Title: Morning Routine
Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Characters/Pairing: Yuri/Ashe
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine
Warnings: Vague touches on Yuri’s past in Enbarr
Notes: Written for hc_bingo. The prompt is ‘trust issues.’

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“You need to rest.” Ashe’s tone was as annoyingly resolute as it had been when Yuri had woken up after their last raid had gone awry. “That sword almost pierced your heart. If Balthus hadn’t been there to heal you, you would be a corpse right now.”

“Yeah, well, this gang doesn’t care what I was up to last night.” It only took a little effort to stand up. When Ashe walked over to help him, Yuri was pleased that he had the strength to wave him off. “I’m not running off into battle again.” He smirked. “Well, probably not. This gang is made up of mercenaries and disillusioned Church soldiers after the war started. They’re not as annoyingly morally upstanding as certain boyfriends that shall remain nameless, but they’re not fiends. We’re just going to talk about possibly allying to help out a village down on their luck.” Ashe bristled. Yuri chose to believe that was because of his excellent verbal barb. It wasn’t his fault that even after the Lord of the Underworld had seduced Ashe to Abyss, his moral compass remained intact.

Unfortunately for Yuri, that also meant that persuasion (and teasing) rarely worked when Ashe was worried about him. “If it’s just talking, then have someone else fill in for you. This is an alliance we’ve all been working on for moons now. Everyone is aware of the complexities of this agreement. I’m sure that anyone you chose could convince them—”

“You’re too trusting, Hapi’s too blunt, Constance would blow things up trying to impress the leaders, and Balthus owes half that gang money,” Yuri reminded him as he eased into the dilapidated chair across his dresser. The mirror was cracked but large enough for his purposes. He glanced over at Ashe and offered him a smile. “Sorry. A charm offensive is needed, and can you name anyone else more charming than me?”

Ashe huffed, rolled his eyes… but shook his head. “No.”

“Of course not. It’s one of the many reasons you fell in love with me.” Yuri reached for his brush—and then flinched as he realized that the wounds he received in his arm, despite Bathus’s best efforts, hadn’t fully healed. Which meant that he’d need to do his hair and makeup with his non-dominant hand. Fantastic. So much for the soft power of a dazzling appearance to get the gang on his side.

“I can brush your hair,” Ashe offered. “If you want.”

Yuri frowned at his reflection. After some… unpleasant experiences in Enbarr, he preferred to prep his hair and face unassisted. But he wasn’t in Enbarr anymore, and Ashe definitely wasn’t one of those scummy nobles. He could trust him to do the job as best he could… and to back off in case it became too much.

So, he shrugged and said, “It’s either you or Constance. Do your worst.”

The first thing he noticed was that Ashe was silent as he worked. No honeyed words about how his hair was so soft, or just as luxurious as the Mystical Songtress’s tresses. He worked efficiently; fingers warm against Yuri’s scalp as he worked out the tangles that a feverish night of sleep had caused right after Yuri had been wounded.

The second thing he noticed was that Ashe was decent at hair brushing. “I don’t understand. Your hair looks like it’s never seen a brush in its life. How are you competent at this?”

“I have siblings, remember?” Ashe was careful as he worked on a particularly stubborn tangle. “And, um, I’ve taken care of horses.”

“… I’m going to walk away from this with my hair in braids and ribbons, aren’t I?”

Ashe’s reflection smiled at him. “Getting horses prepped for the knights is different than kids dressing up their pet ponies, I promise. That said, is there anything special you want me to do?”

Yuri shook his head. “Just tie it back. There’s a leather band on the dresser, next to my shaving kit.” He closed his eyes as Ashe pulled his hair into a loose ponytail, feeling about as safe as one could in his line of work. Ashe really was different from anyone else he’d met in his life…

That made the next question easier to ask. “Could you help me with shaving?”

Ashe’s face lit up. “Of course!” He dashed off to pour some water from the pitcher on the night table into a small basin, which meant he wouldn’t notice when Yuri rolled his eyes.

“No one needs to be needed more than you, Ashe.”

“So says the man climbing out of bed after a life-threatening wound to try and make sure orphans and poor families have supplies and shelter. Could you move over here, please?”

Shaving went even better than hair brushing. While Ashe was only twenty, he still had enough facial hair that he needed to shave unless he felt like growing a beard. Ashe was in the process of cleaning up when he glanced at Yuri, suddenly shy. “What about the makeup?”

Balthus was as graceful as a newborn wyvern. Hapi would dab at his cheeks and call it done. Constance would probably try to incorporate her magical research into the rouge, and he refused to sacrifice his cheekbones for the glory of House Nuvelle. “Sure.”

“Good.” Ashe’s hand hovered over various powders and creams. “Um, which ones do you want me to use?”

Yuri shrugged. “Just some powder, rouge, eye shadow, mascara, and gloss.” When Ashe boggled at him, he had to laugh. “Grab the powder with the silver lid and use it to hide my imperfections.”

“I don’t think those exist,” Ashe murmured as he obeyed Yuri.

“Spoken like the archetypal good boyfriend. Okay, see the jar with the pink lid and the makeup brush? Get some of that on the brush and put it on my cheeks.” He had to remain still while Ashe worked, but once he was done, he said, “Not bad for your first time. Now take that small brown jar and the small brush and put what’s in the jar on my eyelids. Oh, and grab that.” With his non-dominant hand, he pointed at the mascara. “That goes on my eyelashes.”

Ashe grimaced. “That’s a lot of stuff to have near your eyes.”

“Hey, just be glad I’m not asking you to do my eyeliner.” He closed his eyes as Ashe worked. Despite his nervousness, his hands were as steady as when he drew his bow. “All right,” Ashe said. “You use gloss so much even I know what it looks like.” He picked up a tube. “Is this shade okay?”

He didn’t wear that shade often, but this whole morning had been weird, so why not? “Go ahead.” His hands for whatever reason were a little less steady this time, since his thumb brushed against Yuri’s mouth. Yuri didn’t fight the small, muffled moan at the contact. He did have to fight the urge to laugh, however, when Ashe turned beet red.

“Okay,” Ashe breathed when he was done. “Look in the mirror and tell me what I need to fix.”

Yuri took in his reflection. He didn’t look nearly as sophisticated as when he did his makeup but there was something to be said about Ashe’s earnest work. He certainly looked more vibrant than a man who had almost died last night had any right to. “I look fine. Thanks.”

Ashe eyed him critically. “Are you sure? Because you’ve spent hours on this stuff before. And you’ve been doing this for years.”

“Yes, which is why I know that I look fine.” Yuri accepted Ashe’s outstretched hand, standing up carefully. “I’ll wow the leaders of the gang with my beauty, thanks to you.”

“You don’t need my help to wow anyone,” Ashe whispered fiercely, not letting go of Yuri’s hand.

If they had been in public, Yuri would have snarked that Ashe was right. He had an image to maintain, after all. But he was alone with one of the few people he truly trusted, so he could be sincere for once. “Ashe, you’re the one who made sure I was presentable today. And you were the one that guarded Balthus while he healed me—and you flew me back to Abyss and watched over me all night.” He pressed his brow against Ashe’s, pulling him close. “I need your help. I need you.”

Ashe sighed against Yuri. “Just promise me that you’ll rest after this.”

“I will. You can trust me on that.”