AN: This will be a short story following the supports between Felix and Annette. I loved how Felix, the rude and blunt lone-wolf of the Blue Lions, becomes completely smitten with Annette. He's normally an insufferable and mean guy but with her he's unbelievably sweet.

Felix Hugo Fraldarius cared about one thing and one thing only: getting stronger. Yet his progress toward achieving that goal had been stymied as of late.

In a brilliant flash of silver, the heir to the Fraldarius Dukedom swung his blade up above his head. His sword met his sparring partner's blade with a resounding clang; the impact of steel against steel reverberated through his body like a cannon ball smashing through a castle's walls.

His opponent, the frivolous Sylvain, whistled a high, appraising note. "Nice one. Although...I think you'd perform much better if you had your own cheerleaders."

"Can't you be quiet?!" Felix huffed. His patience had worn thin, as it was prone to do. It was different this time, however. For many reasons. One of which wouldn't keep his trap shut. As for the other -

"How can I be quiet when I have a crowd of ladies to please?" he quipped back jovially, disrupting his flow of thought.

Hormone-crazed fool. Sylvain may as well have enrolled into the Officers Academy to read those stupid books about those suicidal knights that Ingrid and Ashe loved so much. In other words, he wasn't here to actually learn anything.

Slyvain retreated back across the arena on lithe feet, kicking up a spray of sand into the air. Felix crouched down and prepared to pounce.

Overhead, the sun broke through a covering of clouds and shed a beam of light directly onto Sylvain's head of bright red hair. A color that reminded him of a very small and studious girl in his House. Annette's hair was more orange than red, but it snagged his attention every time she happened to be near.

She often sang about food. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop the first time he'd stumbled across her singing to the flowers in the greenhouse. Sometimes she even danced for them. When no one was around, he often caught himself humming one of her songs. How strange. Normally he found Ingrid's incessant ramblings about food tiresome. Yet Annette made the same topic exciting.

Felix blinked, trying to regain his focus. Before he could go on the offensive, the skirt-chaser closed the gap between them for another blow. He parried it in the nick of time. But by then the damage had been done; the force of the attack pushed him into a defensive stance.

A raucous volley of cheering blasted his eardrums. He could feel a headache coming on. Why had this slacker brought a horde of girls here? They were supposed to be training!

Felix angled his blade down, goading Sylvain to take the bait. His friend winked and then he let Felix fling him back. In a flash of silver, the dark-haired young man leveled the tip of his sword against the playboy's throat. The girls let out collective gasps and dismayed groans.

Sylvain dropped his sword onto the ground with a clatter. "I was so close this time, too," he said without an ounce of disappointment. "Sorry ladies. Perhaps if you'll allow me to take you all out for tea, I can make it up to you."

"What was that?" Felix snapped at him. "I can't believe I thought you were serious about this." He sheathed his weapon at his hip and folded his arms across his chest.

"I can't believe you weren't serious," Sylvain responded, catching him off-guard. And then the swarm of girls rushed into the arena like a stampede of bulls. Their feet stirred up clouds of dust and their shrill voices rose several octaves. "I'd be the happiest man in all of Fodlan to share a feast with you princesses, but a man must learn how to defend the roses of this academy."

How did he not feel an ounce of embarrassment at the lines he spewed? Surely girls didn't actually enjoy this crap?

To Felix's disdain, the philanderer produced a rose from somewhere on his person and tucked it behind one of the girl's ears. Were it not for the crush of other girls pressing around her to get to Sylvain, he thought she might just pull a fainting stunt. A stunt he would go along with until he shattered her heart the following day with a different girl.

"I'll see you later tonight, my rose.." He lifted her chin up with a single gloved finger. There goes another soul. Felix rolled his eyes heavenward as her cheeks flushed. "I'll see you lovelies tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!" His crowd of fans shuffled away and out of the training arena, their eyes bright with excitement.

Sylvain proudly twirled around to face Felix, his hands on his hips and his shoulders rolled back. "So -

"I don't want to hear it."

"Look, I wasn't using you to show off. Okay, maybe a little bit," he admitted when Felix fixed him with a pointed glare. "But you can't tell me that a maiden's earnest support for your victory doesn't get you going."

