I DON'T KNOW OKAY I NEED TO GET ALL THE NILES/OBORO OUT OF MY SYSTEM.
Also, I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes. I write these piecemeal.
Niles hummed as he strolled down the hall to Oboro's room. It had been an unpleasant sort of few days, for the army had started encountering wraiths of their dead, and he wanted something to cheer him up. His fiancée, he figured, would be just the person to do that.
As he approached her door, he felt a pleasant thrill of excitement. This was the first time since their engagement that he'd come to see her at night, and the first time he hoped to sleep with her. The thought of finally sleeping with her was exhilarating.
Oboro's face lit up when she opened the door. She smiled, half biting her lip in a gesture he recognized as her being flustered. Niles grinned.
"Hi," he said. "Happy to see me?"
"Very much," she said, throwing the door open. "Come on in."
He entered, swinging the door shut. Oboro's room was airy and light; her window was wide open to the gardens outside, her floor largely empty except for square table with a polished rectangular box in the center. A potted jasmine plant, its fragrance spreading through the room stood in one corner; a half-sewn dress sat folded next to a cushion on the floor. There was another scent in the room; he couldn't place it, but it reminded him of Oboro herself. He closed his eyes for a bit, feeling oddly calm.
"Sit down," Oboro said, wandering over and pulling out another cushion from the closet. "I could make some tea, if you want."
"Hmm, no," Niles said, settling down next to her. "Its too hot for tea. Whats this?" He tapped the box lightly, tracing the wood-cut pattern on top of it. Oboro leaned over him to touch it gently.
"My writing box," she said fondly. "It was Prince Takumi's gift on my first anniversary as his retainer."
Niles nodded. It was a nice looking box, with a picture of a couple of cranes in flight. Oboro sighed, leaning on his shoulder, and he rubbed her arm.
"Tired?" He asked.
"A little."
"A shame. I was thinking of a few things we could do."
She looked up at him, raising her eyebrows. "Really?" She said. "Like what?"
Niles winked at her. "Think, he said suggestively.
"Well," Oboro said, tapping her chin. "I was thinking of finishing this kimono; are you thinking of helping me with that?"
Niles shook his head. "Try again," he suggested.
"Watering the bonsai?"
Niles sighed. "Let me give you a hint," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist. Oboro let out an embarrassed laugh.
"Fine," she said, reaching up to kiss him. Niles leaned into the kiss, the feel of her lips on his own, the warmth of her body as she pressed up against him. Slowly, his hand trialed down her back, snaking down to the slit in her skirt. Oboro moaned as he ran his hand up her leg. Niles smiled, kissing her harder as he reached up to gently hook his fingers in the waistband of her tights.
Oboro jumped, pulling away. "What?" She asked.
"What?" Niles said.
"What- what were you trying to do?"
"What do you think?" He said, licking his lips. Oboro stared at him. Then her eyes went wide.
"You- you want to have sex?" She asked. Niles grinned. Oboro looked down, fiddling with her fingers.
"Oh," she said, "I- yeah, I don't want to, right now."
Niles frowned. "What?" He asked.
"I don't want to- sleep with you, right now," she said shrugging. "Its not your fault, its just that I'm not ready."
Surely he was hearing wrong. Niles stared at her, then shook his head.
"I don't understand," he said. "Why don't you want to sleep with me?"
"I- its nothing to do with you!" Oboro said, looking up at him, "its just that- I don't want to, right now."
"Why not?"
"Its weird. And awkward."
Nils snorted. "I can make it fun," he said in a sing-song voice, leaning towards her. She pulled away, smiling apologetically.
"I'm really sorry Niles," she said, "Can't we wait? For a little while?"
"How long?" He demanded. Oboro fiddled with her fingers again.
"I- till we're married," she said.
"Fine," he said, "then lets get married."
"Oh no," Oboro said immediately. "I think getting married during the war is a bad omen. We should wait till after the war."
Niles gaped. "After the war?" He said incredulously.
"You have a problem with that?" She asked frowning. Niles pursed his lips, exhaling loudly through his nose. Of course he had a problem; it was frustrating, both literally and physically, to see her sitting there and yet be unable to show how he loved her.
Nevertheless, he shook his head.
