Sorry for taking so long to update. School got in the way.

Everything was supposed to fall perfectly in place after the war ended right? Wrong! Everything only became more frustrating for Felix. He was now the Duke of Fraldarius and he hated everything about it.

He was busy. So very busy. Incredibly so. He didn't even have any free time anymore. The Fraldarius' and Gautier's territories were lucky enough to make it out of the war relatively in good condition but very few other lands could say the same and unfortunately that meant he had to deal with distributing aid and what not.

Two years had passed since the goddess forsaken war ended and apart of Felix longed to return to such times. Not because he longed for battle so that he may swing his sword once again, but he would not deny that a small part of him did wish for that. Swinging his sword was much easier than dealing with sensitive nobles and politics. He hated so much being the Duke. But no, it wasn't battle that he longed for but a certain someone that he had the pleasure of seeing so often during that time.

After the war ended Byleth had become the archbishop a position he was sure was forced upon her. Since she became the head of the church, he could count the number of times he saw her on one hand. If he thought, he was busy she was impossibly so. If there was anything, he hated more than being the Duke it was not seeing her. His bed had felt incredibly empty after that one night.

Felix bit back his tenth sigh for that night. That night was the anniversary of the war's ending and a huge celebration was held at the Blaiddyd's castle. He had been looking forward to the event all year long as it allowed him the chance to see Byleth again and yet…they were still so frustratingly busy.

Each had to play meet and greet with others. So many women were thrusting themselves upon him, all so eager for the title of Duchess of Fraldarius. In the two years since he became the Duke, he came to understand why Sylvain choose to play with women before they could play him instead; though Felix could never do what Sylvain did. Biting his tongue each time a woman said something slightly inappropriate or attempted to draw attention to her body was really starting to wear him out. He could not fathom why they all believed that such actions would work on him, he wasn't Sylvain, and he was sure it was common knowledge that he desired strength above all else.

Slipping away into a balcony, he released all his pent-up frustrations with one massive sigh. He rested against the railings and absentmindedly played with the silver ring on his finger. He stared out at the grounds below for a few minutes before he shifted his attention onto the ring.

It was a sliver ring with several small purple gems set in the shape of a star. It wasn't anywhere close to his style and it didn't even fit him at first, so he still couldn't understand why Byleth had given it to him at the war's end. But he kept it and resized it because deem down instead he was a hopeless romantic…or at least when it came to Byleth.

The longer he stared at the ring the more he felt the pain of disappointment. He desperately wanted to be by Byleth's side. To hear her sweet voice, to feel her soft caresses…He groaned as he shook his head to dislodge those thoughts. As much as he wanted that he would not be given the chance, he never got the chance at those foolish celebrations. Someone was always stealing her attention to the point where she would rarely look at him.

He rested his head against the railing and sighed. He couldn't stay outside forever. He would need to go back and be the "polite" Duke and watch as someone stole his precious Byleth's time. Time apart did not make the jealousy any easier.

A small gasp from behind him had him quickly spinning around. His heartbeat was frantic as he realized that he had never sensed anyone behind him. A curse spilled from his lips as he realized how much peace had dulled his senses.

As soon as his eyes landed on his intruded all his fight left him. Standing before him was the one he longed for, dressed in a regalia suited for the archbishop; and it all made sense as to why he didn't sense her earlier, she was incredibly skilled at concealing her presence. All the excess jewelry and make-up she wore didn't suit her in his opinion, he always believed that her simple and clearly more comfortable clothes suited her best. Though he would not deny that she was beautiful then; he wasn't sure that there wasn't a style that he wouldn't find her beautiful in.

"Forgive me for disturbing you," she said as she refused to make eye contact. "I'll leave now." She had half turned away from him before she finished speaking.

"Wait!" he shouted as he stepped forward. "You were not disturbing me."

While she did stop, she did not turn to face him. A small silence had descended on them and it froze him in his place. He had feared it for a while, but he had no real proof, but he was sure that she was avoiding him.

"I have not seen you in so long." He was unable to say what he really wanted to say. He cursed himself for how easily the "good little Duke" act had overtaken him, preventing him from demanding an answer that his war self would have been quick to lash out for. She only gave him a small nod in acknowledgement.

Tentatively, he took a step forward and when she did not move, he took another. He soon stood before her and yet her attention remained on the balcony's doors, where her escape route laid. His body twitched to stand in front of the doors, to seal her there but he refused.

"How have you been?" he asked, and once again it was not the thing he truly wanted to say. All his bite from the war was gone, hidden away to be a "proper gentleman".

"Fine." He scowled but said nothing. She wouldn't look at him and he so desperately wanted her too. He wanted to see his reflections in her beautiful, emerald eyes, and know that he was the only one she was looking at.

Felix flexed and unflexed his hands, unsure of how else to dissipate the nervous energy that bubbled beneath his skin. Despite wanting to reach out to her, his arms were rooted at his side. Her name was on the tip of his tongue, but he was afraid to say it.

"…I should be returning-"

"No!" he shouted and grabbed her arm, and despite his overreaction she did not look at him. He squeezed her arm and a scowl formed on his face. The urge to pull her towards him was great but he ignored it.

She was silent and did not acknowledge his grip. He gritted his teeth as he still fought the desire to pull her. Taking a deep breath, he released her so that he could stand before her. He folded his arms across his chest and stared down at her; wishing he was slightly taller just to be a bit more intimidating.

"Why are you avoiding me?" He was finally able to ask the question that he had been skirting around. A fire ignited in her eyes as she glared at him.

"Isn't it natural to do so?" she asked back with a bit of a bite to her tone.

