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Chapter Text

"Lord Xander, I'm here! How are you today?"

"Quite fine as usual, Laslow. Did you happen to bring tea?"

Laslow smiled as he walked towards Xander with a tray of, you name it, tea. This was the time of day when Xander got stressed, and Laslow was always set up to ease him at this time. (Laslow and Peri had set up a timetable of who should serve him when, and they both figured it was better this way.)

He set the tray on an empty spot to the side of Xander's desk and poured his tea, offering his lord the cup nearly immediately after he finished since he had been staring quite intently at him during the process (which unnerved him a bit). Xander realized what he was doing and looked sheepish himself.

"Sorry, Laslow. I know you don't like being stared at. Thank you for the tea, though." he said, offering his retainer a little smile before beginning to turn back to his work. Laslow chuckled a bit and subconsciously rubbed the back of his neck, appreciative yet hesitant at how well his liege knew him.

"That's alright, milord. I know you just need a little break from all this work. Surely I must be a stress-relieving sight to see, no?"

"I'm not sure those would be my choice words," Xander murmured before taking a sip of his tea. Laslow caught the little soft smile on his face, which made him feel better.

Laslow moved the tray a bit more to the side, just to make sure it wouldn't be a bother to him, then turned around and looked at his liege's room.

Very Nohrian, as he learned this was their style. Fancy designs and darker colors, purple seeming to be favored by most. The huge bed that was only ever messed up on the left side, which he decided to fix right now. Peri must've not noticed it when she was in earlier.

That being said, the room wasn't in any noticeable disarray. A little dusty in some places if anything, being nitpicky. He figured he'd dust off some shelves then check on how Xander's mentality was doing with all that paperwork.

After finishing the bed, he moved to a shelf next to a shorter desk, that might've just been there for design. Either way, since he wanted to give Xander time to just work on his things, he just dusted some of the shelves to pass time. The room was nearly always perfect, so there wasn't exactly much to do.

He crouched down and noticed some of the paint chipping off of the desk. There was something bothering him about it and he couldn't get it off with his glove, so he slipped it off and started to scratch the paint off with his fingernail. Either he or a maid could repaint it later, so it didn't matter that much.

Just as he scratched off the last of the paint he could, leaving a little brown patch on the side of the desk. Just as he went to stand back up, he heard a soft buzzing noise coming from under the desk. He hummed curiously and leaned down closer, the buzzing becoming more distinct. Just as he was nearly looking under the desk to what it was (on his hands and knees now), it crawled out and faced him.

It took a second for Laslow to register it, but suddenly he was yelling and jumping up, accidentally backing into the shelf which made it wobble but nothing fell out. Not that he noticed, because the only thing he was seeing was his life flashing before his eyes with the words 'THINGS THAT CRAWL ARE NOT FRIENDLY' scrawled across each image.

He had also sent Xander into a panic, too. The crown prince has jumped up at the sound of his retainer yelling, and whipped his head towards Laslow just as he bumped into the shelf. "Laslow! Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked, distress taking over his voice as he saw the fear and disgust on Laslow's face. He had no idea as to how he could find anything that could cause those two emotions in his room.

"L-Lord Xander, there's..." Laslow started, then held back a scream and blanched as he saw another one crawl out from under the shelf this time. He thought he could handle it for a second.

And then it started flying. He backed into the wall as he flew up and looked dead at him.

"NO, Lord X-Xander help me, it's disgusting, it's gross, oh, it's so gross, please," he cried and quickly crouched to avoid the bug coming at him any closer. Then stood back up as it followed him to the ground. He turned to the desk, completely ready to jump it but was devastated to see the other bug crawling up the desk. "I'm trapped," he wailed, sliding back against the wall and swatting the other bug away.

When Xander saw the bug fly up, revealing itself to be the cause of Laslow's worries, he thought it was a joke and was about to scold his retainer. But then he watched the desperate attempts to get out of the corner without going near the bug and realized that he was genuinely freaked out and trying to get away.

