IM A CERTIFIED IIDA SIMP SO - Blog Posts

unreachable

knight! iida x fem! reader summary: sent to protect you, left with feelings word count: 3.5k a/n: YEEEEE im back besties

Iida had been training for this moment - the moment he’d step into the castle for the first time and be awed by the sight. The moment where he’d be assigned to be sent off to some gallant land and fight for his kingdom and gain glory.

He’d thrown away his childhood for training in order to uphold his family name of being protectors of the kingdom. And now that he stood in front of the castle with all the other glossy eyed new recruits, he couldn’t believe he’d finally made it. All the sacrifice would be worth it now that he’d be able to bring a good name to himself and his family through his work.

Soon enough, he and the others standing besides him were ushered in, where they were met by the knights of the castle. Straight and rigid as they stood, Tenya passed them with a small gleam of anxiety growing in his chest. Whispers were coming from those around him, and he picked up the words of “princess” and “staying”.

It was a curious thought, and he wasn’t exactly sure how those words fit together in this situation. But he never asked for clarification - deeming it unimportant as he continued to follow behind the crowd of recruits to the room where they'd be assigned their posts.

He wasn’t scared though, as he suspected some of those around him were. He was top of his class, with perfect records on all of his assessments. He was heavily skilled in both hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship. Everything he’d built himself on was the foundation of a perfect knight, both strong and daring with just the right amount of sense about him. His assignment was sure to be the best.

Finally reaching the throne room, the guards who’d been leading them into the castle had them line up one by one as the King walked in with a stern eye and parchment in hand.

Tenya noticed everyone beside him straighten their posture instantly, as they kept their gaze forward with heavy stares.

It was silent now. No more clanking of armor or swords.

The King quickly cleared his throat before speaking, “Good day to you gentlemen. Before starting, I’d like to applaud you for dedicating yourself to your kingdom. It’s no secret that the process is grueling and demanding, requiring you to give up everything to train. That makes the fact that you went through with the program and stayed more commendable, and I thank you for that.”

There were a few signs of exhaustion beside him and whispers, but Tenya’s face remained like stone. His arms remained rigid and he didn’t dare speak out of turn.

“Now, here's the moment where all your training gets put to use. I expect you’ve all understood from the beginning the locations at which we are currently at war with or fighting in, and have an idea as to the requirements of those jobs.

Here are your assignments. Katsuki Bakugou, please step up.”

Tenya rolled his eyes at the name. He found Bakugou to be a cumbersome individual, someone who clearly thought too highly of himself.

“I’m assigning you to the Narva borders,” the King continued on as one of his assistants handed Bakugou a piece of parchment.

“Thank you, My Lord,” Bakugou bowed, and Tenya could hear the gloating tone heavy in his voice. He was definitely more than pleased about his assignment.

“Tenya Iida.”

A breath was sucked in unknowingly, but Tenya stepped forward with a concentrated look still in his eye. His heart was thumping, and it was strange to think that someone as highly trained as him was nervous about something. Anxiety was something he hadn’t felt in quite some time.

“This isn’t a normal assignment, but I deem you fit enough for the task,” the King spoke. “I’m assigning you to watch over my daughter.”

What?

Tenya’s eyes widened dramatically, but he didn’t dare turn his head to face the King. What kind of assignment was this? How would he be able to get glory from this? What did all his training do if he wasn’t able to bring anything to his family in return?

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” his voice wavered before stepping back.

There were snickers and whispers heard from around him, and Tenya almost wanted to disappear.

- - - - - - - - - -

“May I ask why this was given as my assignment?” Tenya asked the knight in front of him tentatively.

The man under the armor sighed, and Tenya could almost hear the roll of his eyes while they walked down the corridor.

“She’s quite the menace: escaped from the palace at least fifteen times and tried many more. It’s apparently because she has some lover outside the palace who she’s not allowed to meet.”

Tenya only hummed in response, as he followed behind slowly.

“I think the king assigned this to you because you showed promise in your report. No knight has ever lasted more than a couple weeks of being assigned to her; so they have to rotate who’s watching her weekly since we eventually ran out.

