North x Northwest

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Lil woke up, rubbed her eyes, and raised herself.

‘It felt like someone had entered the room, but I’m the only one here…’

She was certain though, that fingers belonging to Ed had adjusted her blanket to cover her better, stroked her forehead, and then touched her cheek before moving away.

Clad in a thick robe, Lil left the room while carrying a lantern. As it was cold in the hallway, she adjusted the hem of her clothes while her shadow, slanted against the wall, showed her shrugged shoulders. The sound of her soft footsteps on the carpet made its way up the stairs to Ed’s bedroom.

“Ed?”

Lil pushed the door that wasn’t fully closed and with the little source of light she had, Lil found Ed stretched out on the bed.

After Lil started coming in and out of his bedroom, Ed began tidying up the warehouse-like space. Of course, most things were just moved to the next room, but his bedroom’s condition was now well-maintained enough for Lil to be able to walk toward his bed without difficulty.

She checked the clock and noticed it was already past midnight.

‘I thought I’d stay with him tonight if he were still awake. But, given that he couldn’t even take off his clothes, I guess he was extremely tired.’

Lil turned off the lantern she had brought with her as well as the light next to his bed. She then lay on her stomach beside him and stared at the face that was half buried in the blanket. At some point, a smile appeared on her lips without realising it…

‘Oh no, not like this.’

Lil gave herself a sloppy slap on the cheek and sighed helplessly before looking around Ed’s bedroom that was dark without a hint of dawn. At first, Lil thought about taking off his jacket, but she was worried that it might wake him up. Without being able to do anything else, she could only look at Ed.

‘I never really understood why Ed pushed his face in front of me to make me look at him, but now I want to look at him so much that it’s almost embarrassing… Especially when it feels like it’s never enough even if I can freely look at him right now… I can tell I’ve been more objective in the past… Meanwhile, this guy may have dropped his swords and guns, he now uses his face as a weapon, confusing me with a simple smile… At the very least, I’m aware of it… But that doesn’t mean I can help it…’

Lil realised she was losing herself more and more each day.

Moreover, admiring Ed as a person brought her more satisfaction than admiring his looks alone. And that sensation went further than strangely tingling toes or prickly fingers.

‘It reminds me of the tickling sensation I felt when I was playing in the flower gardens as a child who knew nothing. At a time when the world seemed perfect to me, and I loved being at the centre of it all, not having to think about what else to do… Funny, for no apparent reason, it’s as if I can suddenly smell fragrant grass from somewhere.’

Lil twitched her nose and wondered whether to enjoy this ridiculous moment or lament at the foolishness of seemingly escaping her reality.

In the end, she moved and sat on the chair next to the bed, resting her pensive face in her hands. She deliberately opened her eyes to glare at him, but she just as quickly melted away. She did come to see him. However, now that she was actually looking at him, she felt so satisfied that she lost track of time.

‘I clicked my tongue at Levi, Linhardt, and Ed, but in fact, I guess I’m no different… I just don’t show it on the outside…’

Lil whispered.

“…I like you…”

Ed was lying on his stomach. The hair on the back of his head fell to the side and sprawled over his cheeks and ear, exposing the nape of his neck. The loose collar of his justaucorps hung a little lower.

‘It looks like he had tried to take it off in a hurry but failed.’

Out of nowhere, Lil felt the intense desire to press her lips there. Although it would’ve been very satisfying for her to act on it, her reason prevented her from doing something that could be considered harassment against a sleeping person.

‘No. But, we’re very close, right? …We sleep together while we hold hands, so this much should be fine, I guess? I don’t think Ed ever feels too bad when he presses his lips on my body when I’m sleeping…Even so, he needs his sleep. Seeing that the light on his bedside was still lit, it seems like it hasn’t been long since he’s fallen asleep.’

Lil’s self-control was stronger than anybody else’s because she could stop herself from giving in to her desire to wake up someone who needed their rest. Satisfied by her generous and mature choice, she picked up the blanket that Ed had kicked in his sleep. Since it was tangled under his knees and couldn’t be easily pulled out, Lil quietly climbed onto the bed and gently lifted the hem of the blanket…

Lil’s eyes met Ed’s, who looked at her absent-mindedly.

