Chapter Text
Hinata swung his wooden sword a few times, getting a feel for its weight and movement. It was a quiet day at Shirasagi, with no missives or assignments to fulfill and enough free time to get some much needed exercise. Lord Takumi even agreed to train together later.
It wasn’t as common to see others at the training grounds anymore, now that most residents trained for combat far less. Such was the case today, as Hinata stepped out onto the empty field. He tried not to dwell on how the lack of company made him feel, how peaceful times brought upon less need for his sword and less contact with the people he developed a camaraderie fighting alongside. Lord Takumi would be joining him soon enough. And no people meant he could try more daring moves. He could be loud and shout out the names of his special techniques the way Odin did and it wouldn’t bother anyone.
And so he did. For far long enough that his arms were sore and throat hoarse. It was a good time to take a break. He grabbed himself a large jug of water, downed half of it and sprawled out under a tall tree. The weather was warm and the breeze gentle. Hinata closed his eyes.
Not too long later, someone shook him awake. His eyes opened blearily. It was Oboro who stood above him, her hand on her hip. He rubbed his eyes.
“Huh? Oboro? Where's Lord Takumi? I was supposed to meet him here.”
“He sent me to apologize to you for being unable to make your appointment,” Oboro said.
“Aw.” Hinata rose to his feet and stretched. “Well, that just means he owes me now. What happened? Does he need us to help?”
“Apparently he got a letter from Nohr, and suddenly has all sorts of things to do. Not surprising considering who it was from.” Oboro shook her head.
“A letter from Nohr… Lord Leo?” Lord Takumi didn't receive much mail from outside of Hoshido. While he got along fine with the rest of the Nohrian royal family, it was only with Lord Leo that he regularly corresponded by letter.
“That's exactly who it was,” Oboro confirmed.
“So?”
“It’s Lord Leo.”
“And?”
Oboro sighed. “Well if you don’t know what that means then it’s not my place to say.”
“What? Know about what? Oboro, wait!” Hinata ambled down the dirt path after his partner.
–
Several days later, Lord Takumi ordered Hinata and Oboro to help him prepare for the last minute arrival of Princess Camilla and Prince Leo. Though the castle was always decked in splendor and kept in pristine condition, Lord Takumi was adamant on sprucing up his living quarters and the guest rooms even more.
This meant some new decorations from town and a whole lot of furniture arranging. Hinata jumped at the chance to run errands on his liege’s behalf instead. It was late in the afternoon before he wrapped up in town and made his return to Shirasagi.
He headed straight to Lord Takumi’s quarters to deliver his tidings. The sitting room door was open and Hinata hurried in. As expected his lord was inside and so was Oboro. He quickly noticed the new additions to the room. There was a big fresh arrangement of blue flowers on the desk, a new tablecloth in a darker blue, and a box of tea sweets. Two small plates sat next to the sweets. Hinata inhaled deeply. The air had a nice floral note to it from a different set of incense too.
“Ooh! This is like for a date!” Hinata exclaimed, voicing the first thought that popped into his head.
Lord Takumi and Oboro both jolted upright so suddenly that Hinata reflexively looked around for an enemy attack.
“What's up?” he shouted, as if raising his voice would help him find these unknown attackers. There didn’t seem to be any, though.
He was answered by an uncomfortable silence, long enough for him to confirm there were in fact no attackers, before Oboro slumped her shoulders and shook her head. “Nothing, Hinata. Certainly nothing worth yelling about.” Hinata flushed sheepishly.
“I was just caught off guard,” Lord Takumi chimed in, his voice gentle. “It’s preparation for Prince Leo. We’ve already arranged to have tea together when he arrives.” Hinata noticed how his brow furrowed, and his fingers clenched and unclenched into his sleeve restlessly. If it was just Lord Leo then there was no reason to fret like that.
“What about Lady Camilla?” he asked. Lord Takumi flinched again, his cheeks pinking. Lady Camilla was a real catch, beautiful and tall and intimidating, so Hinata could understand the reaction.
“I don’t have plans to spend time with Princess Camilla. Hinoka and Sakura will be accompanying her.”
Hinata frowned, disappointed on Lord Takumi’s behalf. “Oh, I see. Well there’s always the next time! Your trip to Nohr is in two months!”
Lord Takumi coughed. “Right,” he mumbled.
Oboro shook her head and Hinata frowned back at her. He found it odd that she wasn't more supportive of Lord Takumi’s romantic interests. Their liege deserved to find love after what he’d been through, after all that happened to the Hoshidan royal family before and during the war.
Lord Takumi excused himself then, without issuing any other assignments to either of them. Hinata was left to himself until Lord Takumi’s return, so he decided to examine the room in great detail and really make sure everything was spick and span. He was pretty impressed by how much more elegant the place felt with all the changes, and he already thought it was all fancy before.
Still, it was odd that all of this wasn't for Princess Camilla. And Lord Takumi hardly involved himself personally with the preparations. It also wasn’t normal for Lord Takumi to look so anxious before meeting with Lord Leo of all people. They spent lots of time together whenever they visited each other’s countries. Lord Takumi had never bothered getting flowers or anything like that before. He said “Prince” Leo earlier too. That was weird.
And Hinata had noticed a few other things. Nothing weird, just different. Surprising. Lord Takumi had started writing poetry not too long ago. It didn’t look like he ever finished a single poem, and he wouldn’t let Hinata read any of them either. Hinata shrugged it off, after the war seemed like as good a time as any to pick up a new hobby.
He had also walked in on his lord reading a romance novel, the kinds with pretty women on the covers, though he vehemently denied knowing it was a romance, despite the fact it was open more than halfway through. Lord Takumi was a big reader, so maybe he just ran out of other stuff to read. If anyone could do that it would be his liege.
And actually, now that he’s thinking about it, last week Lord Takumi took him and Oboro down to one of the newer teahouses, the one surrounded by flower trellises. When they got there it was filled with couples. Lord Takumi generally avoided places that were popular but he insisted on sitting there and dining with the two of them. It was nice, the sweets were tasty and they were seated next to the window overlooking the flowers. They all felt somewhat out of place there though.
Hinata scratched his head. Maybe his own assumptions today were because Lord Takumi seemed to be showing an interest in love nowadays. It made sense in his head. The question was if it wasn't towards Princess Camilla, or any of the Hoshidan nobles, then who was it?
Oboro’s words from a few days ago sprang to mind.
“Ohhhhhhhhh,” Hinata said out loud.