“Tonight, you’ll be posted outside her balcony - you better get some rest,” the knight finished.

Iida only sighed and nodded, and that was the end of the conversation.

- - - - - - - - - -

The night was relatively nice, with a soft breeze that whisked itself over the castle - gathering the moonlight in its wake as it brought a beautiful mood. It was nice and peaceful, and Tenya appreciated it dearly.

He was still upset though, over the events that had transpired. All his training and all his sacrifice was being put to watch over some bratty princess who wanted to be some non-noble. It was almost stupid now that he was thinking about it, that his skills were being put to use over something so.. unimportant.

He just stood under your balcony wishing he’d had the courage to speak up against the king. He wished he would have demanded another position - something more suitable of his status. Maybe something even more suited to his family. Wasn’t his family well known for their ability to produce knights? Why did the king assign him to something so mundane then?

Light suddenly flooded the ground from the balcony above, and Iida almost jumped at the soft sigh that came afterwards.

It was the princess.

He felt as his back immediately straightened, his arms no longer stood limp at his sides. His heart was thumping faster now as he made sure to maintain his perfect posture. It was rigid and stone-placed and he remained silent. It was rude to speak first to those above you. He didn’t want to offend you.

“Knight,” you called out.

Tenya paused at the sound, unsure of how he was supposed to react. Should he answer?

“You’re the only one out here,” you sighed. “There isn’t anyone else I’m addressing.”

“I apologize, Your Highness,” his voice called back, and you quickly noticed the slight wavering tone that he carried - he was nervous.

“I was unsure whether it was improper for me to speak to you,” he finished.

“There’s no need for formalities, I just wanted to talk to someone for once. It’s quite lonely to be alone all the time.”

A quick laugh followed that statement.

“Well actually,” you continued, “I suppose being alone and being lonely are the same thing, wouldn’t you say so?”

“In my opinion, Your Highness,” his voice came out, wavering, “Being alone causes loneliness. They could be considered the same thing, however they are infinitely different.”

“I suppose you’re correct,” you chuckled. “But anyways, I wanted to congratulate you on your new position. You must be honored.”

He heard the joking tone in your voice, and he knew you were being sarcastic.

“Of course. I’m honored to serve my Kingdom in any way it needs me,” he gritted out.

Even if it needs me to look after its spoiled brat of a princess.

A laugh was heard from you once more, and Tenya was surprised by that reaction. He’d almost expected a huff and a scowl, or if he was lucky enough - a reassignment.

“I’m surprised you even opened your mouth to speak to me,” you mused. “None of the others before even bothered to speak to me. No wonder I’d end up sneaking away from them in the end.”

“Apologies, Your Highness. I didn’t mean to offend.”

“Enough with the formalities,” you yawned. “They’re unnecessary. You’ll be watching over me, right? It’s inevitable that we’ll become friends of some sort.”

“How do you deem that inevitable?” he finally looked up and peered above him.

Even with the helmet heavy on his head, he was able to make out your form standing above him and basking in the light from your room. You could’ve been described as some godly figure in that light, and if he wanted to look at the situation poetically he could have - especially with the way your face was shone on.

But he clearly wasn’t here for those reasons - stupid reasons.

“Well, I’m only thinking out loud here. If we continue to talk the way we are, I supposed we’d be able to find at least one common ground between us,” you smirked from above. Your elbows were leaning over the railing now, and he could see the gown you were wearing as it flowed in the wind about you.

Something about you in that moment felt untouchable, or for a better term unreachable. Maybe it was the attitude you had, or the class differences. He wasn’t quite sure at that moment.

But, you reached out to him first that night.

“Would you like a drink? We could toast to our new sort of “friendship”, if you’re not adamant on insisting it won’t occur.”

You were giving him these pleading eyes, ones he knew he shouldn’t have listened to, but he shook his head and sighed anyways. You were royalty after all, and as much as he seemed to dislike the childish nature about you he couldn’t exactly outright bash you for it. And he supposed it would be something he got used to, over time at least.

“Sure,” he nodded firmly.

He didn’t notice the slight glint in your eye when he raised himself to reach your balcony. It wasn’t high from the ground, and it was a simple task to bring himself over the stone railings to be standing next to the glass doors to your room.