"Excuse me?" He matched her tone. His competitive side was coming out and despite the topic not necessarily being a good one, he did enjoy having a little "competition" with her again.

"I believe," she paused to match his stance, "that it is only natural to avoid the person, who turned down your proposal and kept your ring."

"What nonsense are you tal-" The color drained from his face as he stared at her. Absently, he twisted the silver ring on his finger. As the memory of the day that she gave it to him returned to him, he glanced down at the ring and it was only then that he realized that it could be an engagement ring. Now all the comments his staff made, when he first wore it made sense.

That day, he had been so annoyed to be made the Duke, but did it really cloud his mind so much that he would be ignorant to a proposal? He desperately tried to recall if she ever actually asked him to marry her but all he could recall was him complaining and being confused at her sudden departure. Whatever color that was left in his face drained as he remembered what at fool he was. Sure, he could be dense about romantic things, but he couldn't be that dense…There was just no way that he was denser than the boar!

"You should have been more obvious," he blurted out in embarrassment. As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he made another mistake and he didn't need her intense glare to help him realize that.

He desperately tired to think of how to save that situation. The thought of proposing to her in the past did cross his mind, so the idea of marring her was not the problem, but now that she was the archbishop could he still marry her? He looked into her eyes that he had grown so fond of and he realized he didn't care what the church wanted all he cared about was that he loved her and hoped that she still felt the same.

Now that he knew where he stood, came the next issue of what to do next. Pretty words were not going to fix it. Even Sylvain with all his flowery speech would not be able to find the words to repair Felix's destroyed image. And even if there were words that could do that, he would not want to use them.

Actions speak louder than words that had been a saying that he strongly believed in. He knew exactly what he wanted to do but there was just one little problem. He had no ring. Leaving to get a ring wasn't possible nor did he believe that she would appreciate a rushed decision. He couldn't propose to her with the ring that she used; he was pleased that he had enough sense to not entertain that thought for very long.

He did have another ring, it was an incredibly important one, one that he wasn't allowed to share with anyone, but he didn't give a damn. If she was still willing to be his wife than to hell with customs she should have just as much access to the ring as he did. The ring was far from an engagement ring, but he hoped that its importance would help her realize that he was serious.

Slipping off the ridiculously large, golden ring with the Fraldarius' symbol on it, he took a deep breath before getting down on one knee. Wide, emerald eyes stared at him and he was pleased to see her glare gone. She did not offer her hand and so he dared to take it. He relaxed greatly when she did not fight him.

"Byleth, I am an absolute fool, who can be completely inept at social cues sometimes." He smiled a little when he saw her do a small shake of her head. "Two years ago, I was a fool too caught up in his problems to realize what you were attempting to do, and I hurt you. I will live with that shame for the rest of my life but if you could see it in your heart to allow me to make it up to you, I will do everything in my power to do so." He paused to take a deep breath.

"Byleth, I love you." Her eyes widen more, and he realized that that was the first time he ever said that to her. Despite everything that they had done together, never did he once verbally share his feelings. Goddess, why was he like that? He decided that if she said yes that he would be more vocal with his feelings.

"Byleth Eisner, will you marry me?" He slipped his signet ring onto her finger and it obviously did not fit. His eyes lingered on her hand and the ring as he wasn't ready to see her expression yet.

"Are…are you sure?" she asked unnaturally quietly. He glanced at her and saw her lips twitching. "You…you are not just asking because-"

He quickly stood up and cupped her cheeks. Resting his forehead against hers, he marveled at the sight of only his reflection in her eyes. It was then that he realized that he never felt more sure of anything in his life before.

"Yes," he whispered softly. "There is no one else I wish to spend the rest of my life with. I love you. I desire you, above anything else in this world. You are my one and only love."

He watched in amusement as she rapidly blinked away her tears. The mesmerizing smile she flashed him, sent his heart rate soaring. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she cheerfully shouted "yes". Forgetting, where they were, he spun her around. When he finished, he was about to kiss her, only for her to stop him by placing a finger on his lips and he growled out.

"I can't have you smudging my make-up." He scowled. "I'm not about to put up with a lecture from Seteth because of you," she laughed, and he found it impossible to stay annoyed after hearing such a lovely sound.

She pulled him closer to her to the point where her lips brushed his ear and he felt a jolt run through his body. "Though, once this party is over you are more than welcome to come and pay me a visit in my room." She pulled away from him with a smirk and a wink.

In a small daze he watched her leave. Once she was gone, he turned his sights towards the sky and stared at the stars. A nice warmth settled in him and he allowed a rare smile to settle on his face.

The sounds of the balcony's door opening again, quickly caused him to return his attention back onto his little area. Byleth was back and she was laughing as she walked towards him and the warmth grew. He would never grow tired of hearing such a sound.

"I can't keep this. Just imagine the scandal it would create." She held out his signet ring. He was tempted to tell her to keep it but his rational side knew better and so he took the ring back.

"Well I am not one to be pushy with anything, but I would like an engagement ring soon so that people will know that I'm taken." He nodded at that. He would love nothing more than to let everyone in all of Fodlan know that she was his and he was hers.

She gave him a small peck on the lips but quickly distanced herself before he could respond. "I will be waiting for you tonight." And with that she left again.

Felix stood on the balcony for a few more minutes. He was happy. After the death of his brother and the distance that formed between him, his father, and Dimitri, he thought he would never find happiness outside of battle again. But thanks to Byleth he was able to find love and joy again. He desired nothing more than to have her feel the same, and he would see to it that she would.

We have now reached the end! When I first wrote the oneshot, I never imagined it would spark into a little story. Nor did I realize that this would be the direction it would take.

Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little story! And thank you to all who left comments!