If the Shoe Fits...

Cast: (M!Corrin x Oboro)
Prompt: Oboro tries to get Corrin to wear shoes for a special occasion.

Sometimes Oboro could not understand her husband.

A little eccentricity was fine, she had worked for the royal family (and alongside their other retainers) for a long time. She became quite familiar with some of the more colorful personalities in Hoshido. Oboro herself was guilty of having a few quirks. When she first laid eyes on Corrin, the blue-haired woman had some suspicions that he was a little odd. When Oboro had her first extended conversation with Corrin, those suspicions were validated.

Corrin tended to be a bit blunt, he would ask a very personal question before realizing it. Perhaps because of this, another of Corrin's quirks was that he would apologize at the drop of a hat. She and Hinata once had a drinking game over how many times Corrin could say 'I'm so sorry' in one day. Perhaps the cause of this would be his other quirk: the fact that Corrin was optimistic to a fault. While by no means a fool, he was usually the last person to think a bad thought about anybody. A little eccentricity didn't bother Oboro, and she found something strangely endearing about just how odd Corrin could be. But when it came to Corrin's fashion sense…

All bets were off.

"Corrin, put them on."

"I'd… really rather not."

"I know you'd rather not, but I insist that you do it!"

Xander's coronation in Nohr was one week away, and of course the new King and Queen of Valla would be in attendance. With time, a good cause, and an expanded budget, Oboro put her skills to the test, crafting the finest kimonos for herself and her groom. Within their master bedroom, Oboro presented the clothes to her husband, and he accepted them just fine. Corrin went to try them on… and then returned, albeit completely barefoot. Oboro had groaned when she noticed, prompting this argument.

"Do I really have to wear them?" Corrin asked.

"Yes, those sandals were specifically commissioned because they go so well with the clothes I made!"

The king looked around nervously. "Uh, they were… a little uncomfortable."

Oboro began massaging her temples. "Corrin… You've said that about every piece of footwear I've seen you try on."

"Well… maybe I just don't like shoes." He shrugged. "I mean, Azura doesn't wear shoes, I've never seen you mad at her."

"That's because she's not supposed to be wearing an ensemble I helped put together for her. Corrin, those sandals really pull the look together." She glared. "You're throwing my hard work out the window when you ignore them!"

"That's absurd!" Corrin was starting to get agitated himself. "All you did was make the kimono, and that's the part I'm keeping, so I'm not wasting your work at all!"

"I spent an hour telling the cobbler exactly how those sandals should look!"

"Who spends an hour describing sandals?! Aren't they all just made of wood anyway?!"

"Augh!" The blue-haired woman threw her head back. "It's like you don't even care about fashion! You're a royal, you need to look presentable! What does it say about a country if their king runs around, dirtying his feet?!"

Corrin tried to look thoughtful. "… That he feels more comfortable without them?"

Oboro sighed and went to sit on the side of the bed. In frustration, she rested her head in her hands. Corrin sat next to her, twiddling his thumbs.

"… This is really important to you, isn't it?" Corrin's wife gave him a flat look. "Yeah, okay, stupid question."

The queen exhaled.

"Corrin… This isn't the first time we've had this argument. Why do you hate shoes so much?"

"I don't hate them," Corrin started. "I just… prefer not to wear them, if I don't have to. It doesn't help that for the first few years in the fortress, Gunter didn't stop me." Corrin began to look away, reminiscing. "It wasn't until I started training that he wanted me to wear shoes, and by then I was too used to going without." A wry smile crossed his face. "I remember sometimes when I was young, Gunter would hold me down and have Jakob, or Flora, or even Felicia force them on my feet. Heh, sometimes I'd throw them off right away, and Gunter would be furious."

Oboro privately smiled. This sounded exactly like a younger Corrin. The smile went away, as she turned to her husband. "Well… Look. We're both adults, and we're both much bigger than this." She reached out and grabbed his hands. "It would mean so much to me, as your wife and as a seamstress, if you would heed my fashion recommendations." Oboro frowned. "But if you really, really don't want to, then I won't force you. It's not the end of the world."

Corrin shook his head. "No, no… You're right. I'm being childish. I'm so sorry about that." Oboro mentally noted to take a shot later. "Even if I still don't understand fashion, it's clear you put a lot of effort into it, and it means a lot to you. That alone should be reason enough to cooperate." Taking control of their hands, Corrin brought his wife's closer, and pecked them.

The queen closed her eyes started to chuckle, and put her hands away. "All right, you. That's enough brownnosing. We're good." She smirked. "Now, why don't we get you out of that outfit?"

"… What?"

She gave him another flat look. "Because we need to save it for the ceremony, Corrin."

"Oh! Okay… You see, I don't know if you were thinking of it, but for a second there I thought you were suggesting-"

"I- I know what it sounded like, Corrin."

"You do? Because it sounded like you were-"

"Yes! Just… go change back into your other clothes, dear."

"Right. I'm so sorry." (Another shot for later.) Corrin went back to change into his normal outfit. Then, one last time he stuck his head out of the closet, smiling. "Just to be sure, you weren't trying to-"

"Go!" Oboro ordered, beginning to laugh a little. Joke revealed, Corrin conceded and went in to change.

Sometimes, Oboro could not understand her husband. But she did love him, and that was all she really wanted anyway.

A/N:

Someone requested this one, and I wanted to try it. I always thought it was weird how Corrin never wore any shoes (to the point of making fun of it in Gray Whirlpool). Why would a hardened and fully-armored (nearly fully in F!Corrin's case) opt to travel the world barefoot?

Go to the blog if you have requests.