Tenya wasn’t quite sure how, but the floral scent was much sweeter from your balcony - and he was unable to determine whether it was the wind coming from the gardens or from you. That was until you suddenly appeared beside him, and the honeysuckle and lily could be detected from just the thought of your presence.

But he took the glass from your hand without a second thought, gulping it down while you only stood and smiled in response. Your glass remained in your hand, untouched, and Tenya looked quickly after finishing to ask why you hadn’t even pressed the glass to your lips - that was, until he’d started to feel lightheaded and realized why.

You escaped once more that first night.

- - - - - - - - - -

Besides the initial setback of you running away that first night, and the repercussions you both faced, your friendship surprisingly continued onwards. It became rare to see the two of you apart, and it wasn’t just because it was technically Tenya’s job to “watch you”, so to speak. And even more surprising, Tenya found he began to enjoy your company more than he’d previously expected.

You loved having philosophical and intellectual conversations with him - discussing history, ideas, thoughts, poetry, literature - and he loved partaking in them. It was quite odd in his opinion, the way his view of you seemed to change so quickly and easily. There was much more to you than had originally met his eye - evident by the time the two of you would spend in the library - and he quite enjoyed that sentiment.

Today was a continuation of this, with you sitting on one of the benches in the garden with a book in hand as you recited the poetry within. The roses had recently bloomed, and the garden was filled with the twinkling of dew and the buzzing of lazy honeybees flitting from flower to flower - while your voice reciting poetry in the middle seemed to fit the afternoon perfectly.

“You know, you’re the kind to be driven by rules and regulations,” you suddenly commented as he heard the book snap shut. “May I ask why that is?”

At first glance, Tenya only turned to look at you curiously. He thought it was quite the obvious answer.

“Following the rules and regulations set before us is our duty, in many ways,” he commented thoughtfully. “They were set in order to protect us, thus we must obey them. They’re generally there to help keep peace, or make certain aspects of life better.”

“Generally.” you emphasized quickly. “And if they’re set in order to discriminate? Do we still follow them?”

Tenya swallowed thickly, observing the raised eyebrow you were giving while contemplating how he should phrase his answer.

“Well… then they should be eradicated.”

You simply hummed at his words, and he watched your head bob slightly before you lifted yourself from the bench gracefully, book still in your arms as you approached him.

“Then the rule preventing royals from marrying one of the commonfolk is unfair? It was made in hopes to keep the bloodline from becoming ‘dirtied’ after all.”

Tenya’s eyebrows furrowed under the heavy helmet, pondering over why you might have been bringing up such a topic at this time. At first it was quite the puzzle, but the marriage aspect clicked in an instant. He remembered the words the knight who’d told him his duties had said, the rumors about you constantly escaping due to a lover who was outside the palace. And suddenly he was curious, so curious, in fact, that he was unable to censor himself in time.

“I’m assuming this question has to do with the rumors of the ‘lover’ you supposedly have outside the palace,” he turned to you with almost narrowed eyes.

“You’ve figured me out quickly.” You let out a sigh or chuckle, a cross between both or a sound he couldn’t identify, before giving him a tired smile. “Yes. I was meeting someone outside the palace for some time.”

Tenya paused at your word choice. “...Was?”

“The last time I saw him, the night you started watching me, he told me to stop meeting him. He told me it was too hard for us to continue our ‘affair’ if he wouldn’t be able to remain by my side permanently for the rest of our lives - at least considering that there’s no guarantee for it to happen. And as much as I disagreed with his way of going about it, I couldn’t exactly blame him for his actions. I understand his point of view,” you smiled bitterly.

“That’s why you haven’t escaped since,” Tenya all but thought out loud, barely even realizing he was doing so.

“Of course,” you sighed. “There’s nothing to leave for. There’s no joy in the idea of finding something better outside this palace anymore. I’m just stuck here now without a shred of hope or sense of myself.”

You looked at the rose bush sitting next to you sadly, a reminiscent look stuck in your expression as your fingers began carefully tracing the petals of one of the buds.

