Quick Info~
I think that out of everything I've written so far, this chapter shows the most sides of Laslow. I love how the creators developed him and I think he's incredibly well-rounded (despite being a little shallow upon first meeting him). Anyway, this chapter made me sad and then made me happy, so I hope you guys experience all of the emotions I did while writing it! And I just wanted to give a big thank you to everyone following this, and a special shoutout to Kuroyuki no Ryu who drew the first fan art I've ever received for any of my stories. Their art is incredibly adorable and you guys should all go check it out on deviant art (it'll also eventually be the cover photo for this story as soon as I can get back on my laptop). I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
One last thing, if you haven't played the game past the first eight (ten?) chapters yet, there's a spoiler. So just be warned while reading!
Drabble 7: Across the Stars
"Duck!" Corrin yelled, whipping her head back towards Laslow and watching as he blinked once, then twice, and fell backwards as the force of the shuriken hit him square in the forehead.
It was made of some sort of soft clay substance, so thankfully it couldn't pierce like a real shuriken. A few Hoshidan were extremely skilled in throwing kunai, so Kaze had made fake replicas that threw somewhat similarly in order for Corrin's team to learn how to dodge them accurately.
"Laslow!" Peri whined, stomping her foot childishly and staring at him with her large, crocodile-tear-filled eyes.
"Sorry," Laslow said sheepishly, rubbing his forehead and grinning.
"Honestly you've got to be more careful," Leo scolded, shutting his spell book with enough force to make the training grounds echo with a loud clap. "If that was a real shuriken, you'd have been dead."
"And if you die then Corrin will be sad!" Elise said, peeping at him from her defensive position behind Xander.
"I don't think that's really the point," Corrin muttered, but gave her little sister a generous smile nevertheless.
"I suppose I'm little bit off of my game today," Laslow said, regaining his footing and gripping the kunai tightly in his fist.
Kaze clapped once and the entire army stiffened at the sound. His ninja background made him naturally rather quiet. He much preferred to observe rather than speak, something that a majority of the Nohrian army struggled with. However, when Kaze meant business, everyone within a five-mile radius better have been ready to listen.
"Laslow," Kaze started coolly. "Throw that shuriken at Lady Corrin."
"What?" Laslow asked incredously, his gaze darting from Kaze to Corrin rapidly.
"It's fake," Corrin said, readying her defensive stance. "Bring it on!"
Laslow swallowed hard, the ground feeling shaky and his head swimming dizzily. He squinted, rearing back to launch the kunai at Corrin. His Corrin. The Corrin that he was irrevocably and completely….
"Throw it, Laslow," Xander said sternly, his booming authoritative voice shaking Laslow to his core.
He couldn't disobey Xander, so he took a deep breath, nodded, and launched the shuriken at Corrin. She smiled and held out her hand to block it. It clipped the top of her fingertips and she swiftly shot her hand to her side, redirecting the shuriken into the sand at her feet.
"Lady Corrin," Kaze said, stooping down to pick up the shuriken. "With all due respect, if you try that technique with a real one, the blade can pierce right through your skin. Try to dodge it next time."
Corrin nodded, examining the tips of her fingers. The fake shuriken actually managed to break the skin. She wiped the blood off on her pants and looked up to give Laslow a reassuring smile.
But Laslow, however, was nowhere to be found.
"Did anyone see where Laslow went?" Corrin asked, feeling her throat begin to tighten with an odd feeling of dread.
The army looked back at her with equally confused expressions and Corrin sighed. He must've ducked out while everyone was listening to Kaze. She tried to put his disappearance out of her mind to focus on their training, but she couldn't help thinking about him. The expression that he gave her before he threw the shuriken was one she had never seen before. It was almost as if he wasn't even looking at her. Like he was a million miles away in another time.
The training lasted until the sun began to set. It was easy for Corrin to tell who was naturally good at dodging and throwing, and who was struggling. Niles was absolutely dreadful, probably the worst of the team. Jakob, however, might've been able to knock someone's head off with the fake ones if he needed to. Xander was naturally good at everything, so this was just another easy task for him. Everyone else fell somewhere in the middle, and if Kaze seemed satisfied with their progress, then Corrin was, too.
When Corrin didn't see Laslow at dinner, her quarters, his quarters, the bathhouse, or anywhere else on the grounds, she knew something must have been really bothering him. And in turn, she knew exactly where to look.
"How did you find me?" Laslow asked.
"This is sort of the 'I'm extraordinarily upset' spot," Corrin said softly.
"If I knew it was so famous, I would've chosen differently," Laslow said, shaking his head and letting out a monosyllabic chuckle.