Felix sighed loudly. "You're giving me a headache. Get out of my sight before I turn you into today's target practice."

Sylvain grimaced at that but he hastily tried to steer the conversation back to whatever good deed he'd believed he'd done. "You need my help."

"That's rich, coming from you."

The dumbass nodded in agreement. He said, "What's troubling you? A girl?"

Felix sucked air in through his teeth to maintain his composure. "That's your problem and yours alone." He cursed aloud as a grin spread over Sylvian's dumb face. "What?" he spat angrily.

"I could've won today's match. Out of the goodness of my heart I decided not to break the hearts of so many of your secret admirers."

For once, Felix couldn't argue with that. He had almost lost. And the fact that it was to Sylvain of all people was unbelievable. "Since when do you have a heart?"

"Ouch. That wounds me, you know?" His grin broadened. "So, why the slip up? Someone you fancy in that crowd?"

"No, you idiot. We agreed to work on your technique. Then you go and invite an audience. A very loud, annoying one."

He shrugged. "How could I not invite the fairest ladies in the land?" When Felix didn't respond, Sylvain said, "Just say the word and I can teach you all I know about the art of romance. That's a battlefield you haven't mastered," he added.

"Leave."

Sylvain shook his head in mock disappointment. "Fine, but you're missing out. Oh, crap. I'm not on greenhouse today, am I?"

"You have eyes don't you?," Felix said, pointing at the bulletin near the arena's entrance.

"Ah, right. Good idea." The dolt lumbered over to read through the assigned list of chores as Felix began his set of warm up exercises specifically for a certain training session he'd planned out. He'd completed three consecutive sweeps of his sword when his friend let out a victorious shout. "Bless Seiros, I can see Tessa - no, Kirsten tonight! Still, I feel bad for Annette. You'd think she'd have learned to calm down a bit for these exams. With scores like hers I'd never have to worry. A bit of gardening might help relax her though."

Felix paused. "Annette's on duty?" He'd specifically asked Professor Byleth to let him take on her chores for this month so that she'd have more time to study. Had his teacher forgotten? He didn't like seeing the poor girl freak out.

"That's what it says. What, you think I can't read?" Sylvain sounded mildly offended as Felix came over to double-check the list. The dark-haired man's eyes narrowed at his teacher's looping scrawl of Annette's name. Which was right next to a box called 'Greenhouse' as her duty for today. The box was still devoid of a checkmark.

"See? I can read. Anyway, I'll leave you to your training - hey, wait, where are you going?" Sylvain exclaimed as Felix headed toward the training arena's entrance. "Okay fine. I get it! I won't bring a crowd of ladies next time, alright? Just five or three girls. Is that alright?"

"No. I don't need any more distractions," Felix interrupted him. "Now go do whatever it is you do before I cut you."

Felix slowed to a stroll as he entered the greenhouse. He raised his voice to announce himself, as he'd been taught was polite to do. Immediately, the cloying air settled over him like a perfume. The Greenhouse Keeper stood off to the side, her brown dress nearly the same shade as the soil. Her face was weathered from age but still her eyes glittered with excitement as she tended to shearing away dead leaves. She offered him a smile as he waltzed inside.

Before, he couldn't stand hotboxes like this place. Now he viewed this part of campus with some fondness. Not to the same degree as the training area, however.

The Officer Academy's greenhouse was more like a miniature garden than an actual greenhouse. A few rows of plants and flowers grew near the back in a single rectangular plot while similar plots bordered the main walkway. Holding up the domed glass ceiling were columns wound with braids of ivy. The air was heavy with humidity and thick with moisture and all throughout the place hung the ripe scent of soil and growing things. While not the most comfortable place to idle in for too long, Felix could see why some folk naturally gravitated toward this part of the Academy.

The cooks claimed to use only what was grown on the Academy's grounds. However, there'd been many a rumor floating around that said otherwise. Whatever the case, Felix didn't care. He just knew that most of the food came from here. And that sometimes, if he were lucky, he could chance upon a certain spritely girl. One whose footwork reminded him of a skilled fencer. Her voice, while untrained and bereft of self-awareness, was so pure and carefree that it bewitched him.

Smoothing back strands of his shining black hair that had fallen loose from his bun, he turned to the Greenhouse Keeper. "I'm here on behalf of Annette Dominic."

