Work Text:
He'd like to keep his eyes on the disorganized mess of maps sprawled over the war table, he really would. However he finds his gaze straying to the window, blankly staring into the late evening hours with scarce, slow blinks and even fewer nods, attempting the illusion that he's paying attention.
Xander, ever attentive Xander, notices.
"My my, Leo." He chuckles, dipping his quill in the ink. "Dare I say that you're worried for our comrades?"
Squinting, Leo turns his head slowly with a scoff. "I've no reason to be." He answers easily, curtly. "As if Camilla would ever let anyone harm a hair on our sisters' heads."
Xander scrawls something on parchment. "Of course, of course." He hums thoughtfully.
He folds his arms and sits up straighter, his lips curled into a frown. "Think nothing of it, brother. I'm simply fatigued."
The paper crinkles as Ryoma snatches it, holding it up to read Xander's elegant calligraphy. It must be hell, Leo thinks, for someone unfamiliar with the Nohrian alphabet to translate the fluffed and formal jargon that was ever present in their politics. Takumi mentioned to him that though Hoshidan political affairs were no less delicate, speech was often plainer.
"Kept up by worry, perhaps?" He smirked, and Leo groaned. Of course, Ryoma was joining in, too.
"I am not worried," Leo purses his lips. "We spent too much time planning that mission for me to be worried. Therefore, I'm not."
The crown princes share a glance.
"It is perfectly understandable to be concerned, little prince." Xander's tone finally dropped that teasing lilt. "But, as you said, Elise and Corrin are perfectly safe with Camilla."
"Let's not forget," Ryoma chimes in with a prideful grin, "Takumi is with them as well. He'll protect them."
Leo stands abruptly, his chair screeching backwards and startling the two into a very brief silence.
"I truly am rather tired, Xander." He feigns a yawn, stepping aside and pushing his chair back in. "I think I'll retire for the night, if you don't mind."
"Ah- of course-"
"Now, Leo, don't be crass-" Xander and Ryoma are both cut off by Leo shutting the door, the click of his heels receding down the corridor. "Hm. My apologies, Ryoma... he's been acting strange lately. Perhaps I shouldn't have prodded him."
Ryoma leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "Don't apologize, I'm quite accustomed to such behavior. Takumi is exactly the same way."
Leo has the foresight to check his room for lurking retainers before closing the door and turning the lock, practically throwing himself onto his cot with a heavy sigh. He stays still for a minute before rolling onto his back, folding his hands atop his stomach, which felt as if it was tying itself in knots.
Was he truly so transparent? So easily read by not only his own brother, but by someone else's, as well?
He clenches his jaw, clinging to the one comfort that though they read him well, they weren't entirely accurate. Well, of course he cared about his sisters' well being, no matter what blasé facade he masked himself with. However, he knew Camilla and Corrin were more than capable of taking care of themselves - and, he supposed it was fair to say that Elise was, as well, having recently been reclassed into a wyvern rider herself. The bubbly little girl he once knew was becoming scarily powerful on the battlefield, but thank the Gods she hadn't yet developed Camilla's bloodthirsty tendencies. Yet.
No, no, he wasn't much worried for them. The one he was fretting over so was none other than the haughty prince he had fallen head over heels for; his darling Takumi. Just thinking of him helped to ease the twisting of his gut, if only slightly. Then, the worry bubbled up once again and his stomach resumed its incessant flipping.
The thing was, he knew his concern was unwarranted, illogical - silly, even. He knew firsthand what Takumi was like in battle; flawless, powerful, handsome, always handsome. Annoyingly so. Despite knowing perfectly well how capable, how formidable he was, he was still plagued with horrible thoughts projecting onto him the worst possible outcomes, every way that he could be seriously injured, or killed. The past week and half had him riddled with anxiety over what could happen to him - in what ways his mission strategy could be flawed, and the constant desire to rewrite to place Takumi in the safest position burned in his fingertips.
As much as that would have made him feel better, he could never do such a thing. One, because the mission had started a week and half ago. Two, Takumi would no doubt be, at best, embarassed by such favoritism, and three; it would be so painfully obvious to his siblings what he was doing.
He knew, because he had been inadvertently doing exactly that when Takumi had caught him, only a few weeks prior.
"And then, you will move out in this squadron, here. Our units here are mostly airborne, so I supposed you could pair up with Camilla, or Reina. Possibly Subaki, but then we would have to rearrange Saizo's placement." Leo tapped the parchment with his quill, guiding Takumi through the plans as he circled the dots representing their soldiers.
"Wait- which one is me?" Takumi rested his elbow on the back of his chair and his free hand on his hip. "Am I this one in the front?"
"No-" Leo chuckled, as if the very thought was preposterous. "No, no. That would be Subaki. You are here." He emphasizes the word 'here' by drawing a bold circle around the centermost unit.
Takumi scoffs. "What?'
