"Ow," Laslow groaned, tenderly clutching his ribs as he hobbled down the hallway, his face covered with scratches and bruises that were only just beginning to heal.
"I am SO sorry," Ananias said, looking over his friend's sorry state with wide-eyed concern as he slowly walked beside him.
Laslow heaved out a pain-filled chuckle before giving his friend a reassuring smile. "Apologizing again, I see. What is this, the tenth time now? You really should stop, you know. Otherwise, you're going to get wrinkles all over that handsome face of yours."
"But it was my fault! If I hadn't been so stupid, you wouldn't have had to go through what that crowd did to you in the first place!"
"Perhaps," Laslow admitted. "But the only reason you made that mistake at all was because I dragged you into MY stupidity, is it not?"
"Then I shouldn't have went along with it," Ananias stubbornly muttered.
"And I shouldn't have pressured you into going along with it," Laslow countered. He then sighed, before suggesting, "Look, I think we can both agree that we both had a hand in what happened that day, so why don't we just leave this little incident behind us?"
"I don't know."
"Oh, come now! It's not like I'm dead! See?" He hopped up and down. "Right as rain!" He then stopped hopping and buckled over a bit as he quickly placed a hand onto his side. "Ow!"
Ananias disapprovingly looked on and shook his head as Laslow attempted to alleviate his pain before folding his arms and asking, "Hmph, you're just going to keep at it until I say, 'yes,' aren't you?"
Laslow let out a triumphant, though strained, chuckle. "More or less."
Ananias sighed. "Fine." He offered his hand for Laslow to shake. "But I've got to admit, I'm getting a really bad case of deja vu from this."
"Ah, you're just imagining it," Laslow confidently reassured him. The two of them shook hands before Laslow added, "Now all we need to do is figure out just how we got into that particular predicament in the first place."
Ananias raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Um, didn't we already?"
"Well, yes, you leading everyone who hated me there was part of it," Laslow admitted. "But that simply just raises the question of how they could hate me so much in the first place."
Ananias gave Laslow a funny and incredulous look. "Um, I'm pretty sure we've already figured that out too. It's because of your constant flirting with women."
"Oh, please!" Laslow dismissed. "Be reasonable! No one person could ever hate someone simply because they flirted with them!"
"Maybe," Ananias admitted. "But you're not exactly someone who simply flirts... if you know what I mean."
"Huh?" Laslow asked. "Are you implying that I do more than just flirt? Because I'll have you know, that even now, I... admittedly still have some trouble getting past the flirting stage."
"Oh, believe me, I know. Everybody knows. The problem, I think, lies in what you do after you can't get past the flirting stage."
"Hmm?" Laslow asked, raising his eyebrows curiously as he did. "And what would that be?"
Ananias sighed upon realizing just how blind and inept Laslow was at noticing his own flaws. "You just sort of... move on. And move on... and move on... and move on."
Laslow blinked in confusion for a moment before innocently nodding his head and saying, "Well, yes. Of course I do. What do you expect me to do? Wallow in own my sadness forever?"
It was at this point that Ananias visibly cringed at just how oblivious Laslow was about this. "You do realize that moving on so quickly from one girl to the next... doesn't make you look good, right?"
"But when one is in a garden that is full of so many different beautiful flowers, don't you wish to admire them all, and not just one?"
"I... I just...," Ananias rubbed his eyes with his hands in bewildered frustration. "Women aren't the same as flowers, Laslow. Even I know that."
"Hmm," Laslow hummed, holding his chin as he looked over Ananias thoughtfully. "Yes. And speaking of you, everyone seems to like you just fine."
"Did you... just change the subject?" Ananias dryly remarked.
"Yes," Laslow murmured to himself, "how does one manage such a thing?"
Ananias sighed upon realizing that Laslow wasn't listening to him before replying, "I don't know. Maybe it's because I don't flirt with people."
"Oh, come now! It can't be that simple!"
Ananias shrugged. "Well, I don't know what else to tell you."
"Huh, well fine then," Laslow said, puffing his chest up as a look of determination spread across his face. "If you have nothing to tell, then I will simply have to observe."
Ananias' eyes widened in surprise. "What?"
Laslow confidently grinned. "If everyone in the kingdom likes you, to the point where they WON'T beat you to a pulp when they have you cornered - "
"That is a very low bar to set," Ananias noted.
"And if it's based on something you are doing and that something is something that you are unaware of, then the only logical course of action would be to follow you around and observe you until we can pinpoint just what everyone likes about you to begin with. Isn't that right?"
"In a sense," Ananias admitted. "But I don't think I'm comfortable with you following me around everywhere and watching my every move."
"Ah, no worries!" Laslow reassured him. "You won't even know I'm there!"
"I sincerely doubt that," Ananias dryly said, shaking his head as he did.
"Oh, ye of little faith," Laslow said as he nonchalantly wrapped an arm around Ananias' shoulders, "why do you doubt?"
"Humph, there a plenty of reasons why to doubt," Ananias muttered.
Author's Note #1: The next supports after Laslow will be Rinkah, followed by Arthur, Silas, Leo, Keaton, and Subaki.
Author's Note #2: The Fire Emblem Warriors poll is up on my profile! Vote for which five characters you want for Ananias to support with from that game the most and, in the end, ten characters will be selected for Ananias to support with, so make your voices heard. Happy voting!
Author's Note #3: As Ananias has no real connection to the Three Houses cast and has no real reason to be there anyway, there will be no Three Houses supports for him. Sorry.