Happy Hoshidan New Year!

Drabble inspired by Fire Emblem Heroes. :x Spicy content, be warned. 

A bright new year. The first year spent with the Heroes she had grown to care for.

Kiran yawned, rubbing at her weary eyes. Takumi and Corrin sat on either side of her, dressed to the nines in their fancy Hoshidan kimonos. Since Corrin missed the first sunrise of the year, Kiran decided they would make up for it by watching the next day's sunrise. 

They had taken a pegasus and flown to a grassy mountainside near Askr Castle. Kiran had to make two trips to ferry both boys over, but she didn’t mind. The stars were an endless sea of sparkles in the clear night sky. In the twilight hours the world was silent, with only the soft rustling of the wind in the trees and the occasional hoot of an owl to be heard.  

"Tell me why we're doing this again," Takumi wondered aloud.  

"We're doing this for your brother," Kiran reminded him.

Corrin chuckled. "I'm fortunate to be spending this time with you both. I can’t think of a better way to start things off!"

"Yeah, yeah.” Takumi didn't look up from the ground, fiddling absentmindedly with a blade of grass. “Don't forget you owe me a shogi match after this."

"Aww, really? But I'm terrible at that game..."

Kiran closed her eyes, listening to the banter of the two brothers and feeling the cool night air on her cheeks.

Almost a year had passed since she was pulled from her own world to fight for the Order of Heroes. But the war showed no sign of ending. They weren't any closer to bringing peace to Askr than when they first started. Sure, they had garnered a few more allies. But so had Embla, and the latest threat from King Sutr's thirst for destruction was overwhelming.

These war efforts often weighed heavily on Kiran's mind, so it was nice to have a moment’s reprieve to escape from it all.

“Say, Kiran.” Corrin’s voice broke into her thoughts. "I'm curious to know what your new year’s wish is.”

“Me? Well…” she paused for a bit, drawing on her recent reflections. “I think I’d like to wish for peace for Askr. For the fighting to end.”

“Heh. That's a textbook answer,” Corrin remarked. He lay back and folded his arms behind his head. “Is there anything else you'd wish for?”

“Not really.” Kiran drew her knees to her chest. “What about you?”

Corrin's bright eyes flashed in the dark as he responded. "A new year's kiss."

"What?" A scarlet flush crept into Kiran’s cheeks.

Takumi frowned. “Don’t look at me. I’m not kissing you.”

“You’re breaking my heart, little brother.” Corrin sat up and leaned closer to Kiran, so close she felt the warm breath of his exhale against her ear. “What about you, Kiran?”

The day's earlier events flashed through her mind. Corrin had asked to speak with her alone.

“Oh, don’t tease me.” Kiran swatted him away. “First you pulled that trick on me at the castle, and now this?”

They met in the courtyard, basked in the last rays of the sun disappearing behind the castle walls. The orange light set his ashen hair aglow against the darkness around them. Kiran couldn't help noticing, for the first time, just how muscular his shoulders were and how genuinely kind his eyes were when he smiled.

“I wasn’t teasing you. I meant every word I said back there.”

It was there that he threw his confession at her: “I want to stay by your side, and become a Hero who can make all your wishes come true.”

Hearing him say those words made her choke on air. She brushed him off then, too. She knew why the Heroes behaved so strangely around her; everything was due to the magic of the contracts that bound them, manipulating them to feel and say things they didn’t mean. 

Nonetheless, she couldn’t stop the way their constant advances made her feel, and some of them were more forward than others in their approach. Corrin was definitely one of the bolder ones. Kiran suspected that he was probably used to getting his way, a byproduct of having so many siblings fuss over him.

Quickly changing the topic, Kiran turned to Takumi. “What about you, Prince Takumi? Any wishes for the new year?”

“...I wish I had some warm ozoni with me.” Takumi’s voice was even, but Kiran could see by the way he tensed his jaw ever-so-slightly that he was uncomfortable.

A strange tension filled the air. Corrin was lying on his back again, humming softly into the night. His hand brushed against Kiran’s thigh, causing her to inhale sharply as he traced the curve of her leg with his fingers. She shot a glare at him, feeling a rush of anger bubble up inside her.

"Prince Takumi, please excuse us a moment. I want to talk to Corrin in private."

She practically dragged him off into a nearby cluster of trees by the red scarf around his neck.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, once they were out of earshot. "Your brother is sitting right there! Stop playing around." 

Kiran tried to act angry, but was taken aback as Corrin reached out to touch a lock of her hair, caressing it in his palm. His expression was intense, almost threatening, as he gazed into her eyes. 

"My feelings have been growing for quite some time," he confessed, and his words made her chest tighten. "Since you summoned me, I've found myself desperate to get to know you more."

The closer he got, the harder it was for her to breathe. Kiran yelped in surprise as he backed her up against the trunk of a large tree. He smelled like the forest, like pine mixed with the scent of leather, combined with something distinctively masculine. Her body tensed as his hands slid under her robes to find her skin. She squirmed in protest, but he held both of her wrists in one hand so he could run his other hand through her hair, drawing her closer by the waist.

"The battles we fought together have only strengthened those feelings."

She didn’t have time to react as he pulled her into a kiss that made her head spin. Corrin was pleased with how easily he was able to unnerve her.

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