"See, you'll be moving out with Camilla, Reina, Subaki, Peri, Saizo and Charlotte." With each name he taps another black dot, which were forming a circle around Takumi's marked one. "Although - looking at this again, I could rearrange and replace Charlotte with Elise... Or perhaps add Orochi between-"
"No, Leo, I meant what am I doing in the middle?" He tilts his head, brows furrowing as he studies the map. "I'm an archer, what good would I do surrounded by everybody? I should be on the end, or else there could be an accident."
"Tell me again, who is the strategist between us? Oh, right, that would be me." He glared up at him. "You're in the middle."
"I can't believe this," Takumi crosses his arms over his chest. "You're babying me!"
"What?" Leo splutters, just shy of choking on his own breath. "I- I most certainly am not!"
"Uh huh, then explain why you surrounded me, an archer, with our strongest flying units, including your maniac sister."
Leo opened his mouth to fire a retort back at him - and maybe he would have, if it had been a couple months earlier when they still squabbled over every possible thing. But if that were the case, they wouldn't be having this argument, because Leo wouldn't have favored him like this back then.
He purses his lips, knowing full well that he's right but refusing to say it out loud for fear of choking on his words again. He hates just how easily Takumi saw through his plan - although, he supposes, that it was a transparent plan in the first place. Here he was, ensuring Takumi the most protection he could spare, securing his safety by placing him with possibly the most over protective people in the army.
"Hah! I knew it." Leo wasn't looking at him, but he knew he was smirking. "You totally are."
"I just-" He attempts to explain himself, clearing his throat. "This is unknown territory, I don't have all the factors I need to consider and I would very much feel better if you would at - at the very, very least just ride with Camilla. There could be enemies anywhere and I-"
Takumi's hand on his shoulder shuts him up.
"I'm not weak, Leo. I can take care of myself. I don't need all this extra protection - you're wasting our units."
Leo's hand joins his on his shoulder, and their fingers thread together. He sighs. "It isn't a waste if you're safe." He mutters, and Takumi's other hand reaches over his shoulder to push the parchment away from him.
"Hey," His thumb rubs circles on the back of his hand. "Don't worry about me, alright? I'll be fine. How about we forget about tactics for a little while?"
"Absolutely not, Xander expects me to-"
"Xander this, Xander that, blah blah blah," Takumi's wearing that devilish smirk again as he seizes Leo's arm and easily pulls him out of his chair, despite his protests. "Now... How about you and I go and cuddle," He releases his arm in favor of holding his waist, his hands cold against his thin tunic. "Have some tea, take a nap, mess around a little?" Leo snorts when he wiggles his eyebrows at him and he slips his arms around his shoulders, giving into the hug that Takumi's obviously been wanting.
He's so easily swayed by this man, it's ridiculous.
"Fine. We have two hours." Leo concedes, and they separate after a savory moment. Takumi offers his arm, and he takes it.
"Hmm, I was thinking four." He hums, knowing full well he's won.
Takumi holds open the door for him, and they huddle together as they walk out into the bitter cold. Even the astral plane couldn't avoid the stinging winter, it appeared. Leo hugs his arm close, their pace quickening as they make their way to the barracks.
His heart hurts at the memory, and once again he's forced to confront his loneliness. If he were here, Takumi would be sneaking into his room right around this hour, either by window or by the door. They would have been wrapped up in the blankets together by now. And in the morning he would wake up with Takumi's chest against his back and his arms around his middle, playfully kissing the nape of his neck or nibbling on his ear. Takumi knew he hated it when he did that; his ears were embarrassingly sensitive and he would break down in giggles every time. And of course, Takumi thought it was just so funny.
Leo smiled despite himself, and rolled on his side.
Four excruciatingly long and lonesome days pass before their return. At the time, Leo was at the stables with Hinoka. Neither spoke a word to each other; rather, they shared the space in comfortable solidarity, each tending to their own mount. He himself was french braiding Larkspur's mane, stroking her smooth black pelt with a soothing hand. The mare was swaddled in a furred blanket - bear's fur, he believed. He and his siblings were strong believers in personally caring for your mounts; warhorses were certainly no exception.
Larkspur was a gift from his father when he was promoted to a dark knight. Not built for strength, but rather for speed. She was swift and light on her feet, and had a sweet, amiable temperament. She had seen him safely through every battle he'd been in since he'd turned fifteen. In the next stall over, Elise's now retired pony, Daisy, was grazing languidly on hay. His unfortunate name was a result of her taking after himself in naming her animals after flowers - he'd always felt sorry for him, but he hardly seemed to care. Beside Daisy's stall was the enormous Sieghorse, a powerhouse built like a bull and just about as mean as one, too. He only ever listened to Xander, who, according to Camilla, was given to him as a gift, like Larkspur was to Leo. Unlike her, however, Sieghorse was wrangled straight from the wild and broke Xander's arm during the taming process.
