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Night patrols were easy. Hardly anyone was up this late, the quiet always felt serene. Stars shone beautifully in the sky, when it wasn't cloudy, making the experience easier.
Saizo was used to this sort of thing. Ninja were taught to be extremely self disciplined, and sleep was one of the things they were meant to abstain from. He could go for days without sleeping, maybe breaking for fifteen minutes to nap. It had gotten to a certain point where he found it hard to sleep consecutive nights in a row anymore, finding less solace in his bed than in the outside.
Usually, he was placed on these patrols with Kagero. They worked well together, after all, and he knew how to handle her.
However.
Corrin, in all their nicety, had thought it a good idea to place a Nohrian and Hoshidan on duty together. Really, it couldn't have gotten much worse than this.
Saizo knew the man he had been put on to patrol with: Niles, an archer, also missing an eye. Earlier in patrol, he'd tried to find out more about the man based on appearances. The pure white hair was an oddity, as was the tanned skin. Saizo couldn't guess the origins of the missing eye, as it was hidden behind a cross eyepatch at all times.
He found himself looking at the shorter man’s arms, the thin, black material clinging to leaner muscle than Saizo had himself. ‘Lithe’ was the word that came to mind.
“Something on your mind?” The archer was looking up at him now, a smirk on his face. “You seem to be...a little sidetracked.”
The redhead felt his stomach...flutter? Why was he feeling...fluttery? Was that even the correct word for it? This was somewhat new, something he'd never felt before. It was vaguely unpleasant. “I'm fine.”
Niles chuckled. “Alright, whatever you say…”
The night continued on somewhat easily after that, Niles seemingly understanding that the task at hand was important. He hardly made any comments, and Saizo began to feel...somewhat comfortable. The fluttery feeling came back whenever he chanced a glance at the other man.
Strange. He shook off the feeling of comfort as being similar to how he interacted with Kagero on these patrols, and ignored the flutter in his stomach, the night going off without a relative hitch.
Saizo found himself...entranced (though he wouldn't use the word) by the Nohrian. On the battlefield, he moved fluidly, like water. Even simple walking was something the man seemed to make graceful, a slight saunter in his walk, an easy swing at the hips every once in awhile. His voice was smooth and even…not that Saizo was focusing on this for himself. These observations all went into his extensive surveillance notes.
He prided himself on the notes he took on most everyone, especially those who seemed more ‘out there’ in personality. Saizo wouldn't have Lord Ryoma killed over his own slip up, after all. His notes covered that of almost the entire army, some longer and older than others. Corrin’s, for example, was rather short compared to that of the wyvern rider Beruka, or Laslow, who had a very intriguing past.
His newest notes had become that of Niles, something he'd suddenly started after the night on patrol. It was something he wrote in absentmindedly, using it whenever he felt the need to write what he saw from the white haired man. On review of the notes, one would find somewhat flowery language and things Saizo would never be caught dead saying to others.
It had been a few days when he was called to patrol with Niles again. For what reason, he did not know, but he took the opportunity to study the other at a closer proximity and brought the notebook. Saizo was, perhaps, somewhat blind to his own writings, the almost fourteen pages full of pertinent information on the outlaw tucked in near his side.
They were set at an outpost, less ‘on patrol’ and more ‘stuck in a small space together for prolonged time’. It couldn't have been easier on Saizo, and he was glad he brought his notes.
Once settled in, he began to observe.
Niles was the same as the other night, somewhat quiet. Perhaps he was tired at this hour? Most were, especially when forced to stay awake like this. His lack of normal...lewd language he always seemed to have was gone. The outlaw was leaned against the railing of the post, looking up at the sky...moon watching? Looking at the stars?
Saizo couldn't help but note the way the moonlight seemed to reflect off of Niles’s white hair, an ethereal glow around the man (or was it his imagination?). He looked serene, something Saizo hadn't seen many times on him (perhaps it suited him very nicely, he thought). The dark black of the skin tight fabric on tanned skin seemed to stand out more in this lighting, catching Saizo’s eye much like it had the first night.