Laslow, the "ladies man", the confident swordsman, the crown prince of Nohr's retainer, was totally freaked out by a few bugs. It was so amusing in Xander's mind he almost started laughing right there, but knew that he should better help Laslow.

"Here, grab on," he instructed, walking to the desk and holding both of his arms out to the scared retainer. Since the bug was still flying in front of the other way out (and with an extra glance, he noticed it had also gained a friend, not to mention the other one crawling up the desk. Poor Laslow.)

Laslow, not registering much except the fact that Xander was offering him a safe escape, grabbing onto his hands and leaped onto him with his foot boosting him from the desk. Xander recoiled a little but seemed to handle it fine, considering a grown man just leaped into his arms like he had just been saved from a dragon.

Laslow sighed in relief, catching his breath as he held onto Xander. Then he felt so much blood flow to his cheeks he thought he was going to pass out.

Xander was carrying him because he had to save him from bugs (horrid little things!). But, most of all, he noticed how easily Xander was carrying him. It was as if he barely weighed anything at all--which he knew he wasn't as light as a child. Xander was carrying as easily as a sack of tomatoes, even managing to hold him in one arm for just a moment to set his pen on the desk before holding him with both arms again. It just amazed him. How could a human be so strong?

He supposed Xander had been training to be this strong all his life, though. Laslow was never that interested in becoming a human superpower. His interest lied in his mother's passion, which his father did support. Even so, now that he thought about it, was his father even this strong?

Laslow blinked as he was placed on the bed, watching as Xander started looking around the room. Presumably, for something to get the bugs with, Laslow guessed. He offered his boot to use in stead of any of the pristine things in Xander's room, but Xander declined and found an old notepad to use (which Laslow was slightly glad for, because he was certain that he would never use his current boots again if he had accepted and would have to go through the trouble of getting new ones).

He felt oddly useless as he sat on the bed (not to mention he has never sat on the bed before, and it was so very velvety and he wished it was his!), but did not dare
stand up and risk going closer to the demons.

He looked away as Xander swatted them because he inside of those things were /gross/. He heard the notepad swing a couple of times before footsteps headed towards his way. He looked up at Xander, the amused expression on his face making Laslow want to die.

"Dead. See?" as sincerely comforting as Xander meant his words to be, Laslow whipped his head around and made a grossed-out sound when his lord showed him the smushed bugs on the notepad. He heard him start to laugh before clearing his throat and walking to the trashcan, promptly dropping it in before back to his retainer.

Laslow felt like he was going to be sick--partially because of the bugs, mostly because of embarrassment. Begrudgingly, he got up from the velvet bed and blushed as he felt his stomach spiral into an endless abyss.

"I'm sorry, Lord Xander-"

"I'm sorry, Laslow-"

Xander, surprisingly, chuckled at their unison. Light-hearted from the situation still, Laslow guessed. This didn't make him feel much better, which Xander noticed and placed a hand on his shoulder to regard him.

"Sorry, I don't mean to provoke you, Laslow. This situation is just..." Xander stopped there before he made another teasing statement. "I just had no idea your fear was... bugs, Laslow."

Hearing it out loud made him feel silly, but if he had to be honest...

"Th-That's quite alright, milord! I can understand where you're coming from, but... those horrid little things! You can't blame me, right? Aren't they gross?" he practically begged for Xander to agree with him. He didn't want to feel so silly for this. Xander's smile already told him that this wasn't going his way.

"It's okay, Laslow. I can't see it, but I understand you." he sympathized, Laslow nodded to the statement in appreciation. He was still a little pale, though.

This situation was all so familiar, he thought after a moment. With his sister and father. Except then, his sister freaked out with him and got caught with him, both sharing the trouble. This time, he was alone in the embarrassment. But remembering the scene with his sister made him smile. Their father never understood why bugs were so creepy, just annoyed by the whole situation.

He must've zoned out in his memories, blinking back into reality when he felt Xander pat his shoulder.

"Are you okay, Laslow? Perhaps you should take the rest of the day off, I'll call Peri in." he worried, which made Laslow smile. His lord was worried for him over something so silly.

