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Yukimura’s been told before that he’s a late bloomer, though he always laughed it off to hide how flustered it made him. He was never the sort to be concerned about things like that, and he’s well aware of the fact that he’s getting older and that he’s never so much as held hands with a woman. All his life, he’s had more important concerns, and there was a time when he never would have even thought about romantic attachments.
He’s changed a bit since then and opened himself up more, but that doesn’t mean he’s made any progress in that department. Now, it feels as if it’s far too late for him, and he doubts that he’s going to find someone now. He was a little bit too late of a bloomer, and that’s fine, he decides. Even if he never marries, he’s happy as he is.
At least, that’s what he thinks before Mikoto is murdered and the world he treasures so much begins to crumble.
~X~
He doesn’t allow himself to blame Corrin for it, as some do. There is nothing malicious about the lost princess, and he knows that Mikoto would have wanted him to look after her as best as he could. She needs as much guidance as she can get as her whole life changes, but then, she's gone and he has his place in the castle, and they're separate for some time.
He worries about her, and does what he can to keep in touch and check up on her, but it's not enough. During that time, he can't help but think that he should be doing more for her, that he should be at her side, that that's what Mikoto would have wanted him to do. This is why he puts so much into finding a way to defend the castle without being present, and then he goes after her, offering to lend a hand in her war effort.
It's only natural that the two of them begin to grow closer from that point, since he wants to be at her side more than anything.
~X~
He's more than happy to try to help her remember the things that she's lost. For many of those memories, he was present, and he remembers those days of happiness so clearly. It pains him a bit, knowing that Corrin is left with so little, but that's all the more reason for him to help her. After much digging, he’s able to uncover one of her favorite childhood toys, the picture box he made for her, and the way her face lights up when she sees it makes the hours spent searching very worth it.
He tells her everything he can of her family, and he aids her on the battlefield to the best of his ability, and he doesn’t even notice the way his feelings for her start to change. When it all starts, she’s still Mikoto’s little girl, even if she’s all grown up now, and that’s exactly how he sees her. But they spend time together, and she’s beautiful and kind and she isn’t her mother, but there are traces of her there, enough to remind him of happier times and put him at ease.
Yes, he always feels at ease when he’s with Corrin. Before he realizes it, she is more than just Mikoto’s little girl to him; she is one of his closest friends, and one of the people he trusts most in the world, but even then he doesn’t notice his feelings moving past that. He would never expect them to, not when he’d already decided it was too late for him to feel such things. As far as he’s concerned, there isn’t a chance of him falling in love now.
~X~
Until he realizes that he’s already in love with Corrin, though that realization comes slow. He decides one day to work on additions to her picture box, since she seems to love it so much, and decides to include himself in them, since the two of them have grown to be such good friends. It might be a little presumptuous, but he likes to think that she considers him a close friend as well, and that she would like for him to be a part of her memories as well.
However, no matter how many times he tries to draw a scene, nothing strikes him as right . Nothing that he draws looks like what he wants to show to Corrin, what he wants to remain as a memory of their time together. Perhaps conveying a friendship is harder than conveying familial bonds, or perhaps he’s just incredibly out of practice. But those just feel like excuses, and so he refuses to give up, until inspiration strikes.
The image that comes to mind is much easier to put to paper, but as soon as he looks at the finished product, he realizes what it means. Well, people did always say he was a late bloomer.
~X~
He’s older than Corrin, and he was close with her mother. Hell, Yukimura knew her as a baby , and cared for her and made her toys then. To him, she and that baby might as well be different people, considering he hasn’t known her for most of her life, but he knows that others won’t see it that way. There will be plenty who would oppose them being together, and more still who would look on in disgust. Perhaps even she won’t want anything to do with him, but he decides not to give up until he knows for sure.
It’s not too late for him to fall in love, and if he’s lucky, it’s also not too late for him to be loved in return. If he keeps waiting, however, he’ll miss his chance and it will definitely be too late for him, and that’s why he’s not going to let that happen. No matter what the outcome may be, he decides to present the modified picture box to Corrin and explain to her what it means.
~X~
Their wedding is a small and quiet affair. He thinks it’s wise simply because of the potential backlash, whereas she thinks that it would be best to not make a big deal of such a happy affair in the middle of a war. Whatever the case, they’re married quietly, with their close friends and her siblings in attendance, and no one seems to have a negative thing to say about their union.
There are remarks, from Orochi and Reina, mostly, about how it’s “about time” for him, and threats from both of them to treat Corrin right, as well as some stern words from Ryoma and cruel glares from her butler, but the wedding is a happy occasion nonetheless.
Yukimura is a late bloomer, but he’s happy about that. After all, if he had not taken so long, then he wouldn’t have ended up with Corrin at all, and Corrin is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.