"Its okay," he said, "Its fine."
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"So... she doesn't like your dirty talk," Laslow said thoughtfully, "And she doesn't want to sleep with you. Why is she with you again?"
Niles glared at him. "Why are you here?" he asked exasperatedly. "I called Odin here to talk, not you."
"Ah, but where Odin Dark goes, Azure of the Indigo Skies follows!" Odin said triumphantly. Niles sighed.
A"nd here I thought picking a place far away from camp would actually help me," he said, "Was I ever wrong."
"Ah, come on," Laslow said, "I can help."
"Really?" Niles asked him sweetly. "Have you ever even been with a woman? Beyond tea, I mean."
"Oh, very funny," Laslow said, "but its not like being with women- or men, for that matter- is helping you any."
"Yeah, and thats why I called Odin." Niles turned to his fellow retainer. "You have a fiancée too," he said, "What do you say to her to get her into bed?"
Odin grinned. "The thing, my umbral friend," he said, wandering over and patting Niles on the shoulder, "is that you can't 'get' a woman into bed just like that."
"Yes you can."
"No you can't," Odin said. "Not when she isn't at the same point in a relationship as you are."
"And you think Oboro isn't at the same point in this relationship as I am?"
"Considering the fact that you weren't even courting her when you proposed, I would say no."
Niles chewed his lip. "... so what you're saying is that she might not be in love with me," he said. "Thats very helpful, thanks."
"We're not saying that!" Laslow said. "What we're saying is that you might need to give her more time before hopping into bed with her."
"Yes," Odin said, "Give her a chance to get used to the demons in your soul before, er, you know. Why're you in such a rush anyway? She's already engaged to you."
"Thats what she said, thanks very much," Niles said, rolling his eyes, "And did you give Selena a chance to get used to your 'demons' before unleashing them on her?"
"Wha- why you lit-" Odin sputtered as Laslow started laughing.
"Alright, alright," he said as Odin jumped up. "Thats enough about both of your... demons."
"He insulted Selena!" Odin exclaimed.
"No I didn't," Niles said irritably. "You did with you completely useless advice."
"Which one of us is having problems right now?"
"ENOUGH!" Laslow pushed them away at arm's length. "Look, Niles, we're trying to help you here. You asked for his help, remember?"
"Yes, and trust me when I say that I'm right," Odin said, "Don't worry about the sex, worry about your relationship. If she isn't as much in love with you as you are with her, then show her how you feel! Wine her, dine her, romance her with sincerity!"
"Yes," Laslow added. "Like that wedding dress thing you did. That was pretty good."
"But I-" Niles sighed, running a hand over his face. "Fine," he said, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but fine. I'll do it. Something romantic."
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Hana lived a simple life. She woke up, trained, fought, and fell asleep again. She served Princess Sakura faithfully, and spent a moderate amount of time with her fellow soldiers. She was a good person, and meant no one any harm (at least not unless they hurt Princess Sakura).
So when she walked into a naked man in Oboro's room, her first though was: 'why me?'
Okay, that wasn't her first thought. But her first thought after opening the door was '?' and the next one was '!' It was only after screaming and slamming the door shut was it that she was able to formulate a coherent thought, which was: 'why me?'
She shook her head, and tried to recalibrate the thoughts in her mind.
He had been big, and well built. He had been completely naked. And he had been lying in a position that was had displayed to Hana things she was most certainly not willing, to see. She shuddered and threw her mind back, this time trying to visualize the details instead of the... main piece.
There had been no Oboro in that room. It was a plainly furnished room, and while the bedsheets had been... disturbed, she was sure that there had been a complete and total lack of Oboros anywhere around. Second, that man was a Nohrian. She'd seen him, she knew him, his name was Niles and Subaki had spoken at great length about how odd he was.
Hana shook her head. If it had been anyone else she would have assumed that he was Oboro's lover. But Oboro hated Nohrians. Which lead to the conclusion that the man inside had murdered Oboro, and had fallen asleep in her bed.
Which… did not make any sense either.
A soft thud from inside jolted Hana back to reality. She drew her katana before calling out: "Come out, whoever you are!" 'If he comes out naked,' she thought, 'I'll kill him.'
