Author's Note: I just wanted a Subaki x Corrin fic, but unfortunately there aren't many of those out there and I don't seem to have the skills to make one. A dreadful combination. I typed this a few weeks ago, got stuck and distracted, then I found that when I returned to it, I just couldn't think of anything else.
It was a rocky start for Corrin's small crew, considering that they had chose to find their own path, the path the Corrin believed would lead to peace. Though, the rockiness was primarily caused by two certain princes who could not accept Corrin's decision, they did everything in their power to bring her back to their own respective side. She had proved to be too adamant; they could not bring her back. They didn't fail, however, in a way they succeeded by joining her side. This arrangement was great in Corrin's perspective, now she had her whole family fighting alongside her, but the princes could not trust each other, especially when it came to their precious sister.
Once Ryoma had joined the team, he and most of his siblings had set up a system that made it so that Corrin was always in the presence of a Hoshidan guard. Sometimes they wouldn't be common soldiers; the Hoshidan royals' retainers would often keep watch of her. Corrin didn't particularly mind them, she often enjoyed their company, especially the company of a certain Pegasus knight. He would often get embarrassed over the smallest things, which would confuse her greatly, but she always had a nice time with him when it was his turn to guard her. Subaki enjoyed their time together too, so much so that he would forget the true purpose of his presence.
After awhile, Xander started to notice that Corrin always had a Hoshidan near her. He, and quite a few other Nohrians, did not take this too kindly. Xander approached the Hoshiden heir, "Prince Ryoma. There is something I wish to speak with you about."
"What is it?" Ryoma replied, curious as to what the Nohrian prince could possibly want to say to him. "There have been complaints from my siblings and my soldiers," Xander stated, "Whenever one of us attempts to talk with Corrin, there is always a Hoshidan there with her. What is the meaning of this? I thought we had agreed to seek the path of peace and forge an alliance. Or was that a lie? Do you still doubt our intentions?" He sounded as if he was getting increasingly more irritated.
"It was no lie." Ryoma calmly replied, "I have decided to trust you, but many in the Hoshidan army have not. That is why I am keeping watch over you and yours. I wish it was not necessary. And I am sorry if it has caused your people grief." The frustration continues as Xander questions more, "Is it so impossible to trust Nohrians?"
"Try to understand, Prince Xander." Ryoma tried to maintain his own composure as he continued, "King Garon lured my father into a trap and murdered him in cold blood. As if that were not enough, he then stole Corrin from us. A mere child! You cannot blame my countrymen, or I, for being suspicious." Xander was somewhat derailed from this declaration, but he pressed on, "Of course. But do you think it unfair to punish a son for his father's sins?"
"I understand that it was King Garon's doing and that he is now your enemy too. Still…" Ryoma paused, finding his words, "enemy or not, he remains your father. It must be difficult to turn your sword against him, regardless of the facts. I am doing my best to sympathize… However…"
"…I see." Xander said, understanding where Ryoma was going, "You need not continue. I will tell my people to pay no mind to the matter. Your perspective, though incorrect, is perfectly understandable."
"Prince Xander…" Ryoma wanted to say more, but Xander continued quickly, "Trust can only be earned, not demanded. And earning takes time. So we will wait. In the interim, we are no strangers to hostile receptions. We shall endure." He left it at that, Xander will remain true to his word since there was not much else he could do without causing further conflict.
Ryoma remained alone, lamenting their discussion. Perhaps he was the one who seemed to lack some understanding toward the Nohrian perspective.
"What!?" exclaimed Hinoka, after Ryoma had informed his siblings that they should all allow Corrin some breathing room, "you can't be serious, brother, after what had happened last time those Nohrians got close to her!?"
"Please keep your peace, sister. I expect that kind of talk from Takumi." Ryoma had sighed. She reluctantly held her tongue.
"Well, I happen to agree with her!" The aforementioned man spoke up, unable to remain anymore calm than Hinoka.
