((I have high hopes for this one! Sorry if it turns out terrible like my other ones this far ; w ;  Requested by Nohr-And-Tea ))

Today was the day after we had defeated the Ice Tribe and silenced their rebellion. Peacefully of course. With no harm done.

After that, my group of fighters had gained two people: Niles and Odin. Leo's retainers.

While Odin simply seemed like a person always stuck in roleplay, Niles caught a different side of my attention.

He seemed like he was always planning something devious. I couldn't help but doubt his actions at this point. He was always kept a mystery in the eyes of others.

On the way home from our victory with the Ice Tribe, I knew I had to find out if he was safe or not. So I took a deep breath, told myself what I was going to say to him in my mind over and over, and headed straight for Niles!

We were on the astral plain, and luckily I had found him outside. I walked, each step filled with determination, as I made my way towards Niles.

As soon as he noticed I was headed towards him, he looked over at me with his same, signature smirk. At that moment, every word I had planned in my head flushed down the toilet as I began to struggle for words.

"Oh, what a surprise. Hello (Y/N), what can I do for you~?" He asked swiftly, placing a hand on his hip. "Don't be afraid, I don't bite." I opened my mouth to speak, but simply couldn't.

After some stuttering and trying to find the right words, I was finally able to speak.

"I-I...I wanted to know if perhaps...I-if perhaps you had any intentions of hurting someone...?" I asked, realizing I sounded very rude for assuming something like that.

"Hm...maybe I do, and then again, maybe I don't?" Niles said, not really answering my question, but instead bringing some more questions to my head.

I got a little frustrated at this. That smirk on his face...he was fully aware how that didn't answer my question..!

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, trying to keep my temper down.

"Oh lord (Y/N), you surely amuse me," Niles said with a chuckle, "I'm your brother's retainer, am I not? Now, what sort of retainer would I be if I were to hurt my lord's own brother? Well, then again, not really brother by blood...but you get what I mean. Im just playing with you~."

I sighed with relief at the thought of all my allies being safe. "Thank goodness..." I smiled.

Niles began to walk away, passing by me just as he did. Just then, he leaned in close to my ear and whispered... "Hmm...then again, maybe I'm not just teasing..."

My eyes widened in surprise as I spun around to question him, he was already gone. "My word-!"

"Lord (Y/N)! We are currently dealing with an invasion! You're needed at once!" Jacob shouted at me from afar, dashing off to tell the rest.

"Ah, alright!" I shouted back, grabbing my trusty Yato and heading off towards the swarm.

I picked some allies, deciding who would stay behind and who would fight. We then headed off into battle, swarming off against the creatures who were attacking us.

"Hyah!" I shouted as my Yato clashed against the armor of the monster standing in front of me. The monster went down with only one hit, falling to the ground.

I was beaming at my well done work, when I suddenly felt a strange presence. To my horror, I noticed a monster ready to attack from behind.

Before I could react, I saw two arrows fly by and hit the monster twice, then the monster came down with a thump. I looked to my left to see Niles, smirking at me and holding his arrow against his shoulder.

"Surprised to see me?" He asked with a devilish smile. I regained my composure and smiled at him calmly.

"Ah, yes, thank you...I didn't notice that one." I admitted, a slightest bit embarrassed at my fault.

"It's no problem. I just suspected a little more from a noble. Maybe I over estimated you...either that, or I'm just stronger and smarter than I think..~"

I scoffed and frowned at him, about to tell him how wrong he was when I noticed another monster creeping up on Niles. I smirked, and readied myself to attack the monster.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. If you're so clever and strong now, how come you didn't notice this?" I asked as I lunged at the monster, killing him in two hits.

He looked at the fallen monster and nodded. "Impressive. Perhaps I was wrong about you. Tell you what, how about we see who can kill the most invaders? Then we can prove who's obviously stronger~!"

I couldn't help but feel the urge to agree. I mean, after all, competition would only motivate us to kill more of these monsters, am I wrong? Plus, it would also solve this dispute while getting work done. Who was I to refuse?

I smiled at him confidently and nodded. "You're on!" I said. We both dashed off to find more prey to kill.

(TIME SKIP)

Huffing and struggling to regain my lost breath, I killed the last monster and finished off the last of the invaders.

Everyone cheered and complimented each other, smiling and laughing. I approached Niles, having the number of invaders I killed off memorized in my head.

