・°.♦︎~★˚✧♪〜.♥︎.•♦︎•.♥︎.〜♪✧˚★~♦︎.°・
Secrets, Sketches And Warmth (Requested)
Ignatz x Reader
Game: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Notes- Requested for Bun_Bit! Sorry this took a while, and it seems I also went on for a bit! Hope you enjoy it anyways~
・°.♦︎~★˚✧♪〜.♥︎.•♦︎•.♥︎.〜♪✧˚★~♦︎.°・
"Wow!"
Y/n gasped in surprise, gazing at the wonderful paintings in awe.
"Ignatz— these are beautiful!"
She clasped her hands together, her features brightening with an amazed smile that met her lips in an instant. The forest haired student chuckled nervously, pushing his glasses up a little higher with his index finger. He has never shown anyone his artwork— nor has he gotten any comments about his efforts, so receiving such praise was not only new for him, but slightly embarrassing too.
"Th-thank you!" He stuttered, watching her as she grazed her fingers along the edges on the canvas, gazing at his paintings and lost in thought of every exquisite detail.
"Oh— sorry!" She backed her hand away immediately, turning around to look at Ignatz.
"I shouldn't be touching the canvas, should I?"
"Ah— well— no, not really,"
She chuckled softly, muttering an apology before looking at the paintings again, all done by him in the little spare time he had.
"Ignatz... your paintings are amazing! Thank you so much for letting me see something so incredible!" Y/n exclaimed, still eyeing the artwork.
Ignatz paused for a moment, struggling to find any words to say back. Feeling heat rushing to his cheeks, he cleared his throat, adjusting his collar with shaky hands.
"Oh—! Er... thank you, Y/n! I honestly didn't think someone would appreciate them this much... but I guess I was wrong!"
Y/n stopped, her jaw dropping open. She looked back at Ignatz, unable to speak for a second.
"Wha... did you really think that? Why, when you have such a talent for art?"
"W-well I just..." He sighed, averting his gaze to one of the paintings placed out— oranges, yellows and more warm colours were mixed together to create the lovely view of the evening sky, something he witnessed when no one was around once. His painting was almost identical to the treasured memory, and for a moment Ignatz smiled at the thought. It was a very beautiful sight... but he also remembered nearly being caught whilst painting this, though thankfully such a thing didn't fall upon him.
"...*sigh*" His small grin was replaced with a downhearted frown.
"Y/n, promise me you won't tell anyone about what you've seen today,"
"Huh?" She took a step towards him, studying his timid features. Her shocked expression faded, and Ignatz saw a look of concern written on her face.
"Why not?"
"..."
It was at that moment when he explained everything to her. About how his family want him— need him to become a knight to support them... and yet his heart's already set on painting. Becoming a knight was something unappealing to Ignatz, but he's been trying to force himself to give up those dreams, lock them away and never return to to world of art again. But even now, he finds himself unable to resist painting, his favourite hobby. Especially when he came to the monastery— a place full with extraordinary artworks, incredible architecture, gorgeous sunsets and blue skies... yet he still keeps it a secret. Even from those close to him in the Golden Deer class, Ignatz makes sure he doesn't let any one of them find out about his talent.
Then there was Y/n. A girl who was the sweetest, kindest and most caring of them all. Strangely, he could put all his trust in her and not feel as if it were wrong. Not at all. In fact, Y/n and Ignatz quickly became friends when they met at the monastery— mostly because they were both seated together at the beginning of the year, but there seemed to be something else between those two students that was beginning to blossom...
After explaining everything that had been on his mind for the past few months, he definitely knew it was right to trust her.
"Ignatz... thank you for sharing that with me. I promise not to tell anyone about your art,"
Once he heard those words, Ignatz relaxed— something he hasn't really been able to do for some time. The feeling was actually a little strange to him, since he hasn't witnessed relaxation's comforting embrace in ages, as if it was keeping him safe now.
"No I-I... Y/n, thank you for keeping that promise. It... means a lot to me."
・°.・♦︎—♥︎—♦︎・.°・
This morning was almost like any other morning at Garreg Mach monastery. Waking up to a luminous dawn, being served a divine breakfast, sitting through Professor Byleth's lectures and learning new techniques for battle... everything seemed normal.
Now that all classes have been dismissed for a short period of time, students at the monastery were either getting something to eat in the Dining Hall, catching up with friends, staying behind in their classroom for extra study time or taking part in something else completely.
