A/N: Hello, hello people of the Fanfiction world! A tiny portion of you all may recognize my name, but to the majority of you, I'll just say it outright: I'm 'kind of' a rookie at fanfiction writing. That being said, this is my first fanfiction for the Fire Emblem series. This particular work is set in the Fates universe and features an OC and one of my favorite characters, Peri! Call me whatever you want, I've always had a certain fondness for those 'crazy, but misunderstood' females that we all know about. Plus I figured that it'd be best not to add to the infinitely growing Corrin fanfics out there right now. I don't have anything against the Avatar at all. I just like doing things that people don't focus much on. Anyways, fair warning: the OC in this story is just an average Lancer named Kaylen, who I thought up in the span of 5 minutes. He's probably not that deep, just saying. Let's this thing started already!
"Hey, let's go bathe in the spray!"
"Eh...sure, Peri. I'd love to join you in the...blood spray." I nervously answer, knowing that one mistake could easily lead to me going -thwack!-.
Once again, I find myself wondering how I even got into this situation. Why am I suddenly the object of everyone's attention in this army? I just follow orders and save lives like any soldier should. If anything, the women in camp should be more focused on Corrin, our illustrious leader. He's the idol that everyone looks to, after all. Compared to him, I'm (quite literally) a nobody. Especially since Niles still calls me 'Soldier 34' at times, which I can't argue with. I can never be as strong as the commanders we have in charge of our army, nor can I even come close to doing all of the heroic actions they take. All I really can do is charge forward aimlessly and hope that I come out alive after the battle's over.
Everything changed with our latest battle, however, when we came dangerously close to routing in Mokushu. Corrin seemed distraught at the choice he had to make regarding the thief Shura, but that pain only echoed into anger when we entered the tunnel leading to Hoshido. The ninja lord, Kotaro, betrayed the Nohrian royal siblings and summoned dozens of ninja to kill us. I heard stories that he was not a trustworthy fellow, but that day really confirmed my doubts. The Hoshidan ninja, Saizo, joined forces with us for the battle and we all managed to defeat the traitorous Mokushujin together. I don't really know how many times I've faced near-death, but luckily Prince Xander and Corrin were able to save me.
Through sheer luck, I happened to be standing next to Peri when we (in a way) hit it off. Our army had just cornered Kotaro and his bodyguards with Saizo's help, but everyone was seriously injured and we ran out of healing supplies. All of the skirmishes we had in taking down his henchmen exhausted us. It got to the point that we'd be overwhelmed if we allowed any of our wounded to retreat. Corrin was barely keeping himself up, leaning heavily on his Yato blade while behind him, Lord Xander slumped gradually atop his mount. Everyone else looked just as bad no matter where I turned while Kotaro's group looked refreshed, amused even. I don't know how or when it happened, but as soon as Peri's unit was ordered to strike, I blacked out. It didn't mean that I fainted, though, since there's stories around camp about my actions that day.
I entered some sort of battle trance, with no emotion on my face but pure anguish. I yelled indistinct battle cries as I skewered several ninjas with my lance. Tears flew from my face as I just kept...killing. The ninjas were no pushovers and inflicted equally painful wounds on me, but then they would be assaulted by Peri and the rest. The shuriken tearing into my flesh did nothing to quell my attacks, even when they passed by me and struck into my comrades. The real problem came when Peri tried to attack Kotaro. The ninja was ready for her, and focused his attacks directly at her horse. The creature fled, bucking off its rider in the face of such a threat. Peri was dizzy from the fall, and Kotaro would have killed her if I didn't step in. I grabbed the ninja just before he could reach her and slammed him against a wall. Then I slashed at him with my lance, leaving a wide gash across his chest. Kotaro lived, and stepped away before I could finish him off. I don't know what happened afterwards because at that moment, all I cared for was getting Peri to safety.
"Kaylen? What's wrong? Was someone saying something mean? I can kill them for you!" Peri smiles as she sits down on the grass next to me.
"It's fine, Peri, no one was bothering me today. I'm just thinking about some things..." I offhandedly respond.
"Thinking? About what?"
"Do you think I belong here?"
"Well you're here with me, and I didn't kill you yet, so why not?" She tilts her head to the side in confusion.
"That's not what I meant. I'm talking about belonging in this army."
"You destroy the enemy almost as much as me. I don't see anything wrong with that. It's nice to see someone who loves to get their hands bloody."
Her childish mind is quite endearing, but I'm too depressed right now to care.
"But why are you spending time with me? Isn't it more fun to be around Lord Xander or Corrin? They were the ones who got us through Mokushu without any losses. Lord Xander was even kind enough to let you ride on his horse after you lost yours."
"Yes, but you saved me first. I wanted to kill that ninja, but then you had to take him from me...", Peri flashes me a murderous glare as she takes out a knife, "I can kill people on my own and I don't need anyone's help for it."
My eyes are as wide as the Bottomless Canyon as I slowly start backing away with each of Peri's steps towards me.
"Peri...what are you gonna do with that knife?" I hastily squeak out.
"Hahaha, I'm only giving you a well-deserved reward for what you did that day. I'll take good care of you for sure!"
