Yukimura sighed in exasperation, attempting to pick up his chopsticks in a calm manner and clear his cluttered mind. A site such as witnessing the one you loved die in the arms of a stranger—no, Lady Corrin was not simply that, but just what she was to him he couldn’t quite place his finger on. A traitor perhaps, though with all that had happened she had decided to stay behind and aid Hoshido after the Yato had chosen her to be its wielder. His heart which hated Nohr with every ounce of his being wanted to believe that she was a double agent, however he could make no acquisitions like that until he had physical proof to show for his assumptions. Besides, even if the princess had grown up in enemy territory, it hadn’t been her doing, or even her choice for that matter.

Pushing negative thoughts out of his head space and convincing himself to focus on his meal for the time being, he reached forward with his chopsticks to pick up some rice, though the small grains would not make it further than the bowl which they sat in. Coming from the other side of the meal hall, a conversation by a group of young soldiers could be heard amongst the chatter, it both spiking Yukimura’s interests and angering him in ways he wasn’t aware was possible.

“It hasn’t sunken in yet that our Queen is dead… How could such an incident happen without anyone knowing? There’s no way it was just an accident.

"Well I heard it was all that traitor's fault. If she hadn't of come back to Hoshido than our Queen would still be alive."

"I’m not certain. Have you heard the rumours? Apparently Lady Mikoto foresaw her own death, though that doesn’t quite sit right with me. Is such a talent even possible?"

The sound of glass shattering could faintly be heard in the hall amongst all the mealtime noise being made. Yukimura removed his broken glasses from where they usually sat on his nose, carefully tucking what remained of the frames into his clothes as he continued to intently listen to the gossip which the young soldiers felt the need to share. Although he was no spy, Yukimura was always aware of what was happening around him, especially to that of which was said concerning Lady Mikoto.

"I only thought fortune tellers could make those kinds of predictions..."

"That's what I'm talking about! If you ask me, I say that she was tired of all this war and didn't have the strength to go on."

“Hey! Be careful what you say in a public place like this. Just hurry up and eat your lunch. We can talk more once we’re back in our quarters.”

“Alright alright, though I don’t understand what the issue is. It’s not as though what happened is some nation secret…”

The grip around Yukimura's chopsticks tightened as the soldiers’ conversation changed topics to one which no longer held any interest for him. How dare they insult Lady Mikoto or her daughter in such a fashion. He would certainly inform Ryoma about these unmannerly men during their meeting later on in the day when they were to discuss their next strategy and battle tactics. The wise and burdened mechanist was hardly hungry now as he sat in the meal hall with just himself, the sickening words which were burned into his mind along with those terrible memories pushing his appetite far away, only bringing forth more irritation and displeasure than he had felt in a long time.

-----

“There we are, all fixed up and dusted off. However, I still don’t think now is the right time to show her this invention…”

Yukimura sighed to himself, picking up his self-created invention and admiring it with a small smile on his face. He wasn’t overly certain what had prompted him to dig it out of storage, but since it was before him now, there was no denying who the recipient was meant to be.

Looking the picture box over with a careful eye to make sure it was still in the same condition from when he had created it all those years ago, he began to wonder just what was missing. As much as he would have loved to show Lady Corrin this gift which he had crafted for her when she was only a child, the timing felt off, and their relationship didn’t quite seem close enough yet.

Just as he was about to tuck it into his desk drawer for future safe keeping, he heard running footsteps coming towards his quarters’ door, and before he had the time to put it away, the door flew open, the intruder being none other than Corrin herself.

“Yukimura! Oh, sorry if I caught you off guard.”

“No problem whatsoever milady. What can I do for you?” The older gentlemen quickly turned around, hands folded behind his back as he tried to hide the picture box from the one person which he wanted to keep it from.

“I apologize for barging in while you were busy, but I’m just making my rounds for the day to remind everybody of the strategy meeting tonight. You will be there, correct?” Corrin continued to stand in the doorway, one hand resting on her hip as she watched him with curious eyes. Yukimura could tell she was trying to figure out what he had been up to before she entered, along with the reason to why he continued to hide it.

“Of course I will be there. Starts at 7 o’clock sharp if I recall. I shall see you then.” Trying to get the princess to leave would be the easiest way to keep his little gift a secret, and as he waited for her to leave, he tried to focus his vision on something other than her, not wanting to risk an embarrassing situation.

Unfortunately for the mechanist, Corrin was not willing to leave so quickly, especially not without an answer.

“Can I stay for a little while? I’ve never really been in your quarters before. I always wondered how an older soldier like you spends his free time.” Shutting the door carefully behind her, she entered further into the small and cluttered space, only realizing now once she was standing in the middle of the room that there was a lot more in his chambers than what she had originally expected.

