Tomorrow was Christmas, a romantic time of the year. Frey was nervously shifting about in her room at the castle, anxious for what was to come. She didn't have a lover quite yet, but she was planning on confessing this most romantic of days. Wishing upon the stars with the one she loves and giving him a present that represented her feelings to him.

She hoped he would return her feelings, but it wasn't necessary. All she wanted was for him to be happy. However, she needed to let her feelings be known. Not for her selfish hopes, but just to let him know where she stood and that she'll always be there for him. If friendship was all he could do, then that's what she would do: be his friend. She just wanted to let him know.

As the day turned to dusk, Frey grabbed the large present leaning against her desk and exited the castle. She waited in the snow for her love to show up, as they had promised to meet at the Town Square. Again, Frey began to fidget as she blew on her cold hands and rubbed her arms. She really should have invested in winter clothes. There was still a good couple of hours until nightfall, but she couldn't sit in her room anymore.

Setting the present up against the window of the castle, Frey began to pace a little in front of the present. In her head, she was practicing how she wanted to confess her feelings, rephrasing it over and over. In the end, she would just decide when he arrived, because she couldn't entirely predict how he'd react.

An hour later – a whole hour before their meeting time – the man arrived. His long, wavy, light blue hair and dark brown horse ears twitching, and his dark clothes, easily gave him away. Dylas. A man who once gave his life to become a guardian to save Venti. He was terse, but very kind and caring. Socially awkward, but that also made him cute and easy to tease. He was a good man, and Frey had fallen for him oh, so deeply.

She caught his yellow eyes widen at the sight of her blowing her whitened breath into her hands. Then his brow furrowed, and he marched right over. Hm? Why did he look annoyed?

"How long have you been out here?" he demanded harshly.

Frey brushed it off the rude wording, knowing that words were not Dylas' forte. "Huh? About an hour."

"That's too early for this time of year! You're as cold as ice," he scolded as he suddenly gripped her bare hand roughly.

She usually wore gloves, but she'd forgotten to put them back on after wrapping his present. Frey, startled, looked down at their hands, and felt her face began to flush. Not that her cheeks weren't already red from the cold. Dylas, too focused on her icy skin to notice her plight, began rubbing her hands, as gently as he could.

When they had been warmed up sufficiently, and Frey couldn't take much more for fear her heart beating out of her chest, started with, "Um…"

"Hm?" Dylas looked up and noticed her eyes were straying away from him. Then he realized he was still holding her hands. As if they were suddenly made of lava, he dropped them from his grasp and backed up a step.

"U-uh, sorry. To, um, have kept holding your hands. It was just that, uh, they were really cold and…"

"It's okay, Dylas. Thank you!" Frey chirped, looked back at him with a gentle smile and flushed cheeks.

It was Dylas' turn to flush a brilliant shade of scarlet and he just nodded his head, unable to speak. A few awkward moments of silence passed before Dylas got up his courage to speak.

"You said you wanted to give me something?" he asked, getting straight to the point, just to change the topic.

"Oh, right!" Frey perked up, glad for the reminder. She turned around and grabbed the long, wrapped present.

Clearing her throat, her nerves coming back to her all at once, she slowly started to talk. "As you know, today is Christmas. Even though in Selphia we don't really exchange gifts, I read about a tradition in a foreign country where they exchange gifts on Christmas. And I thought, out of all the people I've befriended here, I wanted to exchange presents with you the most."

Frey stared straight at Dylas as she said this, trying to cloak herself in her usual confidence that she didn't really feel at the moment. She watched Dylas' eyes round with surprise before he tentatively reached out and took it.

"Thank you," he replied, hesitant though he was. He looked from the present back to Frey. "Can I open it?"

"Of course!" Frey cheerfully replied. She stared at him intently as he began to unwrap it. When Dylas caught sight of her intense gaze, he quickly looked away, fighting the heat flooding his cheeks. Focusing on unwrapping the awkwardly shaped present and opening the box, inside was the most expensive fishing rod the town sold.

Flabbergasted, Dylas looked from the rod to Frey, back and forth, several times. His mouth gaped like a fish and only sputtered incoherent noises. Frey, unsure of whether this was a good sign or bad, started justifying herself.

"When I saw this rod, all I could think about was you. I had seen you eyeing it a couple of times before, so I thought, if I were to give you something, this would be the best. But if you don't like it - "

"Of course, I like it! It's just…where did you get the money to buy this?" Dylas cut her off before she could start going down insecurity lane.

"Oh, is that all? I just had a few things lying around and I sold them."

"Is that – is that all? Do you realize how expensive this is?"

Frey blinked, unable to understand Dylas' point. "Yes?"

Dylas' face deadpanned. "Do you really?"

Frey nodded firmly.

"Then why did you spend so much money on me?"

Time for the big moment, though, not exactly how she wanted to say it. Here goes nothing, "It's because I wanted to show you're special to me. I love you, Dylas."

"…"

The silence was terrifying. Frey's face started to contort with worry at the heavy air. Maybe confessing wasn't such a good idea. If this made him think ill of her…but he wasn't that kind of person. Regardless, her stomach was tied in knots and her hands began to twist at her skirt.

At last, he heaved a heavy sigh. Frey flinched slightly. "Great. She said it first," he mumbled.

Clearly, he meant it to say it to himself, but Frey could still hear it. Frey blinked before Dylas looked back into her eyes. The sobriety in his yellow eyes took Frey's breath away. He was going to answer, and if his murmur was any indication, maybe she could hope?

"I…I'm not good with words. And I have a bad attitude. Still, I'm gonna try and get this right. So, um, I-I love you…too. I have for a while now."

Frey's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the remarkably intense look in his eyes. She could see it, what he was feeling. And he felt the same. Tears pooling in the corners of her eyes, she smiled sweetly.

"I'm so happy."

"Yeah, me too," Dylas replied his face relaxing into a genuine smile that was as brilliant as the sun. After a moment, Dylas paused before adding, "Uh, I didn't get you anything. I didn't realize you were getting me anything until that message this afternoon."

"That's okay. This is present enough," Frey said kindly, slowly wrapping her arms around him. She felt him tense for a moment before relaxing and awkwardly returning the hug.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure, silly."

Neither one had to point out what she was sure about.

Pulling back after a lingering moment, Frey smiled and said, "Shall we head to the observatory now? It's getting about that time."

"Yeah," Dylas agreed, his answering smile gentle and kind.

Frey held out her hand expectantly, and though awkwardly hesitant still, he grabbed it, and they made their way to the observatory. There, they would watch and make wishes on the stars and chatting with the other townsfolk. What they ended up wishing for, deep in their hearts, was the same: to be together for a long time coming.

End

A/N: This is my very first Rune Factory 4 fanfiction ever. I was playing the game and it was getting to be Christmas, and I thought about confessions on holidays, and this was born. I hope you enjoyed it!