The door next to Oboro's slid open and Orochi poked her head out.
"What?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"There's a naked man in there," Hana whispered, pointing at the door. Orochi looked at the door, then back at her, a slow smile dawning on her face.
"What?" She repeated.
Hana sighed. She could open the door and lay the whole thing bare (literally and metaphorically) but she really, really didn't want to. She jabbed her katana in the door's direction again. "There's a man in there," she said urgently. "This is Oboro's room, right?"
"Last I checked, yes." Orochi marched out of her room and strode over. Leaning against the door she called out sweetly: "Whoever's inside, I'm coming in!"
"No!" Hana exclaimed. As Orochi reached out, the door slid open. A disheveled but dressed Niles stepped out.
"Hello," he said, nodding at the two women.
"Hi," Orochi smiled, twirling her hair around her fingers. Hana shuddered, desperately trying not look anywhere but at his face. A bad idea, since not looking at his face drew her eyes to a certain other part of his (thankfully now covered) anatomy.
Luckily enough, Niles seemed disinclined to linger, He gave a brief smile, sidestepped the two women, and quickly ran off.
"Hmm," Orochi purred, as he disappeared from view. "not bad."
Hana did not share her sentiment. She opened her mouth to say so when the window on the far side of the room slammed open, and Hinata and Kagero jumped in.
"Where is he?" Hinata demanded, turning a full circle and nearly trampling on Oboro's bedroll. "What happened?"
Hana stared. "I don't know," she replied.
"That man tried to climb out the window," Kagero said, "You two know whats going on?"
"That was Niles wasn't it?" Hinata demanded, "Why was he here?"
Orochi laughed. "Oh you three," she said, "You're so naive. Can't you tell, given the circumstances?"
Hana couldn't. She presumed there was a rational explanation there somewhere, but since she didn't want to think too hard about naked Nohrians she decided not to go too deep into it. Judging by the amount of chin rubbing however, Hinata seemed to be giving it serious thought.
"...looking for intruders?" He hazarded. "Doing guard duty?"
"Guard duty in someone's private quarters?" Hana demanded incredulously, "I don't think so. He was naked when I entered. You don't do guard duty naked!"
"He was nude?" Kagero asked sharply, eyes scanning the room. Hana followed her gaze as she bent down to pick something small and red.
"Rose petals," she said, "Fresh too."
The room did smell strongly of roses; a strange thing considering that Oboro wasn't particularly fond of the flowers. Also there were too many lit candles around, instead of the lanterns Oboro should have been using. Some dots were beginning to connect in Hana's head, drawing a very twisted picture.
Orochi laughed. "Oh, don't strain yourselves too much," she said, "that was probably Oboro's paramour."
A stunned silence followed her words.
"Excuse me?" Hinata demanded. "What?"
"Her paramour," Orochi said, a catlike smile playing on her lips. "Come on, the roses, the candles; he was probably waiting for her."
"Oh-" Kagero closed her eyes. Hana had to admit that made some sense.
"But... its Niles," Hinata said, still seemed to be trying to process it. "She wouldn't sleep with a Nohrian."
"That is true," Orochi conceded, "but who knows the mysterious minds of women?"
Hana rolled her eyes. "He's dangerous," she pointed out. "Subaki told me he attacked him some time ago."
"Yes, and I've heard he has a reputation for sadism," Kagero said. "At the very least we need to tell Oboro-"
"Tell me what?"
The four of them turned to see Oboro standing at the door, looking confused.
"Tell me what?" She asked. "Is everything okay?"
Hinata coughed. Hana looked at the ground. She'd never been very good at conversations requiring tact, and if anything this needed tact by the spadefuls. The two older women looked at each other.
"Oboro, there was a man in your room," Kagero began carefully.
"Hana walked in on him in a state of undress," Orochi said. "He ran out of here."
"It was Niles," Hinata said.
Oboro started. Her face got red, and her eyes went very wide.
"Niles was here?" She asked in a strangled voice. "Here?"
"Naked," Hana said. Oboro deserved to know that a naked man's butt had touched her bed. Oboro stared at her.
"Naked?" She repeated.
"And there's evidence in the room of a, er, romantic liaison," Kagero said.
"Yeah, theres flowers scattered around and stuff," Hinata said.
