Game: Rekka No Ken
Theme: 83. Heal
Pairing: SerraxOswin
Summary: "My cute charms aren't enough. I'll show him I'm an Ostian to be proud of!"
Rating: K

AN: Finally, the last chapter. OswinxSerra is pwnage. :D

Plus, I firmly believe they are the parents of Bors and Wendy. Bors and Oswin look somewhat alike and Wendy and Serra have uncanny resemblances.

At only sixteen years old, Serra was quite the healer and beauty in the army formed by Hector and Eliwood. She knew it, the lords knew it, the enemies knew it and of course great St. Elimine knew it. Serra stayed firm in the mindset that she was special and should be treated as such. There was only one man in the world who dared to go against that mindset.

Oswin, a much older man of thirty, seemed immune to Serra's adorable charms and that bothered her a lot. She tried her hardest to impress Oswin by going out of her way and healing so many more patients, even those who didn't have life threatening injuries! She thought she would earn a lot of praise from the Ostian knight, which would make Hector and Eliwood appreciate her a bit more. This would move her up in the army and earn the appreciation and respect only she should earn.

"Does he hate me? Is that why he frowns whenever I try to talk to him?" Serra thought sadly. She had no idea why it was bothering her so much, but Oswin was an impressive man. He was strong, powerful and earned the complete respect of both Lord Uther and Hector. Serra wanted to earn his recognition. She wanted to make him smile. She wanted him to tell her she was doing a good job.

"Heal!"

"Heal!"

"Heal!"

Serra wiped her forehead. Sweat dripped off her face and she wiped her hand on her robes in disgust. She HATED sweat! It was disgusting and smelly. It wasn't something that befit a sister of St. Elimine.

"Serra..."

The pink haired woman turned and her heartbeat sped up. Lord Oswin was standing near her with the usual emotionless face. She perked up immediately and tried to make herself appear busy.

"Your healing is getting faster. I'm pleased to see you're making a better effort to be useful."

Serra tried to ignore the sting of that remark. Arguing with Oswin never worked like it did with Erk or Matthew. He knew exactly what to say to her that would render her speechless.

"Um...thank you, m'lord..." she mumbled.

"But I noticed you seem distracted. Every time you are healing someone, you always look over your shoulder. You can't allow yourself to get distracted. If you are worried about enemy soldiers, I will appoint someone to protect you," Oswin said in his stern voice.

"I'm...not distracted!" Serra protested. She turned away with a red face to heal an oncoming Lord Eliwood. Oddly enough, Oswin didn't move. He just watched her force more magic from her body and patch up Eliwood's injured arm. When the redhead moved away, Oswin moved closer to Serra, who seemed to inch away from him.

"Something is on your mind, Serra. What is it?"

"I'm...not telling you, m'lord..." Serra replied. "I have to hurry and heal more-"

"Serra, the fight is almost done," Oswin pointed out. Serra looked up and, true to Oswin's words, Eliwood was heading to the gate to claim victory. She sighed with relief and tried to steady herself. Lady Lily, their tactician, had been brutal today, forcing her to heal every minor injury. Her magic had nearly been exhausted and she felt sick.

"Serra!"

A strong arm wrapped around her before she hit the ground. Oswin stood over her, his usually cold face now reflecting concern. Serra coughed weakly before leaning against Oswin and whispering something.

"I was...working hard to impress...you..."

"What?" Oswin stared at her.

"All my healing...all my work...I just want to earn...your...respect..."

"Serra, I...I don't know what to say..." Oswin looked bewildered. "Why?"

Her face said everything. Through her exhaustion, she was blushing and shyly turning away. Her, the loud and outspoken cleric that tried to get what she wanted, had tried to impress him, a much older man who bossed her around and always managed to get the upper hand with her. He was sure this was the real Serra - not the Serra who acted important and so self centered, but the Serra who was alone and wanted to impress people. Her biggest skill was healing and that's the only important thing she could do in this army.

"You...always act so stiff...and like you hate me..." Serra mumbled. "I just want to make...you like me."

Oswin helped her to the gate. She was so fragile and tiny and it startled him to see her so vulnerable. Had she been working herself into this state to gain his recognition? "Silly." A voice at the back of his mind chided. "That's what she just said, isn't it? She obviously thinks you're someone special."

"But I'm too old for her."

"Age is just a number. What about your former lord and lady? He was much older than her and they lived happily together until the day they died."

"..."

Stupid inner logic. Oswin glanced down at Serra, who seemed so peaceful and content snuggling into the side of his cold armor. She also looked so innocent and childish.

He felt a sudden urge to be the one to protect her.

"Let her heal all who she can. But what I really want her to do is heal my weary and tired mind."

THAT ENDING IS NOT AN INNUENDO.

I've always wanted to do something SerraxOswin. Sadly, I think I butchered it. I've had a REALLY bad day today and I think I forced a lot of this out.

In any case, it's late at night and I'm tired. I really wanted to get this out ASAP so I can return to Pokemon.

A big thank you to all who reviewed and stuck with this. I really appreciate every single comment! One of these days, I'll return and write some better things for this fandom. But for now, my attention span wants Pokemon and Vocaloid.

I hope you enjoyed my themes. See you again someday!

~Star