#she looks so smug when talking to Odin I freaking love her

[salmonpiffy]

“You have no hold on me anymore”

[scrappywriting]

Laslow has a crush on like, everyone, and he knows it. Selena and Odin sit there listening to him gush about the newest person; they're supportive or vaguely teasing because all of them know it won't last. It never does.

They've been in Nohr for three months exactly. They've been in the service of the Nohrian royal family for thirteen days and twelve hours. In those thirteen days they had met up, sometimes in pairs, sometimes the whole trio, but now was the first time they'd been unsupervised.

Laslow checks nonetheless- Niles is already suspicious-looking, and it's clear that not everyone was happy with three complete strangers being assigned to guard two princes and a princess.

But they must be in the clear because the first thing out of Laslow's mouth is "Lord Xander is amazing!" and it's higher-pitched than normal. Like Laslow is trying to contain his enthusiasm and failing, badly.

"Oh my gods," Selena groans, rolling her eyes in the most exaggerated way. "Laslow, not again!"

"Lord Leo's gone on about Lord Xander," Odin muses from his books. Nohr's library has as many as (present, not Future) Ylisse's. Odin devoured all of them for his theatrics, and simply because he loved to know things. How can he resist an entirely new world with entirely new lore? "The Crown Prince of Nohr. The eldest, most responsible sibling. The genius who excels in nearly everything, and only fails to outpace Lord Leo in magic."

"And he told you this much?"

"No, he told Niles. Lord Leo noticed and asked me to find a lodestone "imbued with the essence of darkness" immediately."

Selena looks at Odin. Laslow looks at Odin, too.

"...and did you?"

"Of course! How could the great Odin Dark fail to acquire a lodestone whose twin soul called out to him? I travelled long and far- buuut that's not the point." Maybe his backtracking has something to do with the look his friends are giving him. "From how Lord Leo spoke of his elder brother, fondly, but with envy dripping off every word, even my dark aura couldn't help being impressed."

"Now that you mention it, Lady Camilla spoke of Xander as well. But Lady Camilla is fond of all her siblings, and most of the castle, too."

"Even you?" Odin teases, and he leans back in his chair as Selena swipes at him.

"Especially me. I'm her favourite retainer." It's been under fourteen days, so who knows if that's true. But Selena seems proud, and then she stops, looking at Laslow expectantly. "What makes Lord Xander is so great, Laslow?"

Laslow's eyes light up. His whole face lights up, and he spends the next thirty minutes telling them.

Camilla hugs him. She hugs everyone, so Laslow's really nothing special. The interaction is only three minutes at most, and a lot of fawning over Selena, not her "handsome little friend" (who she's surely heard all about from Xander, because the siblings are close). Eventually Camilla leaves and tells them to relax while they can, and to take care of themselves.

Selena turns, maybe to apologize for how huggy Camilla was, or maybe to smugly tell Laslow that Camilla really is the best Royal. But his eyes are wide and bright as he stares after Camilla, and all those thoughts scatter. She's seen that look. Odin's seen that look.

He's head over heels with adoration, and it's not even new. But for some reason it makes her embarrassed to think of: Laslow is going to be padding after her, asking her to have tea. Camilla will put up with it, maybe even coo over him.

"Laslow!"

"She's amazing," he breathes, and his voice- catches? in his throat? "I'd seen her training before, but now? Beautiful, caring, strong; you've told me of her threats to enemies, how she adores her allies. She truly is a goddess!"

"I mean, well, yeah. Lady Camilla is something special."

"She truly is! I can see why you adore her-"

Selena's cheeks go as red as her hair. Her voice squeaks, just a little. "Excuse me?" 

It's not as sharp as it usually is.

Laslow talks, on and on, about the little things he's noticed from their interaction. About how Camilla really isn’t just a pretty lady; she wields a battleaxe with ease, and her hugs could break bone. (Maybe.)

For some reason, Selena doesn't tell Laslow to be quiet.

Odin calls Laslow to the library, then begs off for some epic quest. That's the only reason Laslow is in the library in the first place- the books Odin's been reading are good, but dense. The view from the windows is nice, though, and it's peaceful enough: occasionally castle staff wanders in and out, sometimes using it as a shortcut between other rooms.

Someone's left a chess board.