Oboro opened and closed her mouth a few times, looking like she'd gotten something stuck in her throat.
"... NIles was HERE?" She finally managed. Orochi sighed.
"Oboro dear, its okay," She said, taking the other woman's arm gently, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. We all have-"
"I'm going to KILL him!" Oboro buried her face in her hands, shaking her head. Everyone stared at her.
"So... you two are not together?" Hinata asked. Oboro raised her head to look at him.
"I suppose I should have told you before," she said, sighing. "But yes, we are. We're... engaged."
Silence fell.
"WHAT?" All four exploded simultaneously. Oboro flinched.
"Yes," she said defiantly, "I'm engaged to him, and I'm marrying him. What's so wrong with that?"
"But he's-he's Nohrian!" Hana pointed out. "You don't like Nohrians!"
"And hes Niles," Hinata said, "he's... well he's kinda weird."
"I know he's weird," Oboro said, "but he's nice, and he has a good heart."
"But he's Nohrian!" Hana said, "he's from a whole different country! He's- he doesn't live here!"
"You can't argue with the vagaries of love, Hana," Orochi said, "I'm quite impressed, actually. This is quite a development!"
"And you didn't even tell me!" Hinata said, "Did you tell Prince Takumi?"
"N-No," Oboro said, looking down. "I haven't told anybody. I-I was waiting for the right time."
"Oboro, are you certain about this?" Kagero asked. "I have heard rather strange reports of that man."
"And I've worked side by side with him," Oboro said, "trusted my life to him. I love him. I don't care what anyone else thinks."
Orochi snickered. "Well, guess your mind's made up," she said, "congratulations dear. I hope you two have a long and happy life together."
Kagero sighed. "Orochi's right," she said, "I suppose you know what you're doing. Congratulations."
"But-" Hinata began, then yelped as Orochi stomped on his foot.
"Congratulations," she repeated firmly, pushing the red-faced Hinata towards Kagero. Oboro nodded, looking much happier.
"Thank you!" She exclaimed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find Niles and ask him what the hell he was doing." She waved at them and rushed down the hall, not unlike her fiancé. Her four comrades stared after her.
"What the hell Orochi?" Hinata demanded, rubbing his foot. "I wasn't going to ask her anything wrong."
"Hinata, you don't go about asking a recently engaged woman why she got engaged," Orochi told him, "thats just in poor taste."
"I know! And she didn't even tell me that!" Hinata said, leaning against the wall and folding his arms, "Its like I'm not her best friend or something!"
"What I can't believe is that she's marrying a Nohrian," Hana said, leaning against the wall. "Its so weird to think of."
"I know, its as weird as Prince Takumi marrying- marrying Princess Corrin," Hinata said. "Or Prince Ryoma marrying Princess Camilla."
Kagero raised an eyebrow. "Hinata," she said, "Prince Takumi is with Princess Corrin. And Prince Ryoma is marrying Princess Camilla."
Hinata's jaw dropped again. "Whaaaa- WHAT?" he yelled. "What- what- what- are you sure?"
"Prince Ryoma went on at length about it last week, so yes, I'm sure."
"No one tells me anything!" He said. Hana snorted.
"More like you don't notice stuff," she said. Orochi shook her head.
"You don't notice things as well Hana," she said. "There are plenty of Nohr-Hoshido couples around. There's Kaze and Beruka, Arthur and Setsuna, Saizo and Charlotte-"
"WHAT?" The others jumped, turning to Kagero. She stared at Orochi, eyes wide.
"What?" She said, Orochi winced.
"Er, nothing," she said, Kagero opened her mouth to respond, then stopped.
"Excuse me," she said, and left abruptly. Hana and Hinata looked at Orochi.
"What was that?" Hana asked.
"Nothing," said Orochi, "Just the trials of love."
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Niles didn't stop walking till he was safely in the stables, where people would be less likely to hang out and therefore run into him. Then he sank down onto a bale of hay and started laughing.
That had been priceless.
The horses and pegasi turned their heads towards the noisy intruder, and upon seeming their faces his laughter redoubled. He doubled over, laughing till tears rolled down his face. He knew it wasn't something that funny, but for some reason he couldn't stop. It wasn't till he heard footsteps that he looked up to see Oboro walk into the stables.