“…Liloa?”

The moment Lil heard his dry voice, she completely forgot about her generosity and maturity, especially when she saw Ed’s face, which had been raised to look at her for a moment, before falling back into the blanket.

The muffled sounds from his now hidden face were strangely pleasant to hear. Even though Lil secretly imagined waking him up more often in the future, she apologised with her last traces of conscience pricked.

“Did I wake you up? I’m sorry.”

“What is going on?”

Ed squinted his tired eyes.

“I came because I missed you, but you were already asleep.”

“Hearing that makes me feel so excited.”

“I was going to cover you with a blanket.”

“Hm… You said you came to cover me with a blanket, but seeing as you haven’t even covered me at all, I think you have something else up your sleeve.”

“..!”

Lil was left speechless after he hit the nail right on the head, but before she could react, Ed’s nose and lips began twitching in anticipation of a kiss. Finding the obvious gesture cute, she probably wanted to kiss him more than he did.

Lil lay down next to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ed whispered as he briefly sucked her lips.

“I went to see you earlier…”

“You should’ve woken me up. How could you make me miss you like this? See? I even came all the way here in the middle of the night in my nightgown.”

“…My bad…”

Based on his mumbling voice, he seemed to be still half asleep. Ed muttered some more unintelligible words while pressing his lips against the side of Lil’s neck and having his hands smoothing her breasts over her negligee. As it had been some time since Ed touched her like this, it felt even sweeter to Lil. So, she followed his lead and stroked his soft hair. But when she tightened her embrace on the back of his neck…

“…Ah! Wait! Wait a minute! What is this?!”

“What’s the matter?!”

“We need to get up for a moment.”

“..?”contemporary romance

While Ed, who didn’t understand what was going on, got up, Lil lit the lamp. The bright light illuminated Ed, who was standing in confusion next to the bed.

“Is that a uniform?”

Ed scanned his outfit and answered upon remembering something.

“Oh, I needed to wear this as I was to receive an edict.”

“I see. I was just surprised… surprised to feel that there was some metal there…”

Lil and Ed both looked down at his chest at the same time. It was the emperor’s medal, hanging below the epaulettes, that sparkled in the orange lantern light. Only then did Ed come to his senses and approached Lil.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I didn’t get stabbed anywhere. I was merely startled by something sharp when I was fumbling around.”

Still, Ed looked at her palms intently. Lil, however, was only interested in his uniform.

‘When he was on the deck of the Visha, I only saw it in passing, so this is my first time seeing Ed dressed up in such a neat uniform.’

There were shiny golden tassels tightly wrapped around the three stars on the epaulettes.

‘Those are the admiral’s epaulettes. When I lived in the South, this crimson uniform was something I hated and dreaded… Emotions that were like a mountain that I couldn’t overcome. However, seeing Ed wearing it now gives me a completely different feeling…’

Lil looked around the bed with her eyes filled with curiosity.

“Where’s your hat?”

Ed raised his head and gave her a suspicious look, but Lil simply widened her eyes and raised her eyebrows to look as innocent as possible.

“What?”

“You seem suspicious…”

“Come on, get it quickly.”

Ed approached the couch and lifted the bicorne hat that he had left there. The hat, shaped like two horns, was decorated with feathers and gold threads.

Lil put her lips together and whistled.

“How fancy.”

“It’s an officially appointed ornament.”

“I’ve only seen a triangle hat before, so try it on.”

Ed sat down next to her and narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t help but feel suspicious. Nonetheless, Lil merely tipped her chin upward to urge him on. With a reluctant gesture, Ed brushed away his bangs and placed the hat on his head.

“Junior officers wear it horizontally, senior officers wear it like this.”

“…”

He carefully adjusted the hat.

Lil actually knew how to wear it.

‘Senior officers and admirals wear their hats with the horns pointed back and forth.’

Ed, who pressed the end that came down to his forehead, raised his head slightly. Half of his face was now covered by the shadow of his hat, making it seem like he was looking at Lil with only one eye.

“Do you like it?”

His green eyes reflected in the light glowed softly. As Lil stared at his wonderfully smiling face as if possessed, she lost her last remaining bit of objectivity…

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