This fic was written for the Naga-mas fanfic and fanart exchange on Tumblr. I'm incredibly late, but I hope you enjoy it, thiefsexual!

Footfalls and Moonlight

Lucina walked through the ship, unable to hide her smile as she watched Cynthia show off her lance moves to her mother. She fought back a cringe as the latter stepped back out of the way and tripped to fall on her bottom, but quickly moved on as the daughter moved to help her mother.

The princess continued on to duck through the narrow doorway leading to the rooms below decks. It had been a long fight to defeat the Conqueror, but victory was theirs and they were finally on their way back to familiar soil. All that remained was to find the last remaining gemstone, Sable, and complete Naga's awakening.

She slipped as quietly as she could through the slender passageways on her way to one particular room. It was after sunset, and she knew her father was likely conversing with his trusted tactician and Frederick. She would normally find herself joining them in such meetings, but she was certain they had covered all they could for the voyage overseas. In the meantime, there was another destination she had been meaning to visit.

Pausing outside the door, she inhaled a deep breath and knocked with three quick raps of her knuckles. A voice sounded from inside, saying, "Lucina? Please enter."

She pushed the door open with a light smile. "How did you know it was me, Laurent?"

He turned from his seat at a small desk and shifted to stand before offering a short bow out of respect. "Given that there are a limited number of people who would pay me a visit at this hour, combined with the light footfalls and the rapid, precise knocking upon the door, the only logical conclusion was you, of course."

She balked. He said that like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Er… Of course. How silly of me to think you wouldn't have everyone's footsteps and style of door knocking memorized." Shaking her head, she quickly changed the subject before he could remark on her comment. "Things have finally calmed down… With the war in Valm over and done with, peace actually feels as though it's within reach."

He nodded slowly. "Indeed… Is it strange that the vast portion of my mind refuses to believe it may be possible?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. After the nine hells we survived, no one would blame you if you never stopped sleeping with a knife under your pillow. I daresay I may never grow out of that habit."

"Mm…" he mused, touching one hand to his chin and turning to look out the small window at the glimmering moonlight.

Something in his motions seemed awkward and uncomfortable, two things she didn't normally associate with Laurent. Cocking her head, she asked, "Are you all right?"

He turned back to her and reached back to brush his hand through his red hair. "Ah… Yes. Yes, indeed. I merely… That is to say…"

She was worried about him now. "Laurent? Talk to me."

A slight blush burned at his cheeks as he murmured, "I understand that a form of physical comfort would have been expected from a suitor during such foreboding topics, but I am afraid all of my research has done little in the ways of romance."

Lucina couldn't help but chuckle. He was bizarre, yet charming in his own, unique way. She reached out and gently set her palm against his cheek. "You needn't worry yourself. As I told you before, I cherish you for the man you are. We can learn about love together."

He paused, taken aback by her actions for a moment, before shifting to lean into her hand as a small smile spread on his lips. "There hasn't been very much time to converse since our last meeting. I apologize for my lack of presence in your life. As a prospective suitor, I am failing tremendously, aren't I?"

Her lips curved into a smile and she said, "Don't worry yourself. Time will solve everything."

He frowned. "You are the last person I would expect to say that time solves everything."

She withdrew her hand and pursed her lips as she considered what to say. "Everything takes time. But I don't mean empty hours spent praying for a bright future. I meant time spent working for the life we want to share."

He touched his hand to his chin. "Ah, I see. That is an appropriate proposal. What do you suppose is a proper first step?"

"Well…" Lucina started, trailing off as she considered what they could talk about. She had grown up in a distorted world of tragedy with survival as her main goal. How did one go about with courting? "Er… Perhaps we could talk about hobbies?"

He blinked. "Hobbies?"

She nodded, going with the momentum of the conversation. "Right! What sort of things do you enjoy doing in your spare time?"

The expression that crossed his features was one of utter confusion. "Er…"

She walked over and peered out the window in the small room and as she decided to throw him a lifeline. "Personally, I tend to spend my time training. If there's no opportunity for that, I always enjoy a novel. Or spending time with my family, of course. Another thing I greatly enjoy is walking through the wilderness and watching the stars. On the nights with a full moon, you don't even need a torch to see around you. It's… serene."

He frowned and seemed to consider her response for a long moment before finally saying, "I… often allot any personal time to my studies. I can't say I have ever considered doing anything else."

Lucina couldn't help but smile. That sounded just like him. "And your endless amount of study has saved my life and time on far more than one occasion. Take the incident with my leg injury, for example. Your skills gave me reason to see a healer and save precious time on recovery."

"I only suggested that as the logical course of action. It would have been utter folly to allow an injury to your thigh impede on your ability to fight in battle. As Princess, you serve as leader and your presence ensures a rather large boost in morale among the men. Additionally, as a wielder of the Falchion, your own strength is a great asset in all-"

She couldn't hold it back as she snorted a chuckle and moved closer before cutting him off with a short kiss. "Logical or not, it was the motivation I needed to ignore my pride and see Brady about it."

He turned away, a blush burning his cheeks red and raising his hand to gingerly touch his lips. "That… That may be, though I…"

Cocking her head, she felt her own cheeks heat up and hummed a sound to prompt him to finish his thought. "Hm?"

Nodding once to rebuild his resolve, he continued to avoid her eyes and said, "I… imagine that watching the stars would be a pleasant way to spend time. Perhaps… Perhaps we might… view them together?"

A smile spread across her face as she dipped her chin in approval. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. As soon as we arrive in Ylisse, it shall be the first thing we do."

Thanks for reading and please review!

-Valk