Corrin was staring into the distance from the small window of her tree house. Being located up north, she had nice view of her whole castle, one she often praised. At the end of the day, watching her friends enjoy themselves, especially in these war-ridden times, always brought a smile to her face. Well, almost always. For a while now, the princess didn't seem to get that same feeling of happiness from the view. Instead, she just stared vacantly as a desperate attempt to calm her mind, though with little success. The little princess wasn't able to smile as much anymore – which she was supposedly known for – she barely talked to even her siblings and when night came, she could flee into the world of dreams no longer.
Now she really started to doubt her choice. No matter what she tried to prevent any cruelty, fate always seemed to find a way to thwart her plans, much to her dismay. If she had chosen her blood siblings, could she have avoided all of this? Or would the same have happened, albeit in different circumstances? The princess closed her eyes and played different scenarios in her head, when a pair of soft knocks brought her back to reality.
"Azura?" Corrin questioned after opening the door, revealing the image of a certain blue songstress. She definitely hadn't expect anyone to visit her at this hour, let alone the other princess: the sun had already set a while ago, and she knew her friend normally would have retired to her tent by now.
"Hey," Azura said, her face bearing a comforting smile. "I know you've been feeling down lately, so I came to check on you." The songstress gaze was warm and inviting, and somehow Corrin couldn't help but to offer her a small smile back. "Are you all right?"
Corrin let out a deep breath and gestured her friend to enter, letting herself drop onto her bed soon after. "Frankly, not at all."
"Do you want to talk about it?" The bed shifted as Azura took place next to Corrin. After observing her space out for a while, she placed an assuring hand on her shoulder. "You know I'm here for you when you need me, right?"
"I know that," the princess quickly confirmed, surprised by the sudden warmth radiating from the other girl's palm. She could feel it through her shirt, oddly enough, and it actually did calm her a bit. Then again, Azura always seemed to have that effect on her. "I'll be fine, I just need some more time to think."
"This is about what happened in Cheve, isn't it?" Corrin's look immediately confirmed it, even though she stayed silent. "Gods, Corrin. You can't blame yourself for this, you couldn't have done anything about it."
"I could have stopped it! I should've stopped Hans, I..."
"Do you realise what consequences that would've brought us?"
"I know! That's why I didn't do it. But this still shouldn't have happened!" Corrin let her head fall into her hands and groaned in frustration.
"Hey now," Azura said. "Even if you think you could've done things differently, there's no point pondering it now. Besides, something like this was bound to happen anyway."
"That really doesn't make it any better."
"I know that. But you have the right to be angry about this, to find it unfair, to mourn the people from Cheve. It shows that contrary to Hans, Iago or king Garon, you're truly human. Don't ever lose that side of yours, Corrin."
The princess fell silent, processing the songstress' words.
"Look, you need some fresh air. Why don't we go for a walk? We can keep talking, if you like."
"...Can we go star-gazing, like we used to?"
"Of course. Shall we?" Azura stood up and offered her friend a hand, still bearing the same comforting smile she had come with. Though hesitantly, Corrin took it and hung on to her while her friend led her outside.
"Falling asleep?" The songstress couldn't help but laugh at the flustered princess, who was trying her best to hide her flushed face.
"I-I can't help it! You're the one who insisted I closed my eyes, and it's so peaceful here." If she were honest, the location and setting didn't have all that much to do with it. Listening to the songstress' humming while laying on her lap was really relaxing, if not a little embarrassing. Meanwhile, it also made her notice things about her friend Corrin never noticed before – The little pieces of brown in her amber eyes, for example. That really was a first. Or the way her blue haired almost seemed to glow, and how lively it flowed down her shoulders. It captivated her, and the weird feeling the princess had been feeling in her stomach seemed to grow stronger with it, too. Also, was Azura always this...pretty?
"You can rest, if you like," Azura chuckled again, a sound Corrin grew more and more eager to hear. The albino played along and closed her eyes once more. She felt at peace, and though her earlier troubles hadn't completely left her mind , she found herself thinking of the feelings Azura had incited in her way more. They were new, and yet they weren't – only stronger, and it confused her. After a while she felt the songstress play with some of her white locks, which roused her out of her thoughts.
