Props to leokumifucker on Twitter for allowing me to use their artwork as the cover of this fanfiction! Please check the link to their piece on my profile, and enjoy reading!
"You're so pretty."
The kitsune let out a breathy laugh, fanged teeth glinting like the pearls the archer fetched this morning. Orange hair shone beneath the beaming sunlight, as the oversized scarf Kaden always wore obscured the equally glowing smile. Lovely tangerine melted into hesitant brown, and the prince held his breath.
No, Takumi thought. You're wrong.
Ever since the army had attended a Nohrian festival, Kaden was practically inseparable from the Hoshidan Prince. Rumors said that the man would leave you be after repaying a favor, yet from what the royal has seen, the prince thought otherwise. Hell, even his retainers were starting to get jealous with all the time the fox boy spent with him.
It didn't distill Kaden's determination, however. He'd plop right next to the prince when the two ate their meals at the mess hall, accompanied with a friendly Oboro and an overeager Hinata. When Takumi would go out to hunt, Kaden was there at his aid, ready to strike a deer or two if needed. And if the two ever exhausted of the unforgiving brutality of the war? Takumi, embarrassingly enough, liked to nuzzle his face into the kitsune's tail as if it was a pillow, and Kaden welcomed the new company of another fellow napping buddy.
The constant presence of a new friend didn't bother him in the least; in fact, it was comforting to have someone there if needed. Plus, he had someone to celebrate his little victories with! Takumi really did appreciate Kaden's company.
Being called pretty however? That's a whole other story.
There were a lot of pretty people in the army. Takumi always thought Azura was pretty, though the mystery around her had put the songstress on another level entirely. Camilla was also among the most beautiful, with her deadly charms and all.
And there were a ton of beautiful men too, to boot. Corrin, Kaze, Subaki, and hell, even Leo were so pretty that it was hard to look directly at them. They all held themselves with such grace and poise, and the prince couldn't help but be a little envious of their good looks.
Of course, Kaden trumped all of them. The kitsune's hair and tail were always groomed to perfection, the clothes he adorned were constantly in top condition whether he bloodied the battlefield or not, and he radiated with such an insomniac confidence that you wished it was infectious. His eyes were dual saturated sunsets resting upon a porcelain face, and the royal wouldn't deny to gaze at the view forever.
Yet here was this blooming lily of a man calling Takumi, of all people, pretty.
"You must be joking," Takumi wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut. The genuineness in Kaden's eyes basically shamed the prince for thinking otherwise, and Takumi almost felt guilty for believing the kind and loving Kaden would bestow the other with such artificial compliments, though the myths and legends surrounding the kitsune species might tell another tale to the prince.
Takumi wasn't particularly uncomfortable with being called pretty, even if the term was usually applied to women. He knew he was a man with decent looks, but that was all he was: decent. Frankly enough, the archer just couldn't believe that someone might find him something akin to rubies and roses―his insecurities sure did a swell job with pummeling his self-esteem down into the dirt―and that it was the amazingly beautiful Kaden who thought so, to top it all off.
The songbirds' melody brought the prince back to reality, and he found himself meeting Kaden's gaze once more, the kitsune waiting patiently for the former's response with bated breath. But Takumi didn't want to argue with the latter to whether or not the archer deserved the honor of being called pretty by someone as beautiful as Kaden. He didn't want to list the names of others in the army, to which he held to a higher standard in regards of beauty and less to talent. He didn't want to reject such sincerity, yet he didn't want to purely agree with it either.
"Maybe," Takumi finally said, "but you're prettier."
The kitsune flushed bright red, and Takumi couldn't help but think Kaden had the prettiest blush as well.