The missing mounts were Camilla and Elise's wyverns; bloodthirsty beasts, those were. Marzia and Rosemary, their names were if he remembered correctly. At least Elise had given her creature a decent name, this time. They were worse than Sieghorse, temper wise. Those things truly only obeyed one master, and one master only. He dreaded to think what would happen if one of them got out of hand when Elise or Camilla weren't there to wrestle them back under control.
Hinoka was cooing at Shigetoki, her pegasus stallion, when Sakura burst into the stables, out of breath.
"They're back!" She cheered before Hinoka could ask what was wrong, and sure enough, one of the wyverns could be heard roaring some ways away. Leo's breath hitched in his throat, and in seconds he vaulted over the stall door and tore out of the stables.
Hinoka and Sakura weren't far behind as he made haste for where there was a congregation of their soldiers, welcoming back the other half of Corrin's army. He nearly tripped on his boots as he got closer, sparing a brief moment to regain his balance and his breath, wide onyx eyes scanning the returning group for Takumi. Elise twirled out of the crowd and leapt into Xander's arms, shrieking, 'Woo! Aren't you proud of me, big brother?!'
Corrin just about bowled over Kaze, seizing him in a kiss to which he froze in shock, and then seemed to melt and wrapped his arms around her. Similar reunions took place, Felicia getting scooped up into Scarlet's arms, Orochi giggling delightedly as she twirled into Kagero's embrace, Kaden jumping excitedly around Keaton, who was trying and failing to pretend as though he could care less. Jakob took a single look at Silas before launching into a lecture, straightening his collar and fussing with his armor before Silas pulled him into a kiss - both out of fondness and, frankly, to shut him up.
Leo's heart pounded as he combed their ranks for him, eyes flitting back and forth, back and forth again until finally, he saw him, emerging from in between Subaki and Beruka. He's spotted him, too, as he flashes him that handsome grin that he's missed so damn much, and waves as he starts walking towards him. Making a bee-line, actually, but he's at least trying to restrain himself. Leo, however, has no such restraint.
"Takumi!" He shouts, and to anyone else it might sound as though he's furious with him.
Takumi looks startled, his eyes widening as Leo launches into a sprint, and before he can recover from the shock Leo collides with him, throwing his arms around his neck and clutching him tightly. He's overflowing with relief that his dearest is unharmed, that he's safe, he doesn't even notice that there are eyes on them. Even if he did, he wouldn't care in the slightest. He gasps when strong arms snake around his waist and, suddenly, his feet are off the ground and Takumi's twirling him in his arms, laughter spilling freely from him as Leo squeals in surprise, both at the sudden lift and Takumi's sheer strength, which he supposes he shouldn't be surprised by.
After a couple spins Takumi sets him back down, however he doesn't draw away from him like he feared he might. Leo pulls back enough to look him in the eyes, lifting his hands to cradle either side of his face.
"I've been worried sick about you," He confesses, albeit in a whisper. "I missed you so, so much."
"It's only been a few days," Takumi's laugh is airy, gorgeous. His hands are still on his waist, the warmth from his hands leaking through the fabric of his tunic.
Leo pulls back suddenly, glaring down at him. "Time passes quicker here, you imbecile! It's been two weeks for me, Takumi! Two-"
Takumi kisses him then, leaning up to capture his lips as they both dutifully ignore Niles' inappropriate coo, and Leo freezes before looping his arms around his shoulders again, his legs feeling as if they've suddenly turned to jelly. Takumi's hands move to his hips, tugging him closer for a blissful few moments before both of them pull away to catch their breath.
"Were you hurt?" Murmurs Leo, cuddling close to him to chase away the chill. Takumi's wearing more fur wraps than normal, as insisted upon by Leo before he was sent off with the others. He's warm, so warm.
Takumi peppers a few kisses down his neck before answering, "No, I'm fine, really. In fact, I practically carried my team!" He declares, and Leo feels him smile against his skin.
Leo pecks his forehead. "Uh huh, I bet you did. Hey!" He snorts when Takumi wriggles his tongue on him, clearly not having his sarcasm. He squirms in his hold, but Takumi follows him, and soon he's batting at him to let up while he's slowly reduced to only giggles and embarrassing snorts as Takumi winds his arms around him once again. "Cut - cut that out, you prick!'
"Oh, so I'm a prick now, huh? How's this, then?!"
"Ack! Takumi!"
Across the way, Ryoma sidles up beside Xander and elbows the Nohrian prince with a shit eating grin.
"That'll be 500 gold and your bear pelt blanket." He snickers as Xander glowers at him, their younger brothers still too enraptured in each other to pay attention to anything else.
"I don't want to hear it, Ryoma." He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Of course, his little brother couldn't have waited just a day later to reveal his poorly-concealed relationship with Takumi. It was as if he thought no one ever saw them holding hands under the dining table or 'adjusting' each other's poise in training. No amount of 'adjustment' required that much groping of Takumi's biceps. Or as if he thought Xander hadn't noticed Takumi hiding under Leo's bed whenever he paid him an unexpected evening visit, or the 'mysterious' bruises he would sport on his neck the next day.
'I fell', my ass.