"Azura," Corrin bit her lip, unsure whether to continue or not. "Thank you for being by my side."
"It's nothing, Corrin. I'm with you here, so I really don't mind."
"I'm not only talking about now," Corrin continued, then pausing to think of her words. "Thank you for being at my side. I know this must be hard on you as well. It may be my birth family we're fighting, but you were much closer to-"
"It was bound to happen," Azura sighed, then elaborated as a response to the princess' frown. "I always knew that, if a war between Hoshido and Nohr were to take place, I'd have to leave Hoshido, even if that isn't what Ryoma and the others intended for me." Corrin noted that Azura didn't seem particularly sad about it, yet she still felt horrible for her. "I always thought I'd be an outcast for both kingdoms, and that perhaps I would've roamed this world as one till the end of my days, but then you took me in, so...oh?"
Corrin had risen back into a sitting position to look at Azura, and slid a hand on her cheek to assure her. "Don't worry. You'll always have a place with me, no matter what happens." She only realised how close they suddenly were when she noticed the songstress' wide eyes and surprised look, which made her want to back away. However before she got the chance to do so, Azura lunged forward and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Thank you, Corrin, that's really kind of you," Azura breathed with her face in Corrin's hair, her arms wrapped around the princess' neck. Corrin had stiffened due to the gesture, but relaxed after a while. She wasn't exactly sure where to put her own hands, but ultimately settled with rubbing small circles on her back, pulling her closer. This was the first time the princess noticed the other girl's smell as well. It made her think of a mix of water, like a lake or river of some sort (which she realised was way too fitting to be a coincidence) and some kind of familiar flower or plant she couldn't find the name of. Whatever it was, it smelled distinctively Azura, and she loved it. She wanted to hug her even stronger, to make all her worries go away as Azura herself had intended to do for her. She wanted to tighten her grip and never let her go, but what kind of person even thought of such things while holding their...friend?
Realisation hit Corrin like a rock, and she suddenly felt awfully aware of her position. "Uhm, Azura?"
"Gods, I'm sorry about that!" Azura suddenly backed away in a rush, her face red, but Corrin's grip prevented her from moving all that much. "It's just, you're the first to-"
"It's nothing, Azura," as the words left the princess' mouth, a sense of déjà vu hit her. She smirked as she finished the sentence. "I'm with you here, so I really don't mind."
The songstress just stared, still blushing, shifting in the dragon girl's grip and taking a hold of the arms around her. "Look. Corrin, I..."
However, Corrin wouldn't let this moment slip and decided to take her chance –before her partner finished her sentence, she leaned in herself this time, now to claim the songstress lips, effectively silencing her.
At first Corrin had felt insecure as Azura tensed up at first, but when she tried to pull back, the songstress immediately slipped her arms around the princess' neck and started to kiss her back, preventing her from doing so.
Corrin had to back away eventually, bearing a huge grin on her face, while Azura didn't appear to be out of breath at all. "That was an awfully sly way of flirting with me, there."
"So you finally noticed?"
"Wait, what?" Corrin questioned, completely dumbfound. "What do you mean, 'finally'?"
Azura started laughing, much to the other's chagrin, though she eventually quieted down. "I've been dropping hints for ages now, to the point I'd almost given up on you." She gave the other girl's cheek a quick peck before continuing. "I've had a crush on you since we met at that lake, and I've liked you for a very long time."
"Now you're making me feel bad," Corrin joked, though she was still surprised about Azura's confession. She didn't seem to be embarrassed to tell her at all either, which made the princess wonder how she could word her feelings so easily. Especially considering how stoic she was, most of the time. Meanwhile, all she could do is blush. She took a deep breath. "Does that mean you'll be... my girlfriend?"
"Oh Corrin." Azura wore the brightest smile Corrin had ever seen on her face when she continued. "I'd love nothing more than to stay by your side for all our days."