The End of Loneliness (Fire Emblem Three Hopes fic)
Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Hopes
Characters/Pairing: Yuri/Ashe
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine
Warnings: Spoilers for the Golden Wildfire route. Magically infected wounds. Vampirism/mutual blood drinking. Brief self-harm.
Notes: Takes place after the events of Golden Wildfire. Written for the spook_me challenge on Dreamwidth. There's definitely some handwaving concerning how Crest transfers work here lol.

--

“This is some sick vengeance scheme of yours after King Claude took down the Central Church, isn’t it,” Yuri spat out as he grabbed the old man by his cloak’s collar. “Look, if you wanna spill blood to avenge Rhea or whatever, I’ll give you a knife to slit my throat. Just leave Ashe out of this. He was loyal to your precious status quo until he had to honor King Dimitri’s vow to stay alive.” And it had taken some of the most intense persuasion in both Claude and Yuri’s respective lives—in the middle of a battle, no less—to convince him to honor that vow.

“Even if I wanted vengeance, there aren’t enough Nabataens anymore to enact it. Your king saw to that,” Seteth snarled back as he wrenched free from Yuri’s grasp. After taking a moment to smooth down his hair so it still covered his ears, he continued. “Everything I told you is true. Rhea feasted upon Jeralt’s blood. Then she allowed him to consume some of her own blood. The mutual exchange grants one the power of a Crest. Ask Jeralt if you don’t believe me.”

The thing was, Yuri had asked Jeralt. He had done when it had become evident that Ashe’s fever would not break and the wound would not heal, no matter what Manuela and Mercedes did. All Yuri could think about in those days was how if Ashe had been ‘blessed’ with the Crest of Aubin like Yuri was, his life wouldn’t be in danger—and that there was another commoner who somehow managed to have one of the rarest Crests ever in the army. Predictably, the man had been tight-lipped, but gratitude that the Archbishop could no longer steal away his child, concern over the young knight and a generous bribe from Yuri had loosened his tongue. I don’t remember everything. I was near death at the time. I do recall Rhea biting down on my neck and then making me drink something coppery. A few hours later, I’m up and strolling the monastery halls with her like nothing happened. Seteth’s story checked out… except for one thing. “I think I would’ve remembered the Elder biting my neck when he saved my life.”

“Ah, yes. That.” Seteth sighed heavily. “I suspect Aubin, in his concern that even his blood would not spare your life from the ravages of your illness, gave you all of his Crest rather than sharing it. Or perhaps he was too old to handle the strain of the ceremony. I’m afraid we’ll never know.” He shook his head as if warding off an unwanted memory. “Nonetheless, Ashe is dying from a poisoned wound. I have informed you of how you can save his life at this point. The only question remaining is if you’re willing to perform the ceremony.”

“I am,” he said without missing a beat. Ashe had been his only friend back in Rowe territory. He’d still wanted to be friends after Yuri almost killed him in battle—he had saved Yuri’s life even when Yuri himself didn’t think it was worth that much. How could Yuri not fall in love with the dork after such an action? “But I’ve just gotten used to the idea that I might outlive all my friends because of my Crest. What—what if he doesn’t want an unnaturally long life? What if—”

“Ask him. He will accept or refuse. It’s that simple.” Seteth rested a hand on Yuri’s arm, damnably dispassionate. “Although in my experience, humans always accept. Your kind has a distaste for dying.”

“You don’t say.” Yuri remembered the ghost stories Christophe would tell him and Ashe when they went camping about poor souls who would taste the blood fruit and after such a delectable feast, would want no other food. When the fruit was gone, they would settle for the blood that the fruit needed to thrive in. Back then, Ashe had gone pale with fright and Yuri had rolled his eyes at such silly stories. But now? He was starting to wonder if there was some truth in them after all. “All right. How do I perform the ceremony?”

“Thanks to Aubin, you have a little bit of dragon blood in your body. Simply will the fangs to appear and they shall.”

Yuri laughed darkly. “C’mon. I’ve lived long enough to know that just wishing for something…” He stopped when he pricked his tongue on his newly-formed fangs.

“Exactly. Just like that.” Seteth bared his own fangs at Yuri. “Now I strongly recommend that you seek out Ashe. Manuela spoke to me before I saw you. She told me that he does not have much time left.”