Lord Leo appears looking for Odin, then looking a little put out that the astounding Odin Dark has vanished into thin air. He’s undeniably pretty, and Laslow says something he doesn’t remember in the end: about difficult missions and grand adventures, and how Odin will likely be back with some tall tale to excuse the wait. Can he help?

Helping, apparently, is by playing chess.

He isn't terrible at it, but he isn't great, either. They talk as they play but in the end Leo beats him soundly. He thanks Laslow, then excuses himself politely; the assignment he has really cannot wait. Only when his footsteps have well faded and Laslow has put away, then unpacked the chessboard, running his fingers over the pieces, does Odin pop out from behind a bookshelf.

Odin is grinning, wider and smugger than usual. He must have heard everything- and only then does Laslow realize why Odin call him, then fail to appear to his new liege’s summons, even with the promise of some new and exciting adventure.

"You set me up!"

"Indeed! I heard you met Lady Camilla, but Lord Leo is... not quite a people person. But never mind that! What do you think?"

"He's very private and intelligent. Lord Leo plays long games to save as many pieces as possible, while Lord Xander balances time and sacrifices." He pauses to glance at the board, then grins ruefully. "I can't seem to match wits with either of them."

"And you're crushing on both of them! And Lady Camilla!"

"I know!" Laslow covers his face, and his ears go bright red. "I think it's because they're royalty; they're just, different from a normal per...son..."

He stops. Odin's smug grin goes even wider.

"No! I didn't mean it like that! Odin!"

"Remember that time-"

"Odin!!"

EDIT: Well. I posted this on AO3. Right now it’s just an edited version of this draft, but I guess I could edit this post to have some behind-the-scenes / author confirmation stuff with each new chapter? Assuming I don’t hide under a rock and try to forget about this.

I put in the notes of this post that it was supposed to be 10, but things change and I’ll explain why later. Anyway, each chapter is supposed to have 3 crushes, loosely related/connected somehow, and will be posted when I’m either satisfied with them or sick and tired of seeing them.

Chapter/Section 1: Nohr Siblings (Xander, Camilla, Leo)

"I think it's because they're royalty" - Intended as a noodle incident in which Laslow had a crush on any (or all) royal(s) in Ylisse's family. Despite being dorks, FE royalty tends to be good-looking and just "better" than common folk, yeah?

This chapter was the easiest to write, since I didn’t actually commit myself to the story. It’s been mostly done for a while, and just edited a bit since. Once I kind of committed myself to this being a 12-part (4 part?) story, this became the part I was kind of dissatisfied with: not really a “story”, because it wasn’t.

Chapter/Section 2: "Close Acquaintances” (Peri, Corrin, Felicia)

Odin and Laslow are both freaked out by Peri in their supports. I never understood that- they’ve dealt with the loss of their parents, and jumped back in time, and fought in a war they shouldn’t have been born for, and defeated a dragon who was also a god. Peri’s small fry.

I wrote the middle section envisioning Odin misfiring a spell and burning his arms up to his elbows. Magic’s energy, injuries are physical, so he’s totally wiped. If you assumed Laslow helped him to a cot and just threw him facedown, good! (Edit: He’s awfully chatty for someone who’s wiped, and that’s based on my personal experiences with injuries and general illness. Barring sore throats, I sound totally fine up till I conk out. I know it’s not the case for everyone, but Odin seems the type.)

Felicia reminds me a lot of Cynthia, and I imagine Selena would remember how she underestimated Cynthia and could only tie with her in competitions. Also, I believe Selena’s the best at giving people silent treatment until they cave. (Though, it doesn’t work on Beruka or Camilla.)

Chapter/Section 3: ??? (66% 'done’; aiming for March 12, 2019)

Alright, I obviously haven’t managed to update this as intended. Do I have a good reason? Nah. I managed to cut my pinky finger, which doesn’t super affect my typing. If I typed for longer than a few minutes it’d start to feel odd and tingly. But good news; the cut’s finally closed up and the tingling is dying down, so things should be back on track soon! 

Further update: Turns out your pinky is actually important to grip strength and there’s minor nerve damage to the tune of “Hm, it’s a little difficult to bend it in a claw stretch”. 

Chapter/Section 4: ??? (66% ‘done’; aiming for March 19, 2019)