Y/n decided to get a small snack to eat, since she was starting to feel a bit hungry during the lessons. As she made her way inside the Dining Hall, she noticed many other students were there too, of course, eating and chatting to each other.
"Y/n!"
A voice called out in a rather timid manner, but it still caught her attention. Y/n's eyes scanned around the hall until they found Ignatz, standing in the queue and waving at her with his hand. Her eyes lit up once seeing him, and a smile budded at the corners of her lips as she approached him quickly.
"Hey, Ignatz!"
Once she was closer to him, Y/n picked up a plate off the large stack, ready to pick out different foods to eat during the break. She noticed Ignatz already picked out a handful of grapes.
"How's your day been?" She asked, deciding to start a conversation with him.
A small smile appeared upon his lips before he spoke again, taking a few steps to the side due to the que of students going along, with Y/n following him.
"It's been good!" Ignatz began.
"I woke up pretty early today to finish off a sketch," Taking an apple and placing it on his plate, he continued talking to her.
"Now that I finished drawing it, all I need to do is paint it!"
"Nice!" Y/n commended, happy to hear her friend is beginning to follow his heart again by painting.
"So, what's the piece going to be this time?" She picked up a pear, placing it on her plate.
"It's—"
Ignatz suddenly stopped speaking.
He froze on the spot, the only movement being the corners of his agape mouth tugging down, as if he came to a shocking realisation of something— as if it was something he shouldn't be saying. Especially in front of Y/n.
She raised a brow and chuckled in confusion, her laugh sounding rather uncertain.
"Ignatz...?" Y/n mumbled, wondering why he was so... hesitant.
"Is everything alright?"
Regaining focus, the forest-haired student shook his head and sputtered words that she couldn't understand very well, his round glasses falling off his nose slightly.
"Ah— um—" Ignatz shakily pushed his glasses up with his finger, laughing nervously and offering Y/n a bashful smile.
"You see— well— er— I—"
The words tumbled out uncontrollably, not giving Ignatz a chance to compose himself. He was starting to shake so much that it was easy to see the grapes and apples rattling around on the wobbling plate he held, the plate itself close to slipping off his hand.
It would've if it wasn't for her touch.
"Ignatz,"
Y/n's tone was calm and tender. Her hand was gently placed upon his shoulder, gripping it softly to help her friend to concentrate. Her hand was... kind, somehow putting an end to the flood of jumbled words spilling, and stopping him from shaking so frantically out of distress. Y/n was warm, safe— Ignatz could've easily melted into her touch, but given the current situation he wrapped himself up into, such a thing was, sadly, not possible at the moment.
"It's okay, everything's alright..."
His cheeks turned from ghost-white to beetroot red, and Ignatz was starting to feel the strange need to take hold of her hand in his own, to share her warmth— the thought was something new to him, but quite pleasant all the same.
"Are you feeling better?" Y/n asked.
Instead, he allowed a smile to form upon his lips and nodded.
"Yes... y-yes! I am actually— thank you..."
Smiling in return, Y/n removed her hand from his shoulder— slowly, as if she was afraid of letting go of him.
"Good!"
She thought about asking him the same question about his sketch—
What is it about?
—But, judging by his reaction, she decided not to press further into the subject. Maybe he'll tell her soon...
"So... should we get some more food?"
He nodded.
"Yes, that sounds nice, Y/n!"
・°.・♦︎—♥︎—♦︎・.°・
The gentle afternoon glow blanketed the monastery, signalling the coming to an end of the lectures for this day. Students could be seen in hallways or outside chatting to one another, talking about anything interesting that took place during their lessons.
"You are now dismissed,"
Byleth announced, starting to rub off all drawings on the chalkboard with a piece of cloth. Her students began gathering their papers, some eager to leave whilst others were still jotting down some information about sword techniques. Y/n marked a full stop near the end of her paragraph, placing her quill next to the small pot of ink. She looked at Ignatz, who was sat next to her, and smiled.
"Hey..."
What she was about to say vanished into thin air once her eyes spotted the panicked expression written on his face.
Without having to even ask him, Ignatz's stressed gaze reached her own eyes, piercing through them like an arrow.
"My sketch book—"
"You're—"
"It's m-missing!" He stammered, his eyes darting around his desk.
Y/n's eyes widened in shock.
"It's missing?" All she could do at moment was repeat his disquieting words, her tone just as shaky as his was.
Y/n may have only knew about his secret yesterday— but she was already aware of how much it means to him. She could tell by the terrified look held in his eyes, the way his hands shook like they did this morning, how pale his skin had turned just by the thought...
