Title: Sunshine
Fandom: Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
Characters/Pairing: Yuri Leclerc/Ashe Ubert, Mercedes von Martritz
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine
Warnings: Spoilers for up to chapter 9 of the Azure Gleam route. TEMPORARY character death (Yuri gets better), mentions of Yuri’s life at House Rowe.
Notes: AU version of chapter 9 for Azure Gleam if you don’t recruit Yuri.
--
Even after spending a day killing people, Ashe still needed to take several breaths before he could enter the makeshift morgue. He supposed he should take comfort in that. Even after all the deaths—including his adopted father—Ashe still had enough humanity in him to feel guilt for what he had done. But right now? He needed to be the pragmatic orphan that got results, regardless of how guilty he felt. He spotted a familiar face among the clerics given the unenviable task of identifying bodies and if possible, alerting the respective families of their passing. “Mercedes? May I have a word?”
Mercedes was bent over the corpse of a fair-haired soldier. Relief was etched on her features, then guilt as she placed the sheet and ribbon back over the body. But when she stood to address him, she possessed the same serene countenance that until now, Ashe had assumed was just part of her nature. “Of course. What is it?”
Ashe willed himself to ignore the stench of decay. “I was hoping to get permission to view one of the bodies. A trickster with a slender build and purple hair. I… might have known him as a child.”
“Of course. Follow me.” Together, they wove their way carefully around the bodies. Red ribbons placed over the sheets signified that they had hailed from the Empire. Blue meant the Kingdom. Many, however, were still sans ribbon. “Since it appears that he was part of House Rowe, we’re trying to follow the rules for a noble’s death.”
“Of course.” Class divides were immutable, even in death. If you were a noble who fell in battle, your body was hidden away until you could be embalmed for a proper funeral. If you were not, you rotted away with everyone else who’d died with no title. King Dimitri was doing his best to undo these class structures, which was one of the many reasons Ashe happily served him. However, the king was still one man and also fighting a war. It didn’t help that the Central Church insisted on “certain traditions” as well.
… Ashe liked Seteth and Flayn. He would always appreciate how they personally intervened to make sure his siblings were safe after House Gaspard fell. But sometimes he wished the Kingdom’s sovereignty wasn’t quite so closely linked to the Central Church’s authority.
“Here we are.” Mercedes motioned to a small shed in a stronghold. “I know these things are hard, but I suggest that you hurry and see if he was your friend. Once the Church arrives, they will only allow certain people to witness the body.” ‘Certain people,’ of course, meaning nobles.
“I understand,” he said with a nod. “Thank you for everything, Mercedes.”
She offered him a weary smile. “I hope he’s not your friend.” Then she turned and went back to her work.
--
The shed must have been used to house supplies and wounded soldiers. That would explain the cot, the oranges, and the vulneraries. A body rested on the cot, covered by a sheet and red ribbon.
Please don’t be him, Ashe prayed, for whatever good it would do. If prayers helped, his parents wouldn’t have died. Christophe wouldn’t have died. Lonato wouldn’t have died. Yet he still begged the Goddess to not take this person from him. He approached the body, hands shaking as he removed the sheet. Please don’t be—
“Yuri,” he breathed. Even in death, his beauty was unmistakable.
“I’m sorry,” he sobbed, hands gripping the sheet uselessly. “If I had known, I would have…” He wanted to say that he would have found a better way. He would have convinced Yuri to join them. But he had tried to convince Lonato to join them and failed. War meant you had to kill people, sometimes people you care for. That was something Yuri had said when they were kids and training with Christophe and Gwendal—
He let himself cry until he felt like he could control himself, at least somewhat.
“Don’t worry, Yuri,” he swore to what remained of his friend. “I remember how much you hated Count Rowe.” If Yuri had been fighting for House Rowe, it must have been out of some sense of debt and nothing else. “I’ll speak to the king. We won’t let you be buried next to the Count.” He didn’t care who stood in his way. He’d steal Yuri away and find some quiet spot far away from Rowe territory if he had to.
He hadn’t saved Yuri’s life, but he would be damned if he did not honor him in death.
--
Yuri woke up to a sheet over his face. Which, considering that the last thing he remembered was Sylvain impaling him was not that surprising. Still, that had been a close call even by Yuri’s standards. It hadn’t been as horrifying as when he’d almost died from the plague as a kid, surviving only because the Elder took pity on him, but he had apologized to his mother before blacking out for a reason. Perhaps Sylvain, a childhood friend of sorts, had ‘pulled his punch.’ Or perhaps whatever strange powers the Crest of Aubin possessed had saved him yet again. Most likely it was a little bit of both… but whatever, he was just glad that he’d come to before the Church tried embalming him. He was also glad that unless something weird happened in the next few minutes, he wouldn’t be buried next to that bastard Rowe. If that had happened, he would have become a ghost and haunted everybody forever.
He was still weak from the battle, but removed the sheet and sat up without too much difficulty. He noticed a figure bent over a crate, using it as a desk as he drafted a letter. Whatever he was writing, it was so absorbing that he hadn’t noticed the corpse come back to life behind him. Although to be fair, Yuri moved quietly. Yuri took a moment to observe the figure. His back was turned to Yuri, so he only had so much to go on. Dark blue clothes, silver hair, and body language that screamed ‘earnest as heck.’ It reminded him a little of… well, Yuri had heard the news of him becoming one of the king’s knights. It was very possible.