“W-well I mean, I actually had plans to get back to work before supper. As you know, I have quite a bit of work to do and—” he now regretted taking his eyes off of her, because before he realized it, she was standing right in front of him, barely a foot of space between their bodies. Yukimura cursed to whatever gods were watching at that moment; why did this have to happen now of all times? What had he done to deserve it?

“Mm, I suppose you’re right. You did look busy before I so rudely barged in without much of a warning… So here’s a deal, why don’t you show me what you’re hiding behind your back? I promise to leave you alone afterwards.” A clever smile graced the young woman’s lips, and in that instant Yukimura could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks that he had been trying to hold back.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that… You see,” in an effortless attempt to keep the picture box hidden he took a few steps backwards, only to have Corrin follow after him, now standing right up against him in an invasion of his personal space.

“Why not? Is it a photo of a past lover? A love note for someone in the army? Come on, I won’t tell anyone, I promise!”

“Lady Corrin I’m sorry but I really can’t, whoa!”

Losing his footing as the back of his knees hit the wooden bed frame, Corrin’s added weight being enough to push him backwards and fall onto the bed below. He now stared up at the ceiling, picture box held in his hand, momentarily dazed at what had happened. As he regained his senses, his vision steadied, soon to be shattered again with the realization that Lady Corrin was now laying on top of him, he catching her fall as the both fell onto the mattress. He wasn’t surprised in the slightest that his glasses had broken, merely sighing and quickly hiding the gift underneath the pillows while she was unaware, still unmoving on top of him.

“Milady, are you all right?”

“I’m fine, just a bit startled. Has anyone ever told you that you have a really hard breastbone? I think when I hit my head against it I was knocked out for a moment.” Corrin sat up and rubbed her head hand against her forehead, realizing that she wasn’t the only one who had been hurt. “Yukimura! Your glasses are broken. Are you okay?”

“Never better,” he murmured to himself, sighing under his breath as his cheeks continued to grow red with embarrassment. He asked the gods again what he did to deserve this, laying in disbelief as he imagined what Lady Mikoto would have to say if she ever caught word of this.

-----

"Ah, a peaceful night under the stars soaking in this lovely hot spring is just what I needed."

"I'll say. After that battle today I'm completely worn out. We pushed hard though and at least now we're one step closer to our goal."

"Indeed, though I suppose this means I'll have a pile of work to complete in the next few days. Who knows how long Lady Corrin will wait before we move out again."

"You'll pull through just fine. You always find a way Yukimura. As much as the soldiers are important, having a good strategy is key."

"Hey! Now you're starting to sound like me."

"I think we've been hanging around each other too much."

"Is that a problem?"

Laughter broke out in the hot springs between the two men, echoing against the walls and dissipating into the open air above them. Despite their different backgrounds, Shura had become a friend of Yukimura's, the two of them sharing a friendship based on growing up in a time before all this recent chaos had commenced. As surprised as he was to have befriended an outlaw, it was comforting to know there was at least one person in the army that could understand what he had gone through to a certain extent.

"Oh, I think I hear footsteps from the entrance. I wonder who's coming to join us at this hour. Normally everyone's asleep..."

Shura lifted his arms above the water, allowing them to sit comfortable along the wall's edge as they both waited patiently to see who would emerge from behind the wall. Yukimura looked away for a moment's notice, taking his eyes off the entrance way as none other than Lady Mikoto's daughter—ah, he told himself he'd stop calling her by that name—Lady Corrin, walked into the hot spring, completely unaware of who was already there due to the amount of steam.

A loud crack could be heard as the steam cleared, all three of them quickly standing up at once as Shura realized too who had joined them, Yukimura looking embarrassed in the other direction as he wore only a bath towel in front of the princess.

"Wha?! Where did you... Wait! I-I swear, I didn't see anything!"

"Urk! I promise I'll be out shortly, if you'd care to wait..."

Of all the things to happen in his life, being walked in upon by the late Lady's daughter had to be the most embarrassing Yukimura had experienced. Even remembering back to his first strategies he had created for Lord Sumeragi, which had been awful now that he remembered them, had not made him feel so terrible.

"Ah-- I'm sorry!! I'll leave right away!"

Just as quickly as she had entered the baths, Corrin was gone, fleeing the embarrassing scene in a hurry. Of course, Yukimura only knew this by the sound of water splashing and wet feet against the tiles; his glasses had shattered on him at the worst of times, all from the sheer amount of surprise caused by witnessing Lady Mikoto's daughter dressed only in a bath towel.

"You okay there Yukimura?"

"... Just fine. I think I'll go and retire for the evening now. See you tomorrow."

