Wrote this as a birthday gift for a friend that really likes Claude/Hilda. It's my first time taking a stab at writing this ship, so uh, go easy on me .

Also, I grabbed the name for Claude's wyvern from a silly twitter post I saw a while ago, and no I will not take criticism in that department lmao Anyway, thanks for reading!

"Ugh, Claude, why are we walking up the mountain instead of riding your wyvern?"

"C'mon, Hilda. Barbie needs to go hunt for some food and it's easier without us weighing her down. Besides, you're not even walking."

Hilda grumbled from her spot on Claude's back as she tightened her grip around his neck. He laughed as he glanced at her over his shoulder, a bright smile on his face as he winked at her. She couldn't help but smile back; he was lucky that he was so handsome, or she might have stayed annoyed.

They were almost at the top of the mountain that they were climbing up, so Hilda took the time to gaze around at the peaks that jutted upwards all around her. She had heard stories told by her brother about the treacherous mountains of Fódlan's Throat, but seeing them for herself really took her breath away. They had been crossing the mountain range for a couple of days now, and Hilda was glad that Claude owned a wyvern, otherwise their journey would be taking much, much longer.

"Whew, we're finally at the top!" Claude said, releasing his hold on Hilda's legs and letting her slip off of his back. She sighed and stretched out her limbs.

"Finally. Thanks for carrying me." Hilda said. Claude chuckled and took her hand in his before bowing dramatically.

"Of course, Miss Goneril. I could not just sit back and let someone of such a fragile constitution walk all the way up here on her own. What kind of gentleman would I be then?"

"I'll show you a fragile constitution." Hilda said, swatting at Claude's chest playfully. He laughed and took hold of her wrist, pulling her close to place a light kiss on her lips.

"I'm kidding, of course. No one in our class could wield an ax as masterfully as you." Claude said, slowly caressing the back of her cheek as a fond smile crossed his face.

"Eh, I think you may be exaggerating a little." Hilda said, blushing lightly as she returned his smile.

"Oh, no way. You always blew everyone else out of the water during those ax competitions at school."

"Only because the Professor said if I didn't try my hardest, they'd force me to take extra training courses. Ugh." Hilda made an exaggerated gagging noise and stuck out her tongue, and Claude burst out laughing.

"Whatever you say. You always did look breathtaking on the battlefield, though. It was like watching a war goddess in action or something." Hilda felt her cheeks heat up and she looked away, embarrassed.

"Gods, Claude, that's so cheesy." Hilda mumbled, and she turned to look out over the mountains. "The view from here is wonderful, isn't it?" she continued, hastily changing the subject.

"Yeah, it really is." Claude said, a thoughtful look crossing his face. He walked to the edge of the cliff, craning his neck a bit to look down at the valley far, far below them that was barely visible under a thick layer of mist. After a moment, he turned to look back at Hilda, a cheeky smile on his face as he extended his hand in her direction.

"Do you trust me, Hilda?"

"Huh?" Hilda blinked at him, cocking her head to one side. What a weird thing for him to ask out of the blue.

"Do you trust me?" Claude repeated his question, his hand still waiting for her to take it. She stared at him a bit longer, before a smile crossed her face and she stepped forward, placing her hand in his.

"Of course, Claude. With my life."

"Good, I was hoping you'd say that." Claude said with a wink. Suddenly, he pulled hard on Hilda's arm, causing her to stumble into his chest. His free hand went to cup her cheek, and before she could fully process what was happening, he pressed his lips to her own, kissing her tenderly. Her eyes widened in surprise, but they soon slipped shut as she smiled against his lips and kissed him back.

Hilda had become so lost in the intoxicating taste of his lips that she unfortunately failed to notice that Claude had been slowly leaning backwards. Her eyes shot open when she felt herself falling forward as Claude wrapped his arms around her tightly. He pushed hard off of the cliff with his legs, sending them both careening over the edge.

"CLAUDE! WHAT THE FU-AHHHHH!" Hilda screamed as she clung to him for dear life.

"Hey, you did say you trusted me!" Claude said, his voice and laughter barely audible over the wind whipping past them as they fell. Hilda's grip tightened around him as she squeezed her eyes shut and shoved her face against his chest. She made a mental note to kill Claude if they both managed to survive this fall.

Suddenly, the wind started whirling around her from all directions, and Hilda noticed that their decent had slowed considerably. She turned her head and peeked out of one eye, her heart hammering loudly in her chest. Claude had one hand held out in front of him, palm facing down, and she realized that he was casting an Excalibur spell, with the blue glow around his hand being a dead giveaway.