--

“Thank the Goddess,” Manuela breathed when Yuri explained things to her and Mercedes. Ashe’s old friend was silent but closed her eyes in relief.

Yuri frowned slightly. “Then this doesn’t upset you two?”

“Honey, I’m a doctor. I used to be a diva. Trust me, I’ve seen weirder.” As always, Manuela looked terrific, but Yuri could see the shadows under her eyes. “And we’ve tried everything medicine and Faith can do. It hasn’t worked.”

Mercedes nodded as she pulled back her unkempt hair into a makeshift bun. “If Seteth says it will work, I believe him.” She did her best to smile. “I just want to save Ashe. He’s a dear friend.”

“Okay then.” Yuri reminded himself that the Savage Mockingbird did not cry as he collected himself. “I’ll let you two know when the ceremony is over.” As long as Ashe accepted. As long as Yuri didn’t screw it up and kill his dearest friend.

--

“Yuri.” Ashe gave him a dreamy smile from his bed. “I’m so glad you’re here. There are things I need to tell you before—”

“And you will, but I need to speak to you first.” Yuri sat down next to Ashe, taking his hand. He tried to ignore how cold it was. “You’re dying, Ashe.”

“Wow, never would’ve figured that out on my own.” Ashe coughed. “Thank the Goddess my brilliant friend was here to break that news to me.”

Despite his appearance and mannerisms, Ashe had a snarky streak. It usually only showed around Yuri. That was something Yuri had always prided himself on—that Ashe felt comfortable enough around Yuri to show that side of himself to him. “You don’t have to.”

Ashe gazed up at Yuri, eyes feverish and unfocused. “What do you mean?”

He took a deep breath before speaking. “I have a Crest. This means that I can share my blood with you. Normally, that wouldn’t help much in this situation but the Crest of Aubin is known for stamina and longevity.”

“Let me make sure I understand this.” The magnitude of what Yuri was suggesting pierced through the fog of fever and pain. “Your blood can save my life, and then some?”

“Yes. But it would also mean possibly outliving your siblings and your friends. And a lot of other people.”

“That would suck,” Ashe admitted. “But I would also be able to help them for all of their lives, as well as their children and grandchildren.” He smirked at Yuri. “I can also make sure you’re not lonely. It must have been hard, living with that knowledge that you might outlive us all.” He squeezed Yuri’s hand. “Well, now you’ll have someone with you.”

“Ashe…”

“Yuri.” Now Ashe was gripping his hand like it was a lifeline, green eyes shadowed with pain. “It’s not just that. This is really selfish, but I’m scared to die.”

“Okay,” Yuri said as those words alit something almost primal in his body and spirit. Any doubts were burnt to cinders. He would restore the fire of life to his beloved and never be lonely again. Gently, he unbuttoned Ashe’s shirt just enough to gain unfettered access to his neck.

He shifted to the bed, straddling Ashe’s lap. He held Ashe upright with his left arm, smoothing down the bird’s nest that currently was his hair with his right. “I’ll be gentle.”

Ashe closed his eyes, accepting his fate. “Just do what you need to do.”

He did try to be gentle at first, biting down only hard enough to draw blood. Ashe didn’t cry out so much as he moaned, clinging to Yuri’s shoulders. The first gulp of blood did not taste like Yuri had imagined. It wasn’t coppery or gross at all. It was sweeter than anything Yuri had ever sampled in his life. And well, he had always had a sweet tooth, so…

Goddess, no wonder those people became vampires in Christophe’s stories. He never wanted this moment to end. Ashe’s body was weak, yes. His arms were now draped limply over Yuri’s shoulders and the moans had died down to little gasps of pain/pleasure. But his blood—no, his soul—was strong. And it was warm and vibrant and comforting and Goddess, Ashe really was going to stay with him, he wasn’t going to die alone, he was so happy…

However, that wasn’t the only step in the ceremony. It was more tempting to drain Ashe dry than he cared to admit, but he stopped. Ashe watched in awe as Yuri pulled out his dagger, cutting Yuri’s arm just enough to draw blood.