Niles and I exchanged the amount we finished off, and surprisingly enough, I came out on top!

If I was completely honest with myself, I thought I would've lost. But I'm a noble: I should've expected more from myself! Niles is a retainer still gaining experience.

Though I must admit: he was pretty impressive. He was only 8 invaders away from beating me.

"I'm impressed, lord (Y/N). I sincerely apologize for doubting you~." Niles apologized. I beamed with confidence and stood tall. "Well, you did pretty well yourself!"

"For doubting a high noble such as yourself, allow me to apologize..." Niles began to go on one knee, taking my hand in his.

I didn't even realize what was happening and before I knew it, Niles' soft lips kissed my hand.

My face lit up bright red as I saw the male do this. The retainer looked up at me and smirked when he saw my dark red blush.

"Hm hm hm...very interesting indeed...for you to be overwhelmed by such a weak attack such as a kiss on the hand..." Niles said to himself, loud enough for me to hear, "..I sure can notice a weaker side to you..~"

I moved my hand away from his grasp and glared at him, trying to make the redness in my cheeks fade and instead only making them redder.

"I-I'm not weak! I-I-I'm not blushing, either! I'm just...tired! Y..yeah! Tired from all the fighting! Hah! You know..?!" I said unsurely, trying to still seem confident.

Niles rose to his feet and walked around me in a circle intimidatingly. "You're probably right...but what about this?" He asked.

Niles wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me towards him and leaning close to my face. My cheeks were on fire, and I prepared myself for a kiss and closed my eyes.

Instead, Niles pulled himself away from my lips and laid a kiss on my cheek.

When he released me from his hold, I felt a feeling of high disappointment and dissatisfaction. I opened my eyes and bit my lip, wanting more, but not wanting to seem desperate.

"Oh~? Did that not satisfy you?" Niles said, seeing through me right away. My face heated up a bit and I looked away.

"N-no, of course not! I'm just...shocked that you would kiss a man of the same sex..!"

"But I didn't, I only kissed you on the cheek. Besides, I don't see anything wrong with it~?" Niles said, an obvious smirk on his face.

"Does this mean you have...f..feelings for me..?" I asked, a bit confused. I was trying my best to understand what was happening.

"That all depends: do you have feelings for me?" Niles asked, holding my hand in his. I opened my mouth to speak, but I was so flustered...

To further myself from embarrassment, I held my breath and ran away.

'What am I thinking?! What am I doing?! A man and a man...it's unthinkable! Could I really be falling for Leo's retainer...?' I thought to myself, trying to make the redness in my cheeks go away.

As I approached my private quarters, I thought hard about what just happened...

I just ditched Niles!

"Lord (Y/N)..?"

"G-GAH!" I cried out, spinning behind me to see Niles, standing behind me worriedly.

"I-I-I..!"

"It's bad manners to leave someone hanging on such an important question as this. Perhaps did I tease you too much?" Niles asked, a change in his tone of voice. He now sounded concerned for me, maybe thinking that his teasing really got to me.

"No no no! T-that's not it at all!" I stuttered, "I...I just..!" I looked at my feet and sighed.

"I'm just...confused! I've never felt these feelings before, and for a man too..!"

"There's nothing wrong with you falling in love with me, (Y/N). Man and man...is it really that wrong~?"

"Huh...?"

He chuckled a bit and smiled at me. "I mean, everyone needs to be honest with themselves. If it's true love, lord (Y/N)...don't hesitate to admit those feelings."

I thought about this...there was truth to his words. He was right...I couldn't deny the possibility that I might be in love with him.

"If you're feeling doubtful, then allow me to be the first to say..." Niles began, wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning close to my face.

"I'm madly in love with you...~"

"Kh-!" My face reheated and I covered my mouth. "I..." I balled my hand into a fist. "I love you too..!" I said and kissed Niles deeply, not being able to resist the urge anymore.

I closed my eyes tightly and noticed that soon, Niles fell into the kiss and let out a small chuckle.

After a few minutes of passionate kissing, he pulled away and smirked at me. "Ever since I first saw you, I was instantly in love with everything about you...your eyes, hair, body...even your ability in strategy and fighting...I was instantly caught off guard and noticed how amazing you were...~"

"Niles...you're really too sweet." I said and laughed a bit.

((If you want, you can imagine this as a female reader X Niles! Or if you guys want I can make another one where the reader is female? Up to you! I actually began shipping it myself after writing this '=w= ))