The first frost was upon them now.
The coldness was nothing new to Corrin, in fact it made her feel more at home with the harsh chill, reminiscent of the cold fortress with only blankets and a fire place for protection against the cold.
Today she sat by the river with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, shudder against the wind that was attempting to rip the blanket off.
Her toes grasped at the frosted grass, pulling it from out beneath her. Winter would soon be upon them in camp, and the snow would dust the ground.
She must have been one of the only people in the camp to have been so tolerant of the weather, with the exception of Felicia. It was cold, but really they didn't mind. In fact, Corrin preferred reading much more in the winter as the sun in the summer made her doze off far too much.
Corrin wished she could say she read work of substance. Not the shameless smut with so little plot. She couldn't quit it though. Like a bad romance with a book. An unbelievably shamelessly bawdy book. And it was so good.
In this particular one, star crossed lovers, a prince and princess met from separate kingdoms somewhere far away to make love as their relationship was forbidden. She had stealthily stolen then novel from Niles, or so she'd like to believe.
He was well aware of the departure of his book, and were Corrin not holding onto her innocence, he would have punished her, but even he had a moral code. Besides, he found it charming even the princess had her own carnal desires.
-
Takumi hated the cold.
They had winter in Hoshido although not nearly as unbearably cold like this. He often felt sluggish, and getting out of bed in the morning was harder than ever as he had to reluctantly leave the wonderfully warm sheets. But he did have a motivation.
He preferred to spar much more in the cold, where he couldn't overheat as easily, and could let his stamina expand much further. Usually he'd much prefer to spar with Ryoma or Hinoka, two of the most worthy opponents that could grace him, but today, Hinoka was doing sky training, and Ryoma had decided to go on a walk with Xander to discuss a few things.
He did heavily consider asking Oboro or Hinata, but they both needed their own training before sparring with him, they were too easy of opponents.
Of course there was one option...
But give Corrin an inch, and she'd take a mile.
He was really coming not to mind the girl, but her incessant pestering was starting to wear thin. She insisted being by his side nearly every second, rambling about whatever crossed her simple mind.
No matter how many times he reiterated it, she would simply not get the message, they were not friends, and she was his commander. She refused to leave it at that though. Perhaps it was the vulnerability of seeing each other naked that broke down the barrier between them. Not that he regretted seeing her like that.
Takumi lowered his bow with a heavy sigh. Practicing by his own really was boring, and so little of a challenge. He'd have to seek Corrin out in hope of a match with her.
He doubted she was doing anything better with her time, she never used her time for anything valuable. In fact he was almost certain she was down by that God forsaken river again where they sat weeks ago. She was always there now, and Takumi had made a point of avoiding it.
Until now.
She was reading a book. How odd. He never knew she could read. He assumed she grew up illiterate in her fortress. But there she was, wrapped in a blanket reading Naga knows what.
"Hey." He greeted her.
A face of sheer panic and terror entered her face as she hid the book behind her back, looking up at Takumi and trying to feign normalcy. Something was up.
"H-hi."
"What are you reading?" He inquired, dubiously eyeing her. What could she be reading that was so worth hiding?
"Reading? I wasn't reading."She lied. Her eyes darted side to side, nervously looking for something else for her to focus on.
"You're a terrible liar." He informed her before lunging forward. He needed to know what she was reading.
What if it was something deadly? Plans for a potent potion to destroy the army, to kill the army from within?
Her arms helplessly flailed but her grip remained firm on the book. This caused Takumi even more suspension. An innocent person would never do this.
He managed to pin her legs down with his as he reached further and further for the novel until finally it was in his grasp.
He jumped up immediately, taking it as far away from Corrin as possible and began to read.
"No!" She buried her face in her hands as she prepared for the brutal teasing to come.
Where were the evil plans? This was...
"Ripening cock?" He purred with a raised eyebrow.
Corrin groaned.
Despite the fantasy, Takumi had barely seen Corrin as a sexual being with her own desires.
"You read this crap?" He continued. This was all too good.
"It's not crap! They're in love!" She cried as she rose.
"Oh that really changes things. You're a pervert." He retorted and waltzed towards the river, reading excerpts from the smut.
"Takumi give it back!" She protested, jumping as she attempted to gain a hold of her book.
It was too much, she was stronger than he thought, and within seconds, he was brought into a word of harsh cold.
In her jumping, she had pushed him in.
Her mouth gaped open as she absorbed the sight as fear coursed through her. This was far more worse than when she shot at him with the arrow. She prayed when he killed her, he would be swift and merciful.
