Disclaimer: I do not own Blazblue. Arc System Works (Or Aksys games, whichever you prefer) own Blazblue and its related properties. Please do not sue.

Carl Clover has never felt more nervous. It is bad enough that he must beg for his dad's help, but to do so for such an awkward reason is downright humiliating. The sixteen-year-old sighs in a show of reluctance; nevertheless, he raises a pale hand and knocks on the mahogany door to his dad's study…

"I really hope that dad doesn't mind helping me too much…"

"…Come in." Relius calm voice beckons from within, the sound of rustling paper accompanying the low tone. Carl enters slowly with his head bowed, shutting the door behind himself politely.

"Carl, what's troubling you? You're normally in bed immediately after dinner, so it must be urgent." Relius raises a brow behind his golden mask as his teenage son takes the seat opposite to his desk. After carefully sliding the ledger he was working on to one side he rests his chin on the back of his left hand, his right arm lies on the cold surface in front of a steaming mug of tea.

"…" Carl remains silent as Relius eyes him up and down in curiosity.

"I'm afraid that I can't read your thoughts son, you'll have to speak if you expect me to be any help to you." Relius takes a sip from the porcelain mug, savoring the unique taste of Hazama's personally prepared brew as he continues to survey his son.

"…I need some advice…" Carl mutters, his cheeks now sporting a mild blush as his gaze continues to linger on the floor.

"Advice? What sort of advice do you need son? You've never asked me for such a thing before…"

"…" Carl mutters something so quietly that Relius cannot make it out.

"You'll have to speak up I'm afraid, I can't quite hear what you're saying Carl." Relius begins to worry; Carl is not acting very much like himself. He hasn't been acting quite right for the last few months if Relius is being honest, but he had to wait for his son to approach him to avoid any unnecessary teenage drama that other families have been known to deal with.

"…I'm in love…" Carl looks up, his blush has intensified and his azure eyes are bright with shyness and a hint of apprehension. Relius' eyes widen behind his mask and he tenses in his seat.

"What?" Relius is not ready for this turn of events. Advice is one thing, but romantic advice is completely out of his depth. He has never had to deal with this sort of thing before; when Ada had gotten her first crush, she had gone to Ignis for advice. However, he supposes it is his fatherly duty to ensure his son's happiness… so long as the grandchildren do not arrive for a few years.

"…"

"…Well?" Relius feels somewhat annoyed, as Carl remains utterly silent after dropping what most people would consider a "bombshell" on him.

"Well, what dad?" Carl tilts his head slightly to the left, his features shifting into the expression of a lost pup. Sighing, Relius offers a quick prayer to the lord, hoping to get this over with quickly and painlessly.

"Who is she son? I cannot help you without any information. We both know that I'm not a miracle worker." Carl looks away at the question, directing his gaze to the floorboards once again.

"…" Again, with the mumbling, he was going to have a nice long talk with Carl about his manners once the main topic of this conversation was out of the way.

"Speak slowly and clearly Carl, I don't want to hold back sleep for too long. I've got to go with you to the open house tomorrow, remember?" Although Carl has advanced in school years, the open house was still an important event at his school. His new teacher, a goliath of a man named Mr. Tager is eagerly expecting the parents of his beloved students to come and witness their little darlings' educations first hand.

"You promise not to overreact?" What an absurd notion his son had come up with, Relius Clover, overreacting? Perish the thought. Still, he I would be in his best interest to agree so that they could finally get this discussion underway.

"Yes son, I promise." Scrutinizing his dad's face for signs of deception, and finding none, Carl sighs in relief and looking his father in the eye, divulges the vital piece of information.

"Makoto Mutsuki."

"…"

"…Dad?" Carl begins to worry; his dad has gone rigid and it seems that he has stopped breathing.

"…Are you certain that you feel such things for her, Carl?" Relius asks this slowly, as though asking about a dangerous career choice.

"Of course, I am! What kind of question is that?" Carl now glares irately at his father, pissed off by the question posed by the normally reasonable man.

"This is… less than desirable. Ignis is NOT going to be happy with this turn of events. However, who am I to deny my son his happiness? To do so would be unforgivable, I would rather die than do such a horrific thing."

Sighing in reluctance, (much like his son did earlier); Relius takes a moment to think about the girl in question, silently preparing a stratagem for his youngest child, love is a battlefield after all.

"Let's see, Makoto Mutsuki; heir to the illustrious Mutsuki family, and the daughter of the city's biggest womanizer and a well-known bisexual with perverted tendencies almost as strong as her sire's. Of all the girls in the world, Carl just had to fall for her… What have I gotten myself into? This will be considerably difficult, considering that Carl has never attempted courtship before. I believe that a 'slow burn' approach would provide the best results. I must take great care in observing Carl's technique tomorrow; even the slightest mistake will cost us dearly."