Tenya watched as you began reaching your hand into the bush, presumedly to pluck one, and it felt almost too late as he tried to stop you.

“The thorns-”

It was too late, he heard the snap of the branch from the bush as you gently pulled the rose out. He was almost expecting there to be scratches or blood of some sort covering your soft fingers but they were perfectly fine.

“There are none,” you showed him, rolling the stem in between your fingers as he watched the flower petals twirl in the air. “They have them removed so I can’t hurt myself.”

“I apologize-”

“No matter,” you giggled. “There’s no need for you to be so formal anymore Tenya. We’ve known each other for months now.”

Yet I feel as if I’ve known you for lifetimes, much more than my current existence.

“But,” you continued. “That’s why I’m grateful for your company. Without it, I’m guessing I’d be wallowing myself in my own pity constantly.”

You carefully twirled the rose in your nimble fingers once more, before handing it to Tenya with a smile. His large fingers met yours in that single instance, and he only stared at the rose in astonishment at your actions for a few seconds.

That was, until you’d already moved on from the moment as you happily swung away, calling out, “Let’s go find another book to read.”

- - - - - - - - - -

“You’re leaving?”

Tenya only nodded in response, unable to reach your gaze or the sad way your eyes had turned inwards with a downcast expression.

It was true. He’d been assigned to head a section of the gentry out on the borders of Déspoir. It really only was because you hadn’t escaped since the first night he’d met you, and the king actually had recognized his accomplishments when he’d gone through training all that while ago.

And it was funny now that Tenya was thinking about the whole situation, as all those months ago he would’ve been so incredibly excited at the prospect of getting to go out into the middle of the battlefield and gain glory for him and his family in the best way possible. But now? He didn’t want to go - he didn’t want to leave you.

And maybe it was only due to the close friendship you both shared and the time you’d spent together, but there was almost an aching feeling in his chest when he saw the downcast expression over your face. It almost burned, and the heat was welling up in his eyes as they felt heavy and watery.

The closeness he felt towards you was unwarranted, and he realized, at this moment, that the so-called “closeness” he felt towards you had given birth to another feeling. And the fact that it was something he’d only just noticed was due to the burning present in his emotions.

And suddenly, there was so much wanted to say to you - his mind racing as the idea began forming in his mind in that one instant. He couldn’t bear to feel it as he left.

But he did the next day, trying to ignore your teary-eyed waves while he hid his own.

Little did he know that your heart reached and yearned in the same way - painfully stretching itself when you realized that he was no longer with you, that he would no longer accompany you around the palace or listen to your escapades in poetry or literature.

The days afterwards became bleak and boring, with no one to argue with or anyone to bother. You were left to your lonesome, wandering the gardens and plucking flowers, or holing up in the cold library at night to read.

It lasted about two weeks, with you only mulling yourself over in the sadness you’d brought upon yourself. Surely your stupid self should’ve realized your feelings sooner, and not mistaken them as friendship.

But that was until a letter arrived, and the words From Tenya were scribbled hastily over the envelope. You’d dashed straight up to your room after receiving it, closing the door behind you to make sure some maid wasn’t there, before tearing it open and fumbling with the paper so you could read it.

__

My Princess,

I feel that this letter should’ve been written earlier, but I must confess I was too shy to do so. Perhaps what’s being said here should've been said before I left, but saying it at some point is better than never saying it.

I must confess that I’ve held feelings for you, and that since I’ve left, the feelings I’ve held for you have gotten stronger.

The way your eyes sparkle under the heat of the sun when we strolled, the distinct floral scent that seemed to follow as you walked, the rouge of your cheeks like the sun when it set, the blinding smile that everyone was caught by, the sound of your laugh that never failed to brighten my day - all of it seems to be the only thing I can ever think about.

You’re forever in my mind, Princess - and there’s no means to rid of you.

I understand if you don’t return these affections, you are quite unreachable when it comes to our positions - but please note my feelings if you don’t return them.

I send you warm wishes regardless, and hope that you are as full of life as you had been when I’d left. I miss your presence either way, it was soothing to spend time with you.

Stay safe, and out of trouble (as I’m not there to chastise you), and I do hope to see you soon.

Yours, Tenya

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