She furrowed her eyebrows, determined to find the precious book.
"Alright," She started, speaking with a braver voice.
"We'll find it,"
Before Ignatz could question her intentions, Y/n had already sprung to her feet, dropping her papers onto her desk. She took off immediately, not wasting another moment to find her friend's highly valued sketchbook.
Ignatz sighed, quickly standing up and following her without thinking throughly about her plan. He thought about all the possible scenarios in his head— what if someone ruins the artwork inside? What if someone finds out it was his? What if...
What if someone finds the piece he was working on this morning?
The very thought of the chaos that could unfold was almost enough to make him faint.
And just before the two students were about to leave the Golden Deer classroom—
"Uhh... Does this belong to anyone?"
A voice broke through the mindless chatter within the room, nearly putting it to a silence.
Y/n and Ignatz turned around— slowly, uncertainly but hopefully.
They both saw Leonie, holding up a rather large and thin black book in her hand, a look of confusion on her face. Other Golden Deer students, such as Lysithea and Lorenz, made their way to her to see this book.
"Hmm... I don't remember seeing that anywhere!" Lysithea commented, tapping her chin and trying to remember if she'd actually seen it or not.
"What is inside it? Maybe we can find a name?" Lorenz asked, raising a brow in thought.
"'Dunno..." Leonie replied. She raised the book up, eyeing it curiously. Out of interest, she placed her other hand on the front cover.
"Maybe we can find out and return it..."
She tucked her thumb underneath the page, lifting it slightly—
Wait—
She was about to open the sketchbook!
Ignatz almost jumped out of his skin once seeing what was happening before him, and he was too frightened to even try and attempt to stop her from looking inside...
But Y/n regained her focus.
"No— Leonie— wait!!"
She shouted, rushing towards her friend, nearly tripping over the leg of a desk nearby.
"Huh?"
She swiped her hand and snatched the book out of her grip, without any hesitation whatsoever.
"Wha— Y/n?!"
Lysithea's pink eyes widened in surprise, Lorenz gasped quietly and Leonie let out a baffled noise, her fiery eyes narrowing at Y/n.
She clutched onto the book tightly in her arms, as if her own life depended on it, and laughing with a bit of nervousness, Y/n looked at her friends again, trying to avoid their dumbfounded yet angered gazes— she only knew that they were confused by what was going on right now.
Ignatz, in the other hand... his mouth was agape. As much as he wanted to interfere and to attempt to try calm the situation, he was understandably too afraid to step in, fearing that he may cause even more trouble...
"Y/n?!" The snow-haired girl spoke first, arms crossed firmly over her chest.
"What was that all about?!"
"Yes, you did give us a bit of a shock there, Y/n..." The Noble admitted, shaking his head slightly.
"Is the book yours?" Leonie asked, pointing to it.
Relaxing her firm grasp of the book, Y/n paused for a moment, trying to think about what to say to ease the tension...
"Ah, well... yes!"
She laughed again, except sounding a bit more confident in doing so.
"Yes, this is... mine— of course it is! I like to... make a lot of notes. A lot of notes... so I bought this from a market a few days ago!"
She glanced at Ignatz, who was standing a few steps away from her, features not as tense as they were before. Without saying another word, Y/n scurried away, out of the classroom in a hurry before the others could ask her any more questions.
Ignatz followed her, as if he was not capable of being left alone.
Raising a brow, the other students looked at each other in confusion.
"That was... strange," Was all Leonie could say at this point.
"Yes, it was. And I don't even think that was her book!" Lysithea suggested.
Watching Y/n and Ignatz running off together was still on Lorenz's mind, and he couldn't help but say something about the scene—
"And did you notice those two both running off? Something seems a bit... special, about their relationship,"
Leonie shook her head—
"No no, that's not the case..."
—But inside... she agreed with his statement. It seems that Ignatz and Y/n's relationship could be turning into something else...
・°.・♦︎—♥︎—♦︎・.°・
"Okay— we should be safe here..."
Ignatz waited for Y/n to enter his room before he closed the door— but leaving a little gap. He looked back at her, and he found her tracing her fingers along the edges of his sketchbook. He swallowed a gasp before finding the courage to speak up again.
"Y/n... thank you— you don't understand how great the consequences would've been— thank you!"
All Y/n could do was giggle as he tried to find the right words to say, but thankfully she could see the honesty glowing in his copper eyes that were set on her.