Takumi didn't know what to think his rage was so overwhelming. The river was like nothing he had ever experienced before, never in his life had he come into contact with water so cold, it felt like his dick was going to withdraw into himself.
He growled as he grabbed a hold of Corrin's ankle. Her fear intensified as her balance was swiped away from underneath her.
Corrin met the same water that she exposed Takumi to with a scream that rang through the forest, birds taking flight to the sky from the noise that had startled them. This was far too cold, even for her.
Her own anger came through, lurching for him to push him underneath the water once again.
He was able to emerge from the water, gasping desperately for air before grabbing a firm hold of her arms and then flipping her back in.
Their teeth both chattered as they laid in the freezing river, pushing each other below the water in a continuous cycle, fighting for dominance, spitting and sputtering the water at each other, their blood pressure on a continuous rise.
It was finally Corrin who backed off, sitting back against a rock in the river, studying him as her chest rose and fell rapidly as she attempted to calm down.
Takumi sat opposite of her, finding his own moment of silence as he studied her, licking the water off his lips as he finally felt his anger start to leave his body.
"You're a real piece of work, you know that right?" He growled, flipping his bangs out of his eyes, drowning her would probably be the best bet to a silent clean murder.
Corrin rose from the water after one more splash of defiance, storming out to find the book that flew when Takumi fell into the river. She really never was one for anger, but as soon as she hit the water, it ignited a fire in a belly, willing her to fight.
Takumi followed her, pride beaming from him. It was almost nice to see her snap like that. He knew she wasn't perfect, and she had something to her that would snap. He wanted to know she wasn't perfect. She wasn't as untouchable as his siblings had claimed, and now she certainly was no better than him.
Corrin gathered her blanket and book, snapping upright and whipping her hair, the water harshly whipping in his face. She wanted to go back to her place and have a cup of Jakob's signature tea more than anything.
They faced each other once again, each expecting an apology.
To Takumi, if Corrin hadn't overreacted, they would have never entered such a situation, and to Corrin, if Takumi had simply given back her book, this wouldn't have happened.
"Well?" She said impatiently.
"Well what?" Takumi snapped.
"Are you going to say sorry?" She waited expectantly, tapping her foot.
"Pssh. Sorry? Sorry? You pushed me first!" His anger flared again as he took a step forward, prepared to push her in again.
"You teased me!" She exclaimed defensively.
Takumi bit his tongue, thinking of all the things he could possibly say. How she was ridiculous for reading such things, how perhaps if her hips weren't so fragile perhaps she wouldn't have fallen in, and just all the things he could call her. However, he really didn't need to say anything.
Takumi simply raised his now scarring hand with a victorious smirk.
"Point taken..."She grumbled with a pout. He would never let her live that down.
She knew he expected her to put this right, or else world would go all across camp. He truly was petty enough for that.
Corrin clutched the book protectively to her wet chest, and offered the blanket she had previously been using. He eyed it with desire. He had to make a choice of accepting an act from her, losing his pride, or walking back to camp with her totally wet. Takumi bit his lip as he resisted the urge to take the blanket and shook his head.
Never in her life had she ever met someone so stubborn. Corrin graciously made her way over to Takumi and wrapped the blanket around both of them with a hefty sigh. She was starting to wonder if gaining his trust was even worth it, it was so much work.
As per usual, they made their way back in the silence they had become so accustomed to, attempting to shelter themselves from the heavy cold wind, wincing in pain as the gale hit their faces.
Immediately when they arrived, Corrin went to seek Jakob. He wasn't far off, as if he had a sense related to Corrin on it's own, he could feel her distress or discomfort the minute she was in his proximity.
Although he was more than happy to make a fresh pot of tea, he was admittedly shocked to see Takumi shrouding under the blanket with Corrin, his lips threatening to go blue just as hers was about to.
Jakob never disliked Takumi, he even enjoyed training with him, and any friend of Corrin's was a friend of him, but something wasn't right about the two, something he couldn't exactly place.
Together, Takumi and Corrin made their way to her fort in a hurry, hoping to desperately find warmth.
It was absolute bliss in there. Jakob had maintained the fire for Corrin, and had layered her bed with extra blankets. He really was an angel sent down from heaven, for Corrin at least.
It wasn't the first time Takumi was in here, he had been invited under the pretext of bonding on one occasion, in which they idly chatted and played a game of chess, which he won with minimal effort. Her room was a place of comfort and relaxation, or so he believed.
The woman had gotten towels out of her drawers and instructed him to remove his clothes in the room over, to which he could have a blanket after.