"Hi," he said. "How'd you find me?"
Oboro's lips twitched. "I asked people if they'd seen a crazy man running through the camp recently," she said, walking up to sit down next to him. "What were you doing?"
"Something romantic."
She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Really?" She asked. "Hana told me you were naked in my room."
"Oh, she mentioned it?"
"Yes," Oboro said, biting back a smile. "She was most emphatic in telling me at the naked man's butt had touched my bed."
Niles grinned. "And do you mind?" He asked. Oboro closed her eyes, smiling as she shook her head.
"Niles, I told you," she said, "I don't want to sleep with you yet."
"Why not?" NIles asked. "Do you find me- I don't know, fundamentally abhorrent?"
"What?" Oboro looked startled. "No! I just- I told you, I'm not ready."
"There's nothing to be 'ready' about," he said. "Sex is sex, its no big deal."
"Maybe not to you, but it is to me."
"Oboro, I'll be gentle," Niles pleaded. "I won't hurt you. I'll show you how much I love you."
"Niles!" She stood up, turning to face him with her hands on her hips. "Why are you so impatient?" She asked. "Is sex all that this relationship means to you?"
"No! I- it..." Niles looked away.
"What?" Oboro asked, frowning. Niles looked back at her, licking his lips frustratedly.
"Its just that... I've never actually had a relationship where sex wasn't the dominating factor," he said, "the only factor, actually." Oboro gave him a questioning look, and he sighed.
"I've never been in love," he said, "Never... loved anyone. When I was younger, the people I lived with told me to sleep with them. To show them I love them, they claimed."
Slowly, Oboro opened her mouth. "...oh," she managed. "I- thats pretty bad. I-I always thought-"
"-that I sleep with anything that moves," Niles finished with a bitter laugh. "Thats somewhat true; over the years I've learned that sex doesn't always mean anything. I didn't love them, any of those bastards I slept with. But- its also the only form of affection I've ever known."
Oboro leaned over, touching her forehead to his shoulder. "I love you," she told him, "Wholly and solely. I just... I didn't imagine getting married anytime soon, and the thought of sex is... a little weird to me still. It- right now, I can't- its just awkward, alright?!" She huffed into his shoulder, making him smile.
"But I do love you," she said, reaching up to kiss his cheek "I alway will." The touch of her lips sent warmth through Niles' heart, the same warmth he always felt at her presence. It felt better than anything else- even better than sex, in a strange way. He leaned in close, enjoying her by his side.
"I love you too," he said,
He could feel her nose scrunching as she smiled back. They stayed that way for a while, before Oboro pulled away.
"You know..." she said, tracing patterns up and down his arm, "If you want... that badly... then..." She trailed off, letting the unspoken invitation hang in the air. Niles looked down at her.
"You still don't want to," he observed.
Oboro looked at him, and shook her head. "No," she admitted. "I still don't. I-I want to wait."
Niles shrugged. "Then I'll wait," he said simply.
"Really?"
"Yes," he said, "I don't want to force you. I'll wait then, till you're ready. And I mean it this time." He rubbed his brow, then said: "Those are words I never thought I'd say."
Oboro laughed. "Oh, I think its very sweet of you," she said.
"Its knid of a shame though; I had a wonderful strip tease routine all planned out."
"That would have been fun," she said, "Is that what you were trying to start when Hana found you?"
"Something like it," he said, shrugging. "Its was Odin and Laslow's idea."
Oboro pursed her lips, trying not to smile. "Lying naked in my bed was their idea?" She asked. Niles looked away.
"Maybe that part was mine," he admitted. "But they told me that I should do something more romantic."
"That was supposed to be romantic?"
"I scattered rose petals everywhere."
She burst out laughing. "That would have been quite the show," she said.
"Your friends seemed to have other ideas," he informed her. Her eyes widened.
"Oh right... I'm going to have to explain that to the others, aren't I?" She said, wincing.
"Probably."
Oboro sighed, then shrugged and smiled, taking his hand in hers. "Ah well," she said. "I suppose it could have been worse. Just promise me you won't flash any more of my friends?"
"Hmm," said Niles. "Deal."