A Rainy Day
It had been an hour since Azura hadn't returned from her walk. Corrin looked up at the dark, cloudy sky hovering over him and stretching throughout the dense forest. Dusk was about to end soon as night began, but she had yet to return.
Knowing how dangerous it is at night, Corrin searched high and low for Azura in the forest but found no signs to point him in a possible direction. Cursing his powerlessness, the prince punched a nearby tree hard enough to leave a mark. "Damn it all. Where are you, Azura?" He calmed himself down just before Mother Nature decided to hate him as well, with the rain beginning to pour on top of him. She also brought thunder and lightning out to play to add insult to injury. "Not good." He whispered as he rushed past the countless trees with no care to how drenched his hair was now.
For what felt like a long time, Corrin let out a frustrated sigh and was almost at the point of hitting a tree again to knock it down.
Then he heard a stifled sob. Corrin turned to the sound, ran in the direction as fast as he could, and saw Azura with her back to him, sitting on the ground.
"Azura!" Corrin rushed over to her and put his hand on her shoulder., "Are you okay?"
Azura heard him and turned around to show a flesh wound on her shoulder with an arrow sticking out. "C-Corrin..."
"Oh no..." Corrin examined the arrow and the wound, soon realizing that it was not too long ago that she was hit by it.
"I'm...alright, Corrin," Azura winced, biting her lip to distract herself from the immense pain.
"No, you're not," Corrin said softly, hugging her protectively, "Let's get back to the others before more show up."
Azura looked up at him with wide, yellow eyes as he carried her bridal style through the forest. She felt her heart beat fast as she clutched onto his shoulder.
Before any thoughts could form in her mind, a flash of lightning struck the ground beside them, causing Azura to shiver.
Corrin glanced down at Azura, surprised to see her frightened like this. He removed his cape and placed it over her head to shield her from the rain.
Upon feeling the silk over her blue hair, Azura worriedly looked up at the prince.
"Don't worry, Azura," he stopped her from protesting, "I won't let anything hurt you."
As they walked, the rain only seemed to get worse.
Corrin heard a quick, high-pitched sneeze from Azura, causing him to turn to her and ask, "Did you catch a cold?"
"Huh?" Azura looked up at him, snot leaking from her nose. She blushed, realizing how silly she looked to him, and turned away from his gaze, "I'm fine, Corrin."
"I'm no fool, Azura," Corrin said as he turned to his right, quickened his pace, and arrived at a hollow tree, "This should be big enough."
"C-Corrin," Azura felt herself be pushed inside the tree, and the relentless pelting of rain droplets ceased under the cover. But she soon realized the tree wasn't big enough for two people. "Corrin, we should just keep walking." She tried to get out, only to be held back by Corrin's hand on her arm.
"If we continue, you're going to get pneumonia," Corrin said, "Trust me. As someone who experiences it, you don't want it. We'll stay here and wait for the storm out."
"But there's no room in here," Azura retorted.
But then she watched as Corrin squeezed through like a bird through a small birdhouse hole. He then placed her head on his chest to let her lie on it, creating a little more room for the two.
Azura blushed and tried to look up at Corrin to ask him what he was doing, but she couldn't because he was restraining her head with his hand.
"It's not comfortable for me, but it's better than getting a cold," Corrin said, trying his hardest to keep calm with how close he held Azura. He was thankful he could keep her head restrained so she couldn't see the red blush that had risen on his cheeks.
The songstress sighed and figured she might want to make herself comfortable as long as she was like this. She moved her head up so the top and Corrin's chin met, positioning herself so she was lying on the side of the dragon prince and her hand on the middle of his chest.
"Azura?" Corrin's face turned as red as a tomato. "What are you doing?"
"Making myself comfortable," Azura answered, looking up at him, "I mean, if we're stuck in here together for a while, I might as well."
"Um, right. By all means," Corrin mentally sighed in relief at the darkness covering his dumbfounded expression. At a loss for words, he turned his head so he wouldn't face her.
Azura rested her head on his shoulder. It seemed the lightning had stopped until thunder boomed nearby, causing the blue-haired to clutch onto Corrin, shaking like a rattle.
Knowing how frightened she was, Corrin put his hand on hers, hoping she'd understand what it meant. However, her body still shook, so the prince put his left arm around her torso and the other around the front of her shoulders and pulled her closer.
"Everything is alright."
Azura heard Corrin whisper this to her soothingly. She felt his gloved hand rubbing up and down her exposed back. Even though she was slightly shocked by his actions, surprisingly, it helped keep her calm. She eventually closed her eyes and rested blissfully against Corrin's still-wet body.
A smile then graced her lips after her shaking subsided.
Corrin breathed a sigh of relief, finding her smile shiny and warm like the sun after a rainy day. He rested his face against her soft, blue hair.
"Corrin?"
"Hmm?" Corrin opened one of his red eyes and looked down into Azura's yellow orbs through the dark.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I couldn't leave a lovely lady alone in a forest."
The silence cut in between them like a sharp knife.
Azura blushed, her face burning as hot as a stove once the word 'lovely' registered in her mind.
Corrin began cursing himself in his mind once it clicked with him. "Gods, Corrin, you idiot!" The prince thought to himself, wanting desperately to bang his head against a wall to distract himself from the awkward silence.
Azura smiled and giggled, saying, "I'm feeling tired, so try not to move too much, okay?"
"No problem, Azura." Corrin said.
They eventually closed their eyes, letting the soft, pitter-patter of the rain lull them to sleep.
##
The next morning, Azura opened her eyes and noticed that the rain had finished and the sun's rays had shone through the forest. She turned to shake Corrin awake, finding it cute how he opened his crimson-red eyes as she said, "Good morning."
Still sleepy, Corrin replied groggily, "Good morning, Azura. Sleep well?"
Azura nodded and edged out of the hollowed tree.
"Um, Azura?" Corrin asked, following her out.
"Yes?" Azura turned to him.
The dragon prince rubbed his head. "You...won't tell anyone about this, will you?"
Azura smiled at how adorable this man was, trying to hide his shyness. "Of course not. Consider it my way of returning the favor you did for me."
Corrin smiled, feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders. "Thanks."
"Oh, but there is one thing I have to repay you for," Azura said.
"And that is?"
Before Corrin knew it, the songstress kissed him on the cheek, leaving a wet mark. The heat rising on Corrin's face boiled the wet mark as he placed a hand over it. "A-A-Azura..."
Azura's smile did nothing to hide the red tint on her cheeks. "That was for holding me close. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't do that for me."
The fast heartbeat in Corrin slowed down as he smiled. "You're very welcome. Let's hope this never happens again."
Deep down, he wished a chance like this would arise in the future if only to receive more kisses of gratitude from one as fair and beautiful as she.