This was written for monthlysupergo's Fic or Treat challenge on Dreamwidth as a treat for Taichara.
Out of the prompts she suggested, I chose the one about Laslow, and I ended up keeping this a short and simple piece based off his support conversations with Xander.
"Cherished Friend"
Of all the things he'd ever thought Xander would call him, "cherished friend" was not a phrase that Laslow had particularly expected to hear from the man. It was, however, a phrase that he was incredibly glad to hear from him.
It wasn't that he thought his liege disliked him as such; he knew Xander had a great amount of respect for his skills as a combatant, even if he didn't approve anywhere near as much of how he liked to spend his free time. In fact, he appreciated the fact that Xander was willing to put his trust into a stranger from some unknown land – a land that was utterly out of reach from Nohr, at that, not that anyone in this world was aware of it save for Laslow himself and the two friends who'd come here with him. (The scoldings and house arrests, perhaps not so appreciated.)
Rather, he'd simply believed that Xander valued him as a retainer and nothing closer. The idea that a stickler for proper behaviour like the prince could ever truly regard a flirt like himself as a friend had felt preposterous before – and yet after his last conversation with Xander, after he'd listened to him speak of his previous retainers, he could believe it was real after all.
Xander cherished him as a friend and a human life; Laslow couldn't ask for much higher praise from him than that. Knowing that, he vowed to himself anew that he would stay alive no matter what and make it through everything he needed to do – for his own sake, that of his friends, and that of this world and his own; for Xander's sake, that of everyone and everything he held dear, and that of his fallen comrades.
Yet I'll be heading back when everything's over, huh...
He was in this world to carry out a certain mission, and then he would return to his own world together with Odin and Selena – Owain and Severa – once said mission of theirs had been completed. He knew that all too well.
Even so, he wished all the more now that his time here wasn't so limited.
Fin.
As always, comments and constructive criticism are both welcome and appreciated.