-----

The warmth of the morning sunlight lazily drifted in through the open window of their private quarters, a refreshing breeze blowing the curtains in and out peacefully. Flowers which were planted on the window sill turned towards the sun, their scent wafting into their bedroom as well. All the signs of morning caused Yukimura to stir awake, his internal clock that never allowed him to sleep in signaling that it was time to start the day. He could only bring himself to hum contently, his arm around his wife’s middle tightening as he pulled them together for just a few more minutes of peace and quiet.

Married life so far had been treating him better than he had thought; Yukimura couldn’t remember the last time he felt so close to another person who shared the same feelings as he did. Upon meeting her again when she had returned to Hoshido all those weeks ago, he had never thought that this is what their relationship would end up being. If Lady Mikoto could see him, would she be happy that he had finally found someone who brought him both happiness and peace? Although he was positive he’d never receive an answer, somewhere deep in his heart he knew just what she would say to him.

As much as he would have liked to stay in bed cuddled up with his wife all day, Yukimura knew that they had important tasks to complete before the day was over, and they needed every minute available to finish the preparations for their mission the next day. Fumbling for his glasses which laid in their place on the nightstand beside them, he stretched slowly and admired the sleeping beauty beside him, lazily running his fingers over her exposed arm and naked shoulder.

Wait, naked, as in—

It was far too late to retract his surprise, the left lens before his eye shattering in an instance and causing him to shoot up straight in bed. Corrin had been watching the whole time as she laid next to him, having woken up just a few minutes earlier and taking in the view of her sleeping husband without him realizing.

“S-sorry! Are you injured Lady Corrin?” He examined her upper body which was unprotected by the blanket as best as he could with one eye, squinting to see if any shards had landed onto the bed. He would have to thoroughly clean the blankets and mattress later to ensure that none had landed where they could cause harm. Corrin merely shook her head in response, puzzled as to what had happened a few seconds ago with her husband’s glasses.

“Should I be asking why one of the lenses in your glasses spontaneously broke into pieces?” Corrin crooked her head to the side, a little confused as her husband could only laugh under his breath and look away shamefully.

“Ah, I had just forgotten that you hadn’t put any clothes back on after last night. It was just a bit of a surprise.”

“A surprise? But Yukimura, you’re naked too.”

A short cracking noise which came from the other lens could be heard by the two of them, Corrin ducking under the covers so none of the tiny shards could hit her. When in seemed safe once again to come out, she was greeted by the site of her husband blushing, too embarrassed by his forgetfulness to speak a word to his wife. Despite it being a little dangerous to anyone around him, Corrin found this quirk rather cute, reaching forward to remove the broken frames and properly giving him a good morning kiss.

“So, does that normally happen?”

“More often than you realize.”

-----

Sunsets were the typical view Yukimura took in as he made his way back to Lady Corrin’s and his private quarters for the day. Sore joints, aching neck muscles, and back pain normally accompanied him nowadays when he finished working at his desk, strategically thinking over each and every battle plan he created with the utmost care so that it resulted in the least amount of causalities possible. Working long days was no easy task for him now at his age; between drawing out maps, discussing scenarios with Corrin and the other Hoshidan siblings, and fulfilling other chores that needed to be completed around the camp, he was indeed tired out come end of the day, and it definitely showed on his face more now than ever.

“Perhaps a nice long soak in the hot springs may do me some good and help ease these pains…”

Entering their quarters once again, he placed a few maps on the table, hoping to show Corrin a few ideas he had come up with before they settled in for the night. Moving now to the trunk which sat close to the door, he propped open the lid in search of a bath towel, only to have his wife come through the door, appearing more excited than she usually would be at the end of a long summer day. He wracked his brain, trying to think up a reason as to why she would seem so giddy. Plenty came to mind, but none seemed to match her level of liveliness.

“Yukimura!”

“What is it milady? I was just about to go take a bath to relax for the evening. Care to join me?” He decided to ask her as well, knowing it had been awhile since they had shared a bath together, remembering the amount of peace and relaxation it brought both of them.

“Ah, as much as I would love too… I have something important to tell you! Perhaps you should sit down first though…”

Yukimura laughed to himself, shutting the trunk and adjusting his glasses for the billionth time that day. “I’ve been sitting all day at my desk working on battle strategies, I don’t think I could sit for a moment more. I’m positive there is no such news you could have that would sweep me off my feet.”

Corrin beamed from ear to ear at his response, advancing forward a few steps to close the distance between the two of them, glad that the matter of personal space no longer an issue he had. Her hands shook a bit as she entwined their fingers together, taking in a deep breath before speaking.

“We’re going to be having a baby.”

Amongst the silence of the room, the only sound that could be heard was of an object shattering into pieces. More precisely, it was Yukimura’s glasses shattering from the surprising news, a shy smile on his face as he connected the dots together. His smile only grew bigger as seconds passed by, the thought of finally being a father making him the happiest he had ever felt since marrying Corrin.

“Perhaps I should have sat down after all…”