The kindly older woman's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh, but she's already here."

Felix frowned. "She is?" He certainly couldn't see her. Then again, Annette was a tiny person. He surveyed the entire room, his perplexed frown deepening.

"Yes, I gave her some seeds a few moments ago. Mayhaps she be around that bend somewhere over there?"

With a nod, he followed the woman's outstretched arm and stopped short around the corner. Crouched before the leaves like a little cat was Annette. "Hey," he called out to her. But it was futile. She was humming to herself, her voice getting louder and louder as she went about her task of clearing away the soil and emptying a handful of seeds into the unearthed pocket. She sprinkled water over them, then smoothed the dirt back over it.

"Annette, it's me," Felix tried again.

"Today's dinner is steak and then a cake that's yummy yum...Now it's time to fill my tummy tum...Oh this mountain of sweets, and treats that I long to eats...Oh stacks of steaks and cakes and crumbs and yums…"

He fell quiet. She seemed so...happy. Well, she always was, but something about the way she was right now was almost soothing. He didn't want to disrupt that peace, even though he knew she'd rather be studying. Actually maybe he should. Before she got so caught up in her song that she danced and sang herself away into the night. Wouldn't that be something?

Felix took a step toward her right as she jumped to her feet. She may have been about to go tend to another patch of soil, he wasn't sure, but his mere presence promptly put a stop to her next course of action.

Annette whirled around in shock, her large blue eyes rounding in horror.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," he said.

"Felix!" She gasped, her cheeks reddening. "You weren't listening, were you?" She wrung her hands together and her gaze darted about as if she'd done something wrong.

"I heard enough to know that you're hungry," he answered plainly.

This only served to fluster her even more. "No! I mean...Well, yes." He'd figured as much. Mercedes had gone alone to eat breakfast this morning. Annette threw an embarrassed glance his way. "At least tell me you didn't see the dance?"

"You have nice footwork," he praised her. He was about to ask her how she'd learned it when he noticed she was fidgeting. Right, she was probably really stressed out for the upcoming exams. "Get something to eat. I can take over watering the plants," he said gently.

For one long moment, Annette stared at Felix. And Felix stared back at Annette. His normally harsh countenance was completely unguarded and soft, whereas her normally cheery disposition was now a stricken, terrified one.

Oh no, had he reminded her of the exams she was so scared of taking?

Annette's entire face flushed so vividly it rivaled even the blooming flower behind her. And then she yelled at him. "You're evil, Felix!

"And you're shouting," he said, completely taken aback.

"You can't just spy on people while they're singing without even saying anything!" She continued, her voice high. "It's not right!"

Felix arched an eyebrow. "I actually did call out that I was coming in. It's not my fault you didn't hear."

"Well…" Annette blinked several times, as if she was trying hard to think of what to say to that. "You need to speak louder, then! Ugh, this is so embarrassing!" The poor girl seemed to shrink in on herself much like when their professor announced a new test. Felix couldn't help but feel a strange twinge of regret at his words. "And of course I was singing some silly food song I made up. I should've been singing about...bears! Or swamp beasties!"

Now that had his attention. "I didn't realize there were songs about bears and swamp beasties," he told her. Huh, you learned something new every day. "That food song seemed to be close to your heart. Your stomach isn't far from your heart, after all." He'd meant that as a compliment. People should do what they love, that's what he thought.

For some reason it only angered her.

"Oh, you're the worst!" Annette snapped at him. With her face aflame and her mouth set into a pout, the orange-haired warlock raced out of the greenhouse as if for dear life. It's not like he was going to engage her in a duel.

"Huh. What was that about?" Felix scratched his head. That damned headache had finally taken root and was now spreading a dull ache about his temples. His gaze fell upon the scattered seeds where Annette had been crouched earlier. Beside it was a watering pitcher. "I better water these plants. Wouldn't want them to get thirsty, or they might start singing too."

So he set to work, all the while wondering if Annette had been able to eat all of the yummy sweets she longed to eat. He'd have to talk to Byleth about the chores distribution again, at least until the exams were done. But even after he was finished with her chores, he found himself caught up in her silly little song. He couldn't get the lyrics out of his head.