Looking down at his notes, Saizo found that he was well into a fifteenth page, full to the brim with words. Some of them were almost indecipherable, somewhat smudged from a hand swiping over them. Others were able to be read easily, neater writing near the top. Saizo didn't mind, he could read this just fine, and he'd be the only one to read it-
The small booklet was taken from under his hands, a hum sounding from above him. “Hm, what have you been up to while I was oh so nicely posing for you?” The outlaw must have been moving very quietly to get this close so fast. Saizo stood, cursing his distractedness.
“Niles, give that back-”
“Awe, I thought you'd been drawing me! Gods know you've been following me around camp enough.” Niles flipped to the cover, taking only a moment to process the words. “Surveillance notes on me, eh? Interesting...just what kind of surveillance are you doing, big guy? Didn't you want to get a little closer-”
Saizo sputtered, feeling the flush on his face grow up his neck. The fluttery feeling was starting again, battering the walls of his insides and making him want to curl up. He somehow kept his voice steady, trying to reprimand the outlaw. “Niles, I demand that you return that immediately. Those notes aren't for you-”
“Of course they're not!” He closed the book, dangling it in one hand. “Clearly not for me. They're for your late nights, when you're all alone and somewhat needy-”
“That's enough!” In the blink of an eye, Saizo was on Niles, pinning him again the far railing. The shorter man didn't even look phased; rather, he looked excited.
“Ah, right where you want me, hm? I wasn't expecting you to take the initiative here, but…” He shrugged it away, trailing off. “I don't mind too much.”
Saizo could see a somewhat gratifying flush on the other man's face, even while he was smirking in that way he always did. It sent somewhat of a thrill through Saizo, and he wanted to press closer, feel the other man beneath him-
“Rendered speechless, hm? I haven't even done anything yet!” Niles laughed, and the redhead wasn't sure what sparked in his stomach, but it set the fluttering in his torso alight. He pulled down the mask that was usually covering his face, the metal nose piece clattering to the floor as he abandoned reason and pulled Niles in for a heated kiss.
Niles was somewhat taken aback, not prepared to see the face beyond that dreadful mask or to be kissed so fervently by such a beautiful man, dropping the small booklet with his name on it. It really wasn't fair. He was able to regain his composure after a moment, returning to the lips pressed against his own.
Saizo hadn't exactly gotten this far in his plan. He hadn't meant to get this close, hadn't meant to kiss the other, but it'd happened, somehow, and it felt far too good to be fully wrong. So he continued.
As it turned out, Saizo was the more inexperienced of the two, Niles quickly gaining control of the kiss within a few moments. Arms snaked around Saizo’s waist, yanking him closer to Niles as a silver tongue ran over his lip. He jolted slightly at the contact, but allowed the other entrance.
It took only a minute for Saizo to find that Niles was very well versed in the art of intimacy, finding himself knotting fingers into stark white hair as the other man smirked into the kiss. Not that he was surprised. It was both a comfort and something of concern: Niles knew what he was saying when he said it, knew the implications behind all the words he said.
That somehow made the experience better.
Gingerly, Niles pulled back, smirking up at Saizo. “Sorry to cut us short, but I believe we're being watched.” He heard a small gasp from the entryway, quickly untangling his fingers and pulling up the mask. Niles laughed, patting his back and stooping to pick up the metal piece and book. “Here.”
Saizo mumbled a small and embarrassed “thank you”. By the time he'd replaced his mask and tucked away his notes, the intruders were both inside.
Of course it was his brother and Silas. Why would it be anyone else? Why couldn't it be someone he didn't have relation to?
Blissfully, both said nothing, but Silas’s red face gave away the fact that he had been the first in.
The fact that Niles led him out by the hand was almost worse than being caught, but he wasn't fully upset by the contact. In a sudden movement, Niles had him against the wall now, and was smirking that absolutely devious grin that sent shivers down Saizo’s spine. “Perhaps we could continue this later, hot shot. What do you say?”
Saizo was only able to nod, and Niles was off of him, headed to his tent and laughing all the way, but not before sending a wink at the flustered ninja.
Night patrols weren't necessarily easy anymore, but they had become more interesting.