"No worries, Ignatz. But you must remember to take proper care of your things— especially things that are the most treasured to you, okay?" Y/n reminded him, smiling softly at him. Yet she kept hold of his sketchbook in her hands, not planning on giving it back to him until he learned his lesson.
Ignatz nodded— nodded with such speed that his glasses fell down his nose slightly. He chuckled, pushing them up with his finger.
"Of course! I promise to take better care of my belongings, Y/n,"
"Alright, good! Now that you understand..." She began, taking a few steps towards him. She let go of the book with one hand and extended the other, ready to give it back to him...
Too bad she loosened her grip.
A piece of paper slipped out of the sketchbook, since Y/n's light grip opened the book just a little.
"Huh?" She placed his book on a nearby table before crouching down, picking up the paper...
Ignatz froze.
"No wait—"
It was too late.
She stood back up, holding the paper in both hands.
"What's this...?"
It was a drawing.
Not just any drawing— it was one of her.
It was a sketch of Y/n, sitting on one of the benches outside. In her hands was a book, one she was reading happily. She seemed peaceful, but engaged in whatever story she was reading. A few of the cats in the monastery gathered around her, two rubbing their furry faces against her feet whilst the other was asleep next to her thigh, and upon her lips was a small yet delightful smile...
"Ignatz..." She mumbled, captivated by his artwork. It was certainly realistic, and he really captured the mood of that time... she tilted her head up, and she found a flustered, speechless Ignatz.
"Is... is this what you were making today?"
He refused to make eye contact with her, instead focusing on the wooden floorboards beneath them.
"...I-I..." He tried to speak, but there was nothing he could say to her. Ignatz was embarrassed— ashamed of himself for not taking better care of the piece— a piece that he treasured the most. And now the one person he especially didn't want to see it was the one who saw it— Y/n.
"Er... w-well... yes. It... was,"
There was a silence between the two. Not exactly an uncomfortable one, yet it wasn't a very pleasant one either. Ignatz'z lips were pressed firmly together, creating a thin line. He clasped his hands together behind his back, nervously shifting his feet around on the floor, avoiding her gaze. How could he let her see the picture— what did it make him look like— why did this have to happen to him out of all people— why?!
And there it was again.
Warmth.
Ignatz didn't even notice Y/n walking towards him.
It was when her fingers touched his own, slowly intertwining them with her's, holding them delicately, the picture was held in her other hand safely. He gasped, amber gaze finally meeting her own as she offered him a bright smile.
"Ignatz... I love it," Y/n confessed, much to his astonishment.
"You... you what?"
Stifling a giggle, she repeated her sentence.
"I love it— the sketch!"
His eyes widened, along with his mouth hanging open in disbelief of her words.
"Wha— you're not mad?"
"Well, actually... I was about to ask when, where and why you drew this— you know, just to make sure you weren't doing anything... questionable,"
The very idea caused his blush to go darker than it was now. He shook his head violently, stammering many 'no's as he did so.
"No— no— no—!"
Y/n chuckled, squeezing his hand faintly to help him calm down a little.
"Don't worry, I just want to know," Her tone was a bit more serious when she asked him again.
Ignatz averted his gaze, gathering all his courage to try and explain the situation.
"Yes, of course... well, I saw you outside reading that book a few days ago... I was painting something in my room until you caught my eye and... you looked so sweet I-I just wanted to create a sketch of you!" He wanted to look at her again, but his eyes refused him to do so, keeping him in the same position he was in now.
Y/n could feel her cheeks burn, causing a pink blush to cover her cheeks, reaching to the tips of her ears.
"I..."
Now it was her turn to lose the right words to say.
"Ignatz, that's... really nice of you,"
Y/n tilted her head down, leaning her forehead against his own. Ignatz jumped for a moment, but he soon relaxed, gingerly running his thumb along her knuckles.
"You're such a talented artist... I'm actually quite honoured to know that you drew me, tehe!"
And for once, a smile adorned his lips— a smile genuine and joyful.
His hand shyly made its way to her waist, drawing her closer to him as he looked into her eyes once again, eyes filled with happiness and contentment.
"Thank you, Y/n,"
Maybe their relationship really did blossom into something else over these past few days...
Something warm.
・°.♦︎~★˚✧♪〜.♥︎.•♦︎•.♥︎.〜♪✧˚★~♦︎.°・
Heya! So sorry I took ages to not only finish the request, but to actually post something! *face-palms* silly me...
But I hope you enjoyed this despite my inactivity. And I shall see you all soon!