Yuri pressed the wound to Ashe’s lips. “Drink,” he commanded. To his surprise, Ashe took to the blood-drinking just as quickly as Yuri, if not more so. But he had always loved that about Ashe. His desire to live was unmatched by anyone Yuri knew—

Ashe stopped drinking, going limp in Yuri’s arms.

Any weird dragon instincts were long forgotten as Yuri shook Ashe as much as he dared. “Don’t you dare die on me,” he whispered fiercely, fighting back the stinging in his eyes. “Not after I marred my perfect skin to save your life.”

Nothing.

Despite the Savage Mockingbird’s best efforts, the tears fell on Ashe’s still face. “You promised,” he said uselessly. “You promised if I did this, you’d stay with me and I wouldn’t be lonely.”

Ashe remained lifeless in his arms.

Then he woke up, gasping for air.

“Wow,” Ashe breathed. “I feel… amazing.” He lifted up his shirt to check the stab wound on his torso. Nothing remained save for a fading scar. “I guess that means the ceremony worked—” Ashe yelped as Yuri hugged him. “Woah, Yuri! It’s fine.” He hugged Yuri back. “It worked. We’re both okay now.”

“Are you absolutely sure? I can get you some food or water. I-I should probably get off the cot so you can properly rest, too.”

“Yuri.” Ashe pressed his brow against his. “Let’s just stay like this for a bit. Let’s appreciate that we both have much more time together now.”

They did.

--

“Kupala is isolated and the Eastern Church is not invested in old grudges,” Yuri assured Seteth. “You and Flayn will be safe there. My people and I will see to that.”

“Very well,” Seteth said with a nod. “Then I suppose you have fulfilled your part of the bargain.”

“I suppose I have.” Yuri did his best to relax and failed, feeling too much like he did when he was a kid and his mother told him about the Goddess and the saints and their mercy/fury. After King Claude had deposed the Central Church and peace had (mostly) come to the land, certain… secrets had been revealed about the Archbishop’s right-hand man Seteth. That was why Yuri had sought him out in the first place when Ashe had fallen. And now here he was, standing in front of Saint Cichol almost a year after the Federation had defeated and killed Saint Seiros in battle.

(This was why he never told his mother about the war aside from what she absolutely had to know.)

“Seteth. No, Cichol.” Yuri bowed his head. “I won’t apologize for what the Federation did. But—”

“You’ll try anyways. You might rationalize it, even hide it under bravado and jests, but you’ll still beg for forgiveness in all your bluster nonetheless. That’s because despite your claims that you take pride in your underhanded deeds, you are possibly the most pious soul I have ever met. That’s why you still feel guilt for turning on the Archbishop.” Seteth actually rolled his eyes. “You humans are so obsessed with forgiveness from your gods. I suspect that’s partly why Seiros did what she did.

“Yuri. No, Regulus. Don’t look so surprised; you’re not the only one who knows how to gather information. I no longer deal with divine punishment and forgiveness. However, I can respect that you fought us to protect your mother and your friends. I can even respect you seeking me out to save your beloved’s life. If it had been my wife, I would have done the same.” He smiled at Yuri before donning his cloak. “And I can tell you this. You have been granted a portion of the Goddess’s power. You’ve used it to give life to someone your love. Frankly, if I was looking for forgiveness and redemption, I would feel I had succeeded in my task after such an action. Now go be with Ashe and live your life.”

--

“Hanneman confirmed it. I possess the Crest of Aubin now.” Ashe smiled awkwardly. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that happy in my life. He said something about asking you if you would give him a demonstration about how you gave me the Crest?”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sucking anyone else’s blood,” Yuri promised. There were way too many practical and ethical factors at play. He wrapped an arm around Ashe’s waist. “How are you feeling?”

“Still amazing.” But his eyes were shadowed. “At some point, I need to return to Gaspard territory and explain to my family what happened.”

“Of course.”

Ashe learned against Yuri. “I’d also like to meet your mother. Then I want to meet Balthus’s family. After that, we should go meet with Hapi and Constance in Nuvelle territory.”

“Hunh.” Yuri smiled at Ashe. “I didn’t realize you had such a sense of wanderlust.”

“Well, yeah, I finally have time for that.”

Yuri supposed they both did now.