“I knew him as a child. Aside from his mother, I doubt anyone else alive knew him better than I did. He would want to rest anywhere except Rowe territory,” the figure whispered fiercely as he wrote. “While I understand the Central Church wants to honor traditions, it should not be at the cost of someone’s final wishes.” The raspy voice laced with resolve could only belong to one person.
Shit. It was Ashe.
Ashe, the best friend he thought he’d never see again.
Ashe, the kid who would cry and cower under the covers whenever Christophe told ghost stories. Yuri would have to handle this delicately.
“Hey, friend,” Yuri spoke gently. “I’m gonna ask you to turn around and not freak out at what you see, okay?” Yeah, Ashe was a scaredy-cat when it came to ghosts, but he was reasonable. Seeing Yuri come back to life would be shocking, but if Yuri played it cool, surely Ashe would mirror his—
Ashe screamed for dear life, aiming an arrow at Yuri.
“Calm, friend, calm!” Yuri held up his hands in surrender. Yeah, he was alive, but still seriously wounded. There was no way he could avoid an arrow, especially at this range. “Look, I get it. The corpse came back to life. I’d be startled, too. But I promise I’m not a ghost here to pull you down to the depths of the earth or anything like that. It’s just your old friend, Yuri.”
Ashe was shaking like a leaf, yet somehow kept a steady aim at Yuri’s heart. “Prove it,” he managed. “Tell me something only the real Yuri would know.”
He didn’t feel like being this vulnerable right after ‘dying,’ but he also didn’t want an arrow to the heart, either. He doubted even the Crest of Aubin could save him from that. “We met when I snuck into Castle Gaspard to hide from my shitty adopted father. When you discovered me, I was terrified that you would rat me out. But you just said that you were so relieved that it wasn’t a ghost after all, left, and came back with dinner.” He hadn’t planned on making friends in those times. He just needed resources. But how could he not open his heart, even just a little, to Ashe after that?
The bow and arrow clattered to the ground. “Yuri.” His eyes were unfocused and his skin was paler than usual. “It’s really you…”
“Don’t pass out,” Yuri ordered. “I don’t have the strength to pick you up.”
“Okay,” Ashe murmured absently, sinking upon one of the crates. “I’ll try.”
“You’re probably wondering how I came back to life.”
Ashe laughed hollowly. “Gee, you think?!”
Yuri ignored that. “Well, I wonder that as well every time it happens. Illnesses and wounds that would kill anyone else will phase me, but not kill me. I think it has something to do with my Crest. I’ve never really been able to investigate my suspicions, however.” There were two people in the world who might have known the truth behind the Crest of Aubin. One was dead. Yuri had helped arrest and banish the other.
Ashe was still pale, but his eyes were clear now. “I see. So… that’s it? You’re back?”
“That’s it,” Yuri assured him. He managed a smile. “Thanks for not killing me for having the gall to not stay dead, by the way.”
Ashe managed a smile back. “Anytime.” Then his features grew grave. “We need to figure out what you’re going to do next, Yuri.”
Ugh. “Must we? I’d like to recover from almost dying, you know.”
“And you will, but we need to establish some things immediately,” Ashe insisted. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you’re not going to fight for the Empire anymore.”
“Probably not,” Yuri conceded. “They pay well, and I even agree with a lot of their reforms, but I was there just so I’m not in Rowe’s debt anymore.” That and to help Gwendal in what would have been his final battle, even if the Empire had won. But now Gwendal had a glorious death in battle, Rowe was dead, and Yuri had ‘died’ to pay back his debt to his sleazy excuse for an adopted father. “My mother would probably kill me if I stuck with the army fighting against her beloved Archbishop, so unless the Empire offers me a lot more money, I’ll become a merc again.” Although after their more recent loss, he doubted the Empire would have money to hire any mercenaries at all.
Ashe eyed him thoughtfully. “In that case, we sure could use someone like you on our side. What do you say?”
The Kingdom wasn’t wealthy. It’d be a pain in the ass to scrounge up on the gold to protect those he cared for. Yet it would make his mother happy. It would make Ashe happy. He’d heard rumors about Hapi fighting for King Dimitri. He wanted to see her again if that was true. And he could get behind some of the king’s ideas and reforms. Besides, now he had a debt to repay to Ashe.
“Thanks for looking out for me,” he whispered. “You were right. I don’t want to be buried here.”
Ashe smiled as he walked over to Yuri. “Anytime, friend.” He helped Yuri up carefully. “Now, c’mon. We’ve been in this gloomy room for too long. Let’s get some fresh air.”
It was bitterly cold and his wounds ached, but he was alive and Ashe was by his side. As Yuri took his first tentative step outside of his makeshift tomb into the sunshine, he felt like he could do anything.
--
Final Notes: If Yuri dies in AG, Ashe notes that he feels like he’s seen Yuri somewhere before, and regrets never knowing if he’s correct or not now (IIRC). Originally, it was going to end with Ashe discovering the truth when he viewed Yuri’s body, but I’m pretty soft, so guess what, that pesky Crest of Aubin kicked in and Yuri-bird is okay. ;P And Ashe recruiting Yuri is his line if you do recruit him in AG, of course (IIRC).