She was planning to seduce him. He was sure of it, those smutty books were putting strange ideas in her head of how the world worked.
Corrin stared at him expectantly as he had remained glued to the spot, his jaw looking like it was about to hit the floor. She waved her hand in a 'shooing' motion, mouthing to him to leave.
His legs felt like jelly as he forced himself to the other room and into a corner where she couldn't view him, and began to peel off his clothing. He could hear the floors creaking as she shifted weight. He knew she herself was getting changed. He knew what he wanted to do was wrong. He wanted to see, to look at her once again. Disgust washed over him. It was totally and completely misfigured.
And yet, he couldn't help it. His head peaked out from the door frame, her back facing him. She was just as he remembered, perhaps better. His cock twitched in response as she once again struggled to get out of her wet underwear that nearly cemented to her skin. She even bounced a bit as she tried to pull her underwear off.
Just in the midst of admiring her, she turned around. Luckily not spotting him, but killing his boner almost instantly as always, his eyes traveled to her protruding hips. How could no one else see what he saw? It baffled him. Men liked her, and failed to notice what she so obviously lacked. She was an embarrassment to the Hoshidan name. Offspring were presumably impossible.
"Takumi?"She called out, stepping into a new pair of underwear. Was he caught yet again?
"Yes?"He answered, swallowing hard.
"Are you decent?"She inquired while finishing dressing into a chemise, and then a heavy shawl.
Takumi hurriedly wrapped himself in a heavy blanket before stepping out, wearing his under cloth underneath.
Corrin gather both their wet clothing and set it near the fire before sitting at her table with a sight, inviting Takumi to sit as well with a hand motion.
He sat and she went behind him, holding a towel and comb. The serene smile admittedly threw him off, as he was still expecting irritation from her, he really never knew what she had planned.
To his surprise, she untied his hair and began to dry it with a towel, scuffing it up with her fingers. He wanted to protest he really did, but he couldn't bring himself to, not when it brought back such fond memories. This hadn't happened since he was a child, since Mikoto.
She really did have the same love if only in her fingers, that he could feel. She had more love in her hands then he had in his body, and that was remarkable to him. He resented her for reminding him so much of his mother, for bringing a memory so close that he could never have again, but he also melted in her hands.
Jakob later brought in the tea, indecisively watching the two interact. He had known Corrin as long as he could remember, she was kind, yes of course, but these actions were odd, even for her. Perhaps he could approach her later about it...
Takumi drank tea, listening to the crackling of the fire as she worked away at brushing the tangle out of his mane, which he found himself enjoying.
"You don't have to do this you know..."He finally said quietly. Corrin hummed.
"For someone so smart, you really don't get it, do you? I want to do this." She replied, coming around to face him.
It was only in the light of the fire had he really looked at her. To his best effort possible, he avoided looking at Corrin, she only brought anger and unpleasant memories, but now...he felt OK see her without thinking of Mikoto.
It was her beauty mark that caught him off guard, she had the same one on her chin. He had supposed Corrin was pretty in her own way. She definitely wasn't as gorgeous as his mother, but the resemblance was certainly there. Facially, the biggest appeal Takumi could see to Corrin was her almost exotic appearance, but it ended there. She certainly wasn't ugly, but she didn't deserve nearly the attention she got.
Corrin had began to run her fingers through Takumi's hair when he noticed it. She had his mother's eyes. Her long elegant eyelashes fluttered as she remained concentrated, and Takumi felt a lump grow in his throat. Not the same shape or colors, but his mother's propitious eyes. He couldn't do it. She killed her, and yet was her. How could he face those eyes knowing that deep down, she was the same woman he couldn't save. If only he had acted sooner...Mikoto would have been here. Corrin was just a reminder.
Takumi abruptly stood, rushing to the fireplace. His clothing was damp, but the sooner he could get changed and leave, the better. Far away from the last reminder of his mother and his failure to protect her. Farther away from the eyes that saw through him, and from the fragile hips he was afraid to touch in fear of them shattering.
"What's wrong?" She clamored, following after him. Things were going so well. She knew he didn't consider her a friend. But she did. For all his faults, she cared.
"I..."He looked at her, trying to force the words out. Those same eyes looked up at him, beckoning him to stay. To explain. He couldn't.
"Takumi..."She grabbed ahold of his arm, attempting to try and convince him to stay.
"Let go!"He commanded and shrugged her off coldly.
"Why don't you get it? Why! We will never be friends!" He bellowed before storming out. His heart twinged in pain.
Corrin grabbed ahold of the chair, breathing in. She was done. If he didn't like her, so be it.