"I'm sorry for stealing your prey! Please, don't kill me! I won't do it again!" I yell, bracing myself for the next moments.
"Huh? Why are you saying sorry? I'm not going to kill you." Peri's voice sounds in my ears, full of innocence.
"What-"
-Thunk-
"I just wanted you to have the first piece to this pie I made."
"...Uh, did you say pie?"
I look down in front of me and surely enough, there is a pie resting there with the knife planted firmly in the center. I stare in disbelief at the pie, trying to find any reason at all as to why I'm not being horribly murdered right now; not that I'm ungrateful for it. Peri, in turn, stares at me with some unknown curiosity that scares me as well as confuses me.
"Why did you make a pie?" I ask after a still silence.
"I'm really good at making snacks like this, so it was not hard at all."
"No, I meant why did you make a pie for me?"
"Lord Xander told me that I shouldn't kill you since you saved my life. I didn't really get it, but then I figured out that I wouldn't get to kill people anymore if you didn't help me that one time. I felt like you deserved some kind of reward, so I made a pie for you!"
"...Thanks, Peri. I really appreciate it." I graciously admit before taking the knife and start eating.
-Munch- -Chomp- -Nom-
"Well? Is it good?"
"Yes! It's delicious. I've never had something so amazing before. You'd make anyone happy if you can cook this well." I flash a warm smile at her, to which she responds with one of her own.
"So that means you like me right?"
-Cough- -Cough- -Cough-
"W-What did you say!?" I gasp as I try to recover from the shock.
"You said that I can make anyone happy with my cooking, so that means you too, right?"
"That doesn't exactly mean that I like you..." I reply sheepishly.
"Then, you hate me? -Sob- Waaaahhhhh!" Peri starts crying quite loudly like she usually does.
"No! I don't hate you at all. You're a wonderful woman, Peri! I'm just...confused."
"What do you mean?" She slowly starts to calm down, but is still very much hurt.
"I'm...nobody special. Of course I saved you, but this isn't the first time it's happened to anyone. I'm merely 'okay' with combat and I'm just a normal soldier without any special skills. How can I mean that much to someone like you?"
"You're my hero, that's how."
"Your 'hero'?" I raise an eyebrow at the word.
I've never been called a hero before since I always get overshadowed by the more prominent figures in our army. It feels nice to be known for once.
"Yeah, I was so impressed with you killing in battle that I wanted to join in too. It's too bad Lord Xander wouldn't let me though, because it would've been really fun! I'm still alive thanks to you, so promise to fight with me next time, okay?"
"Oh...okay. I'll see what I can do."
As I continue eating, I notice the subtle calm that fills the air between us. It feels almost natural and carefree, like we're both old friends who have known each other for ages. I smile lightly at it all with comfort knowing that moments like these are the most precious. I steal a glance at Peri, who looks back at me with her visible pink-colored eye. It has a hypnotic kind of nature to it, drawing in one's gaze to the rhythm of its owner. I don't even notice myself leaning closer to her until she speaks up.
"Kaylen, there's still some pie on your face. I'll get it for you..." She whispers softly.
-Lick-
"P-Peri...why are you-"
-Kiss-
"Mmmmmmm...heehee. I tricked you, didn't I?" She giggles with a deep blush in her face.
"..."
I can't even say anything about this. To think that Peri would lead me into a kiss by licking my lips first...it's more than any words of mine can describe. The feeling of her lips against mine felt unparalleled to any woman I've ever known. I can barely keep myself from falling on my back against the overwhelming surge that I got from her. Eventually, I stop resisting and let myself lie down on the soft afternoon grass. I let out a breath of satisfaction, staring with warm emotion at this crazy woman. She is smiling and giggling almost non-stop now, but it doesn't bother me at all. In fact, it's yet another one of the many qualities that compel me to admire her.
"Hahahaha, do you think you're still 'nobody special', Kaylen?" Peri sweetly asks me.
"Hmph. Maybe you might prove me wrong...someday. Thanks for spending time with me, Peri. I'm glad that I got a chance to get close to someone as wonderful as you. Hopefully we'll keep fighting together until this war is over." I confess with an equally-honeyed voice.
"From now on, you'll always be somebody special to me, Kaylen."
A/N: Jeez, that was some crafty stuff, even for Peri. You don't see that in anime; or maybe you do? Anyways, this whole thing was meant to be a short little read for you guys, so please don't harp me about the shortness. I literally got the idea for this thing while I was bonding with Peri in the game. And yes, I have both Birthright and Conquest, but not Revelation. I've almost finished playing through both campaigns, but restarted Birthright because 'why not'? At first, I wanted this the male lead for this story to be Corrin, but then I thought 'Corrin can't have more than one lover...but a regular soldier can.' That's more-or-less why I chose an average soldier as the male lead. Speaking of which, if you all would like to see more of Kaylen in the future, just tell me. I'm currently entertaining the idea of making this a full story instead of just a one-shot, so please let me know your thoughts in either comments or private messages. I'm almost guaranteed to respond to your comments and messages within 2-3 days! Also, check out my other stories if you liked the style of this one. There's definitely a place where I got my practice from!