From the kneecap down, Laslow's legs were hanging off of one of the scouting towers attached to the castle. He was kicking his feet aimlessly, his hands clutching the bars that kept people from falling off of the tower. His head was resting against the cool metal as his gaze fixated on anything that wasn't Corrin sitting directly beside him.
She tentatively moved one hand to rest on his thigh and she winced as the flesh there twitched.
"Not everyone knows about it," Corrin continued, her voice almost like a lullable. Quiet, comforting, and slow. "Just me."
Laslow didn't respond. He could already feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment. He had let the whole army down. He let Lord Xander down. But most importantly, he let Corrin down. He doubted she still trusted him to be a valuable member of the team after his escapist act earlier.
"When I was little, I'd come out here and pretend like I was tall enough to touch the stars," Corrin said, smiling up at the full, bright moon like she was looking at a memory rather than a rock floating in space. "It made me feel like I wasn't so trapped. Like I could go anywhere I wanted if I just reached high enough."
"Well, I'd like to be anywhere but here right now," Laslow muttered.
"Why?" Corrin asked.
Laslow sighed and fell backwards, using his hands to cradle his head from the hard cement floor.
"I'm sorry that I let you down," he said quietly, his voice strained.
"You didn't," Corrin said, shaking her head and falling backwards to lie beside him, resting her hands on her stomach. "But I was worried."
Corrin reached out to grab his hand, but Laslow let out a gasp when he saw her fingers. She managed to bandage them, but the faintest tint of blood succeeded in seeping through.
"I hurt you," he whispered hoarsely, his eyes wide with fear.
"No," Corrin said, pulling her hand back and hiding it from his view. "I was the one who didn't dodge it properly."
"I don't understand how you guys can stand there and throw weapons at each other like it's a game," Laslow said.
"It's not a game," Corrin corrected, frowning. "It's training. Saizo is one of the best ninjas that Hoshido has and he also happens to be Kaze's brother. If we ever face him we have to know—"
"By making me throw fake blades at you?" Laslow asked incredulously, fury rising in his voice with every word.
He stood up and, when she followed suit, he turned his back to her.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand," he said, clenching his fists at his side. "It's not like you've seen anyone you care about die before."
Corrin opened her mouth to retort, but knew that it was futile. Despite seeing Mikoto die and watch the unparalleled pain that her birth siblings went through, she could never honestly admit that the pain she felt was anywhere near that. Even though Mikoto was her mother, too, she didn't know her. Not really, anyway.
But Laslow had lost both of his parents. He must've felt the same way that her Hoshidan siblings felt. And knowing that, there was no way that Corrin could've thrown that shuriken at him if the roles were reversed. Aiming to kill those you love, even with fake weapons that couldn't actually do the job, was still aiming to kill.
"Raising my hand to you like that wouldn't be so hard if I didn't… If I wasn't…" Laslow's voice broke and he turned around to face her, tears pooling in his eyes.
Corrin stayed silent, her heart beating fervently in her chest. It wasn't until he smiled at her that she broke down, too. That beautiful smile that had seen too much pain was still whole enough to look like art.
"If I wasn't in love with you," he finished quietly, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands.
Corrin nearly collapsed forward as one hand clamped over her mouth. The tears leaked through the cracks between her fingers as she stood in silence, wondering if what he said could possibly be real.
"I think I've known for awhile," Laslow admitted. "I would just clam up every time I wanted to tell you."
Corrin stayed silent. Her chest was heaving but she felt like she couldn't breathe. Laslow was in love with her. For real.
"I'm starting to think I shouldn't have said something so soon," Laslow said nervously, chuckling as he stepped forward to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
"No, Laslow, I…I love you, too," Corrin whispered hoarsely, her hot breath brushing over his fingers.
Laslow froze, his finger shaking against her cheek. Then, as if the invisible cord restraining his body had snapped, he flung forward all at once, enveloping Corrin in his arms.
Corrin sighed into his chest, taking in every part of him. The rapid beating of his heart against her ear. The faintest hint of mint accompanied with some sort of flowery cologne. The way that his fingers were getting all tangled up her hair like he couldn't possibly get enough of her. The way that she could feel that was in love with her without him even needing to say it.
"I don't think that I need to reach any further," Laslow whispered suddenly.
"What?" Corrin asked, giggling and lifting her head to stare at him.
"You said you used to reach for the stars because they could take you anywhere you wanted to go. But I've already reached them…and they're you," he said, staring up at the moon and smiling.
Corrin felt the breath rush out of her body at his words. That was Laslow. Cheesy, completely and utterly cliché, but he meant every word he said with such conviction that she couldn't help but believe him.
So when she kissed him and felt like she had finally reached the stars, she believed it, too.
