Comms and Other Long FE Oneshots

Bond-Healing Tea

*Part of something I call the Takumi Timeline. Conquest up until Izumo, and then stuff happens. All royal siblings survive.*

"Prince Takumi!"

Takumi nearly leapt out of his chair at the sound of his door being banged open and the sudden shout. As it was, he had to fumble with the book he'd been reading for a few moments to avoid dropping it. Hinata had leapt to his feet, and Princess Elise's hands shot up to her mouth in shock. "Oh gods, Princess... Milord, I'm sorry, I heard her hovering at the door and was about to say something, I'm sorry-"

"Stop," Oboro growled at him from where she'd been sewing, and he flinched back at the expression on her face. She then looked over at Takumi, her brown eyes filled with concern. "Are you alright, milord?"

"My heart has seen better days," slipped out before he could stop it, and he took a deep breath, slowly closing his book and looking toward Princess Elise. The slight trembling he could barely see was enough to make guilt punch into his stomach like an arrow and stop his own trembling. Her heart was probably going about as fast as his was right now. He sighed. "Sorry, Princess Elise. You just..." Gave him a heart attack and nearly made him lose his place in this really interesting history text. "Startled me. Was there something that you needed?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, then took her hands away from her face and gave him her usual bright smile that no Nohrian really had a right to make. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come to my tea party. Camilla's too busy preparing for that meeting thing, and Leo said no again, and Odin's with them."

There was going to be a meeting later? Why hadn't he been informed? A quick glance toward Oboro and Hinata sharing a look told him that they hadn't known either. "Have you asked Sakura?" he asked.

"I was going to." She shifted on her feet. "Head Cook just gave me a lot of tea and cookies, so the more the better, you know." Her amethyst eyes glanced up at him. "Does Princess Sakura like tea parties?"

"I'm pretty sure that Sakura likes anything with sugar involved," Takumi replied dryly. "Oh, and dolls. Tell her to bring her dolls if those are allowed."

"Oh, then Mrs. Pigglesworth will have some company!" Princess Elise brightened considerably at this. "I'll go ask her now!" She turned, paused, then looked back. "It's going to be in west corner of the garden. Just... come down when you're ready. If... if you really want to come, that is."

"I'm coming," he told her, waving a hand, trying to ignore the nervous look in her eyes. "It was very kind of you to invite me." Considering his behavior back in Cheve and all. A flash of understanding and relief crossed her face, and she hurried away, her heels clicking against the stone of the hallway.

Oboro set down her sewing supplies while Hinata crossed the room to close the door. "So. What happened between you two and when did it happen?" The latter asked in his usual blunt manner, brow creased. "She was shaking in her shoes even before she opened the door."

"I figured that her sudden entrance had something to do with her being nervous," Takumi sighed, marking his place in his book and setting it on the desk. "I shot her back in Cheve."

"You've shot a lot of Nohrians, milord, and I'm sure she's been injured by quite a few Hoshidans," Oboro remarked.

"I'm sure she has as well." Takumi stood, shaping his hair into its usual ponytail, quickly tying it up with a ribbon. "It was before the battle, and was mostly unprovoked. She was defending Corrin, and I... snapped." A shudder rolled through him, the memory and the absolute nothing he had felt when shooting her. He hadn't even thought about Sakura when he'd done it... the Nohrian army may well have been a pack of Faceless that spoke. He'd had eyes only for Corrin, everything else was just... in the way. In the way, and he hated it.