"Dad? You've been sitting there staring at me for quite a while now… I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable." Whilst he had been lost in thought, Relius had locked his navy hued orbs onto his youngest child, effectively creeping out the younger Clover.

"Carl…" A small smirk finds its way onto Relius' lips.

"Yeah dad? Have you decided yet?"

"I will help you, and I've already cooked up a way to win over your target." Relius speaks with a light hint of smugness, proud to have thought of something so quickly in such an uncomfortable situation. Truly, he has not lost his touch at tactical planning.

"Dad, you're doing it again." Carl speaks meekly with a small drop of sweat dripping steadily from his temple.

"I beg your pardon? What exactly am I doing?"

"That bit where you act like you're some sort of Bond villain, you've even got your hands folded under your chin!" Carl points to the offending stubble and white silk with clear embarrassment, his dad's theatric behavior is so embarrassing, even when they are alone.

"…So, I am. Regardless, would you like to hear my advice or not?" Relius quirks an eyebrow, prompting his son to quickly forget the little observation in favor of acquiring his much-needed aid.

"Yes! I mean, *ahem* I would very much like to hear what you have to say dad." Relius smiles in satisfaction, happy that his son remembers his manners when it counts, the boy has finally begun to stop acting as spoiled as he had been in childhood.

"Good, now listen closely for I will not repeat myself. You're going to court her properly son." Relius regains his usual serious expression, his body relaxing with the shift in subject.

"Meaning?" Carl is now cautious, unsure of his dad's definition of 'proper courting.'

"You're going to have to be patient, make small advances on her without coming on too strong. We must be subtle if we want this to work. You'll have to treat her like the lady she's meant to be, not the girl you've known since you were a child."

"Why?" Carl is more lost than ever. Why should he treat Makoto any differently than he has in the past?

"Simple, women like to be treated nicely son. Roses and poems have always been the proper way to a lady's heart, no matter how wild and carefree they appear to be." Relius speaks as if he were explaining why the sky was blue, with an unwavering amount of certainty in his voice.

"Alright. What's the first move?" Carl now wears a somewhat serious expression of his own, ready to learn whatever he can to achieve his goal.

"Tomorrow at the Open House, I will distract her father and you should make her aware of your affections. Try complimenting her in some way, do your best to make her feel special, but remember to act natural and to remain as subtle as possible while doing so. We simply cannot afford for you to come on too strong and make her feel uncomfortable." Carl listens dutifully and pauses after Relius finishes, a small frown adorns his face as he mulls over what Relius has said.

"But wait, when do I ask her out? Isn't that how a proper courtship should begin?"

"No, that is the way a fool handles the art of romance. You must remember to be slow and sure in your actions Carl, else you make a mockery of us both." Relius' tone leaves little room for argument.

"…Fine. But if not tomorrow, when?"

"You should hold off on actually asking her out until you feel that she is ready for such a thing, I would suggest subtly wooing her for about a week before actually attempting such a thing."

"Subtly wooing her?"

"Continue to compliment her every time you see her after tomorrow, and do little favors for her as well. Try bringing her water or towels after classes are over, she likes to work out at Miss Bullet's gym during her free time correct?"

"Yeah, but are you sure this will work on someone like her? What if I take too long and she finds someone else? She's very popular with the other guys…" Carl now looks worried, no doubt troubling himself with fantasies of Makoto declaring her love for one of his schoolmates as he looks on helplessly.

"Carl, this method was good enough for me, so it will be good enough for you as well; all you need to do is follow my advice. Don't worry, everything shall go according to plan, and you'll be introducing her to your mother before you know it." Relius has risen and crossed the room, and is now gripping his son's shoulders in a reassuring fashion as he speaks.

"Alright, thank you dad." A small smile finds its way to Carl's lips as he gazes up at his father, now confident in his chances of winning Makoto's heart.

"If all goes well, she might even give me a k-kiss by the end of the month!"

Carl's eyes lose focus as he imagines Makoto pulling his face upwards, her lips meeting his in a loving embrace with an angelic choir singing in the background as she claims his first kiss in a show of complete and utter affection…

It is now Relius' turn to sweat drop as Carl spaces out, sighing wistfully and slumping somewhat as his complexion once again takes on a rosy hue.

"Dear me, Miss Mutsuki is going to use him for a doormat if we're not careful…"

"Carl, now that we've put your little problem to bed, let's have a nice little chat about speaking clearly when someone addresses you." Relius' lips curve into a wry smile as he adjusts his mask, making sure to maintain eye contact with his heir as he speaks.

"Aw, man…"

AN: I hope this doesn't disappoint you too much! Bigger changes will be coming in the next chapter so I hope you like what you see! R&R please!