Ryoma quickly realized he was losing control of the situation. He knew that they would not take this order lightly, but he had expected them to be a little more becoming about it. They had continued to bicker over the matter until Sakura had piped up, "umm, m-maybe we should hold off a little. I mean, nothing really bad has happened to her, s-since we reunited."
"And it will remain that way if we stay with her!" Hinoka proclaimed confidently.
"We can't keep doing this; we won't be able to build any trust among the Nohrians if we ourselves do not start to trust them." Ryoma spoke, trying to get the message across, "and it is not like we are going to completely leave her. We can still stay with her, but we have to share our time with her with the Nohrians."
Though most of the siblings were hesitant to trust the Nohrians, they could not disrespect their eldest brother's wishes. They had decided to try to back away from Corrin a very tiny -but noticeable- bit. They had made sure to tell their retainers of this news, so that they may also lessen their presence, and by extension the other Hoshidan soldiers may also lessen their company.
Subaki had finished his training for today and was heading to the mess hall to refill his stomach, lest he fall prey to the grumbling again. Corrin had assured him that it was fine, and she agreed to help him, but he still couldn't help his perfectionist tendencies.
Meanwhile, Corrin was sitting down at one of the empty tables in the mess hall. She was a pretty early to lunch, so there was no one there to prepare anything and Corrin wouldn't dare handle any of the food. After some time had passed, Subaki stepped in, "Ah, Corrin, it's a pleasure to see you here." He looked positively radiant, "O-oh, uh, hello Subaki, … so are you here for lunch?" Her voice trailed off a bit, she felt kind of dumb for asking such an obvious question, but he answered regardless, "Of course, wouldn't want to get too famished and have it happen again." The internal shiver he had could almost be heard through his words.
Subaki was about to make his way to the kitchen, but Corrin got up from her spot to stop him, "Wait Subaki, about that, have you thought of anything else that could help with your tummy growls yet, besides by just eating a bunch of snacks?" They have been collaborating on ways to help with what he calls a "problem" for the past few days, so far there hasn't been much luck with it. Subaki gave a pained look, "I have not, I'm afraid. Which is why I must eat now." His newfound determination allows him to continue to the kitchen. Corrin follows him to make sure he doesn't try to consume most of the rations.
"Maybe it's your training routine, you do train pretty early, you know." Corrin explained, Subaki does tend to skip breakfast considering how early he wakes up to train. "Huh? But there's nothing wrong with my training regimen. My stomach never growls during training." He said as he loaded up food items into his arms, Corrin stopped him before took a days-worth of food. "How is that possible? Are you never hungry when you wake up?" Corrin had to ask, she was perplexed as to how anyone could wake up without feeling a little hungry. Subaki heads over to the counter to perfectly prepare his meal "I guess so. I'm pretty distracted with duties in the morning, so I've never really noticed, " He paused his food-making for a moment, "Actually now that I think about it, I don't think my stomach growls at all when I'm training."
Subaki steps back for a moment and laughs to himself, "To think the solution was so simple." Corrin just stares at him, "What solution?" she asks, not really sure if she wants to know what he's getting at. "I'll just flex away the growling!" He proclaimed so easily while demonstrating, Corrin's emotions were mixed, she wasn't even sure how to respond to that and the flexing was not helping her to maintain any coherent thought, "W-well… if it works, it should be fine… Yeah…"
He seemed very satisfied with this arrangement, and went back to preparing his food, and eventually Corrin's food as a repayment for helping him and also because he remembered what happened last time she tried to handle food.
Some time had passed since that lunch had taken place. Even though Subaki's problem was fixed, and he was told many times to not hang around Corrin too much, he couldn't bring himself to stay away for long. He would often go visit her whenever he had the free time to do so, the others didn't really understand how he felt towards her. It probably didn't help that he attempted to hide his feelings most of the time, even when some people –mostly Sakura and Hana- prodded him to tell them about it.
Corrin didn't have any problem with his visits, even when she started to notice that Subaki was the one who came over to her the most frequently. Lately the others seemed to be too busy with other matters; she still did not know the true meaning behind their actions.