A loud roar cut through the sound of the wind, and Barbie was suddenly under them. Claude managed to gently set himself and Hilda onto her back with his magic with ease. When Hilda was sure that they were safe and sound, she released her hold on Claude and smacked him hard upside the head.

"Ow!" Claude exclaimed, pouting as he rubbed the spot that Hilda had hit, "What was that for?"

"What do you mean, 'what was that for?' You jumped off of a cliff and took me with you, you crazy bastard!" Hilda said, huffing as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. Claude chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close when she did not resist.

"Sorry," he said, smiling softly as he cupped her cheek. Hilda slowly lifted her gaze until pink eyes met emerald green, and the look of sincerity Claude was giving her gave her pause. "I just needed to make absolutely sure you trusted me fully beforehand."

"Uh, before what?" Hilda asked, her brow furrowing as she placed her hands on Claude's shoulders, steadying herself as Barbie hit some wind turbulence and wavered beneath them.

"Before this."

Hilda's eyes went wide as saucers and her jaw went slack when Claude reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He opened it and held it up, the silver ring with an emerald stone shimmering beautifully in the sunlight. Claude took one of Hilda's hands in his free one, and brought it up so that he could place a light kiss on her knuckles.

"Hilda Valentine Goneril," Claude started, as Hilda silently listened with a flabbergasted look on her face, "You're my best friend, and the person that I trust the most in the world. And I love you, with all that I am. I want nothing more than to take on everything this life has to offer me with you by my side, always. Will you marry me?"

Hilda was silent for a few moments, before a wide smile crossed her face and she laughed. Claude wore a fond smile of his own as Hilda snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him down so that their noses were touching.

"Let me get this straight: You're proposing to me while on the back of your wyvern, after you scared me half to death by pulling me off of a cliff into a free-fall that would certainly have ended in both of us dead if Barbie hadn't caught us? Talk about unromantic and off-putting." Hilda said, the teasing edge to her voice causing a sly grin to cross Claude's face.

"Heh, what can I say? In addition to being incredibly smart and handsome, I'm also known for being spontaneous and unconventional in my methods." Hilda snorted as she descended into uncontrollable laughter, and Claude laughed along with her. He wrapped his arms around Hilda to make sure that she didn't fall off of Barbie's back during her fit of laughter.

"You...you really are something, Claude." Hilda finally managed to say after she recovered, "But...you're also the person that I love and trust the most in the world, too. So yes, of course I'll marry you."

"Wow, you actually said yes?" Claude asked, his eyes going wide with genuine surprise, which confused Hilda.

"Well, yeah. You thought I was going to say no?"

"To be honest, I really didn't know what to expect. I was really, really nervous about asking you." An uncharacteristically sheepish grin crossed Claude's face, along with a light blush, and Hilda thought it was the cutest thing ever.

"Aw, Claude, are you blushing? That's so adorable." Hilda teased, giggling when he kissed her cheek and nuzzled his face against hers, his facial hair scraping lightly against her skin and tickling her.

"Hmm, I dunno. I think you're the adorable one in this relationship." he whispered in her ear, adoration shining in his eyes when he pulled away. Hilda smiled as he took her left hand and slipped the ring onto her finger. She held it up and admired the way it sparkled as the sunlight refracted off of the beautiful emerald stone. The realization finally hit her like a blunt weapon: she was engaged to marry the love of her life.

"Wow, the thought of marrying me already has you crying with despair?" Claude teased. Hilda blinked as Claude reached up to gently wipe away the tears that she hadn't realized had been falling down her face. She sniffed and shook her head.

"No, these are good tears. I'm...so happy, Claude." Hilda said, her voice barely above a whisper as she smiled and looked him in the eye, her heart swelling with happiness.

"I'm happy too, Hilda." Claude said, gently pressing his forehead against hers as he wiped away the last of her tears, his hand lingering on her face to cup her cheek. "I can't wait until I can call you my wife. I love you, so, so much."

"I love you too." Hilda said, smiling as she leaned up to press her lips against Claude's tenderly. She felt him smile as he wrapped his arms around her, her head tilting up as he deepened the kiss. As they embraced on the back of a wyvern, flying off to their future together in Almyra, Hilda was looking forward to whatever her life had in store for her, as long as she had Claude by her side for the entire ride.