Prince of Fire Emblem: The Promise

[volleygenius]

Bunta let Lissa have the rest of their return trip to be as quiet or as talkative as she liked. She had a lot to digest, he imagines, between the arrangement itself and how her interactions with people were about to change with the addition of a ring to her finger. It's simpler for him. He pledged his life to the royal family a long time ago; this is just a new spin on an old loyalty.

For the remainder of the day, the second ring from Ishimitsu's store has stayed hidden in his pocket, out of sight until the sun is nearly set on the horizon, and the moon and stars are beginning to appear. That feels about right.

To call it a plan was an overstatement. He got a whim in the jeweler's and acted on it, and once it was in his pocket he thought of a good use for it, and that was that. He got it for her, at some point was going to give it to her, and he was going to make it count for something when he did.

So, rounding his way through the castle, he finally finds Lissa and gives her a casual salute of greeting.

"Yo. Can I borrow you for a minute? There's something you should see up top of the west tower."

Comments

[volleygenius]

Bunta knows he's chosen well if she's reacting like this. Listen to her. Waste.

"Gonna have to step up his game, isn't he?" Marui says, ignoring her questions about his own future and not looking one drop of sorry. He doesn't even flinch at her threat to throw it at him. Never falters in his smile. In fact, if anything, it grows into a full-fledged grin.

"I'm setting the bar here."

[didntaxyou]

She practically squishes the box between her hands. The goods are metal, she can't bend it. It's fine.

"Oh, why'd you bother with the other ring, then?" she wondered, wringing her hands, closed box still between them. "You could have just pointed this one out in the store like a normal person."

[volleygenius]

"Well, it's done, right?" He said dismissively, and in a complete evasion of the question itself. "More to the point, I have still one more thing to give you."

[didntaxyou]

"What's it gonna be, a new castle?" she asked, a little giddily. She cracked the box open to see the fire opal catch another sunbeam.

Throwing it could wait until she'd had her fill of looking at the pretty thing. Maybe even could wait for until she'd had her fill of wearing it where everyone could see and exclaim over it.

"You're gonna be lucky if my brother doesn't take this out of your pay!"

[volleygenius]

Lissa's elation is palpable and contagious. What a great mood to ride.

Leaving aside the question of who's paying for it (and Bunta has every confidence and expectation that it's Yukimura-covered-- just look at how happy it's made Lissa), he reaches out and gently reclaims her hand with the box, bringing it back into a loose clasp between his hands.

"I told you, right? This ring comes with a promise attached. Try and listen carefully; I'm serious about this."

[didntaxyou]

"I can't listen if you don't just say it already!" she exclaimed, eyes still firmly on the box.

[volleygenius]

Heh! Well, isn't she eager. Is she paying attention to his attempt to ground that excitement just a bit? Let's hope so.

"Okay."

Bunta fixes his own gaze on the ring box, pausing just for a couple of moments to collect his thoughts. This may be nothing but a superficial lie to Lissa, and that's fine. She doesn't owe more than the bare minimum here. He's going to make it into something special, something meaningful, both for her sake and for Yukimura's.

Smiling, he lifts his gaze back to her face.

"Lissa Yukimura... With this ring, I promise myself to you. From now on, until the day you find your true love, and I have to let you go, I'm making you my number one priority. I promise to hold you closer to my heart than anyone else. That I will love and care for you unconditionally; chase your best interests over anyone else's; and stand beside you as your greatest support. I'm going to show you, every single day, the kind of partner you deserve to be with, until you can never forget what to demand of the person that follows me."

For Yukimura, he'll allow it. This was the real request he had for Bunta when he made him the fiancé, wasn't it? Protect and care for Lissa above all else. There's no way he's throwing less than everything he has into something that means so much.

[didntaxyou]

"Well, I was never planning to just settle for the first guy who comes along, g-gosh!"

Her face lights up red at his little speech. Something in the back of her mind reminds her that this kind of care is probably a privilege of the being the princess, or even just Seiichi's little sister, but for this one time, she'll just... ignore it. She feels so... esteemed in this one moment, and it can't be a bad thing to hang on to that.

With a deep breath, she tries to give Bunta the seriousness a princess is supposed to give this kind of situation.

She squeezes his hand, and her dignity lasts for about half a minute before she laughs helplessly.

"You're doing way too much... but thank you. I promise, I'll treasure the way I feel right now, and I'll always remember that if someone who's just my friend can do this much, I should never expect less from anyone who wants to be more."

[volleygenius]

"That's the spirit," he says with a twinkle in his eye, and gives her a companionable pat on the shoulder as he gets to his feet. "No one gets to tell you that's asking too much."

With an indicative toss of his head towards the door and a grin, he offers his elbow in a playful imitation of the kind of princely figure that would practice such formality.

"C'mon-- your brother's gonna want to be the first person you show that new ring to."

And the absolute glow on her face from it.