, like they did almost every day. He had known her since childhood and they were both part of the Shepherds since its beginning, when Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick decided they were going to create a force to protect the people of Ylisse from bandits and barbarians. He was proud of the fact that he knew Sully better than anyone else did (at least, he hoped so) because as kids, they had pledged to each other to become the best knights in the realm someday, and had trained together for years and years.

So when Sully had managed to beat him in their practice fight today, he might have accidentally said something about her being "amazingly strong...for a woman."

Stahl knew he shouldn't have said that, but it just popped out of his mouth before he knew what was happening.

And gods, she got so mad. Without giving him even five seconds to apologize, her fist flew out and smashed into his jaw. It all happened before he could even blink, and suddenly there was a searing pain suffusing his face.

"OWW! Gods, Sully, I'm sorry!"

"You should be," she snapped before turning and storming away. He rubbed his sore jawline, a nervous fluttering in his stomach, wondering how he could possibly make it up to her.

...

ii.

Stahl prided himself on being able to eat the most out of anyone in the whole army, and everyone knew it too. Whoever had cooking duty for the day had to make a ton of extras just for him. At dinner, when he had come in starving from an afternoon of training, he always asked for thirds before most people were even finished with their first plate.

So when the Shepherds held an eating contest one day, Stahl was sure he was going to win, by far. He even made sure to starve himself before the competition so he could go all out.

He sat down at the table, fork and knife in hand, ready to devour anything placed in front of him. With just a glance at the others, he could tell they weren't serious competition. Sure, Kellam was big and Vaike could eat almost anything, but they were no match for someone like him. He continued looking around the table, searching for anyone who could be a possible rival, when his eyes landed on someone...well, unexpected, to say the least.

"Sully?! What are you doing here?"

The incredulity in his voice was as plain as day, and at the sound of it, her eyes glinted dangerously. "What? You don't think I can eat as much as you can?"

"Um, uh, well..." Frantically, Stahl tried to backpedal, but it was too late. She was getting ready to punch him, and before he knew what was happening, her fist had already connected with his stomach painfully. He doubled backward, trying to sputter an apology, but she had knocked the wind out of him.

"Think again, chump!"

She stalked away to her seat at the table and he was left staring after her, regretting his stupid little comment. In the end, he managed to win the contest despite the pain in his stomach, while gaining a new respect for Sully, who had claimed second place.

...

iii.

He was falling in love with Sully. He couldn't deny it any longer.

The slightly pathetic thing was, Stahl was only coming to terms with his feelings for her now, after all these years. He admired everything about her—her tough, fierce attitude, her courage in battle, her beautiful red hair; the list went on and on. He almost felt unworthy in comparison, and more than once he wondered why she should want to be with a guy like him.

Earlier today Robin had assigned each of them a partner to fight together with for the upcoming battle, and Stahl and Sully had ended up together. Much to his embarrassment, the tactician had called their names with a coy, knowing smile.

"You've been training together for years, so I'm not worried at all," she told them. "Just don't get distracted, you two."

"What do you mean, distracted?" Stahl cried, his cheeks flushing bright red. Sully had muttered something under her breath, probably a death threat to Robin, before slugging Stahl hard in the shoulder. He couldn't tell if it was a friendly punch or an angry one, but his shoulder still hurt days later.

...

iv.

In their most recent battle, Stahl hadn't known a couple of soldiers were going to ambush them from behind, and before he and Sully had known it, they were surrounded. Eventually, they managed to drive the enemies off, but not without Sully getting seriously hurt.

He had fallen to his knees beside her, and Lissa crouched over her with staff in hand, muttering a healing spell with a look of fierce concentration in her eyes. Sully was lying on the ground in a painful position, bleeding from a ragged wound in her side where she had been stabbed.

"Sully, don't leave me!" Stahl begged her, wondering what in the world he would do without her. As cheesy as it sounded, she was his love, the source of his courage, the light of his life. If she died, he didn't think he could bear it. He would go back to being the ordinary guy he had always been before she came into his life, nothing more, nothing less.

"Stay with me." His voice became tremulous, desperate. "I need you."

"Hey, quit worrying, chump," she muttered, although her face was covered with a sheen of sweat and he could see that speaking took a lot of effort. "I don't go down that easily—you should know that by now."

Suddenly, Stahl couldn't stand all his years of holding back anymore. He had to divulge his feelings now, or he feared he wouldn't ever get another chance because it would be too late and Sully would be dead. So, gathering up all his courage, he leaned down and kissed her right on the lips.

"Stahl?! Wha—?"

He rested a hand on her cheek as he pulled away, both visibly stunned from what he had just done. Stahl couldn't help but replay the kiss over and over again in his head, reliving how surprisingly soft and feminine her lips had been. As he glanced nervously at Sully, suddenly unsure as to how she would react, he saw that her face was tinged with a faint red blush.

They stared at each other for a few seconds that seemed to stretch into minutes, unable to comprehend what just happened. Then Sully finally recovered enough to send a punch flying right at his face.

But she was smiling. Smiling.

All of a sudden, the pain became more bearable.

Through the haze of pain, he was faintly aware of Lissa's exaggerated choking sounds. "About time, too! But as much as I hate to say it, now's not the time for this." And Stahl couldn't help but laugh, sure that his face was as red as Sully's hair.

...

v.

He waited nervously at the entrance to the Sully's tent, his fingers running over the black box in his hands, which contained a ring. Even though he knew he would be late to breakfast (which was a crime in itself), this was arguably the most important moment in his life. Breakfast could wait a little while.

Okay, maybe he was kind of rushing things, but he couldn't wait any longer. Just thinking of all the years he had wasted made his heart ache, and Stahl was confident—well, as close to confident as he could get—that Sully would say yes. Since the battle in which she had been wounded, he had managed to steal a few more kisses from her, and although each one resulted in a punch, she had looked like she enjoyed them.

Or maybe he was just imagining things.

His heart quaked as the flap to her tent rustled and she emerged, yawning and stretching her arms over her head. He cleared his throat, but it didn't help—his voice still came out timidly.

"Um... Sully?"

Her head whipped around. "What the—? Stahl?!" She glared at him, already aiming a punch to his shoulder. "What are you doing here? Next time, actually say something; don't just stand there!"

"O-okay." He cleared his throat again, but now she was looking at him strangely.

"What's with the weird looks? Your face looks really pale...kinda like you're about to puke," she added as an afterthought.

"Uh, yeah. I don't know, maybe it was just something I ate..." Suddenly all the courage drained out of him and he felt like he couldn't do this anymore. "Actually, you're right! I gotta go! Um...throw up, that is." He turned to flee, but Sully grabbed his arm.

"Hey, wait. What are you holding behind your back?" she asked suspiciously.

"Eeep! N-nothing!"

She snorted. "Yeah, right." Before he could move, she grabbed his wrist and forced the box out of his hand. "What the heck are you hiding from me?"

Stahl was about to lie when he realized that he was acting like a complete and utter coward. This aggressive, demanding facet of her personality was what he loved the most about her: she forced him to stand up to his fears and be brave. She had helped him become a better person, and he had gotten this far.

He could go the rest of the way himself.

Well, here goes. Stahl steeled himself, knelt down, and held out the box. "I know you probably didn't see this coming, but we've known each other for so long, and I've realized that... Well, I think this ring speaks enough for itself." He paused, preparing himself for the words that came next. "Will you marry me?"

To be honest, he had no idea what to expect, so he braced himself for a punch coming his way. He wondered if it would be in the face, the shoulder, or the stomach this time. Probably the face, he decided.

But when he looked up, she was smirking.

"Of course, you idiot. You're dang stupid for thinking otherwise."

"Really?" He couldn't keep the shock out of his voice, and she glared at him.

"Do you think I'm the type of person who just talks crap for no reason? Don't make me punch you!"

"Yes, ma'am," he said sheepishly, but inside he was thinking that this would turn out to be a great day.

An excellent day indeed.