"No, it's alright, Xander. I'm fine," he reassured, patting the arm that Xander had on him. Xander lifted his hand off but looked reluctant. "Are you sure? You look pale, after that."

That was true, Laslow noted. Even during that time with his sister, the bug had never gotten that close to him (because he was hiding behind his sister, at the time. He had nothing to hide behind in Xander's room, though he was... carried to safety, which still amazed him.) Before he answered, though, Xander shook his head.

"You should at least take a little break, to clear up. Go take a walk. Only around the castle, though, because I already know what's going to happen if I let you go anywhere else." he requested, deadpanning at the last sentence. Laslow laughed, though knew Xander had made his decision and he should probably just go take a walk.

"I suppose, milord. I promise to stay inside castle grounds, as disappointed as the ladies would be," he stated with a wink, and with that, he left. Usually, he would put up more of a fight, but he did need a little walk to cool off after that.

Xander sat back at his desk as he watched his retainer go. That whole situation made him laugh. And that's it. Right there, right as his retainer was out of earshot, he started laughing. Probably more than he had laughed in months.

Calming down, he sighed in amusement and gazed out the window in amusement. The crown prince of Nohr's retainer, terrified by bugs--they weren't even that scary. Those ones even looked a little cute, in his opinion!

"Just another endearing trait of his," Xander mused before taking a breath, straightening his posture, and getting back to work.

Chapter Text

Laslow sighed and covered his face after he closed the door to Lord Xander's room. He calmed down and let his red face simmer down before he began taking his walk. For some reason, it was only when he was on edge that someone would come along and see him. It usually was Niles who saw him, much to his dismay. Niles could tease him for hours and on whenever he was flustered.

He shook his head with a frown, not wanting to dwell on the thought of being teased. He was sure he'd jinx himself with his luck, and he didn't quite feel like running into Niles at the moment. (Not that he despised him or anything--but he didn't feel like getting riled up.)

He walked with different thoughts running through his mind (one of them being about the bugs he ran into in Lord Xander's room, which he wished he had forgotten already--actually, he wished to forget everything that happened just now) until he was at his target location for relaxation.

It was a really beautiful spot. It was mostly covered in flowers of all kinds, tended by some of the Hoshidans during their free time, he assumed. There was a huge cherry blossom tree just about in the middle, plentiful with pink leaves in all its pretty glory. Though, personally, his favorite part was the flowers that were just under the tree's shade--the indigo flowers. They really made him happy.

Every once in a while, when he needed relaxation after a hard week or after panicking, he came here to sit down if it was daylight (if it was night, he'd be dancing in a clearing in the forest). Even though the ground was nearly covered with flowers, he would try to watch his steps and sit down in a spot with fewer flowers to avoid crushing too many.

Laslow was surprised he never saw anyone come here, frankly. He supposed it could be because of the Nohrians' and Hoshidans' different schedules and opinions. Sometimes the Nohrians would be busy up to their necks while the Hoshidans would be in the hotsprings for hours on end (far too long). It was just they way they functioned and different problems if Laslow had to guess.

Then some people from both sides still despised the other. As far as he knew, Lord Takumi still wouldn't go near a usual Nohrian hangout and Leo still had the urge to blame the Hoshidans for anything strange that went wrong.

All in due time, he supposed. Personally, he loved the Hoshidan gardens too much to stray from them--not that he even had a problem with any of the Hoshidans or their usual hangouts. He was in a Hoshidan spot right now. There wasn't a firm rule from going to a spot that the other side went to, it just seemed to be the current social stance of the castle. Not that he was the only one that did this; .he couldn't think of a moment he didn't see Kaden and Keaton clinging to each other, Elise and Sakura talking openly nearby them.

The thought of the two countries coming to peace really did make him smile. Corrin was doing something amazing, and he was proud to be in an army led by her. He gently plucked an indigo flower and absently twirled it around in his fingers, losing himself in his thoughts as he sat there.

"Laslow?"

He startled as he heard his name, dropping the flower and looking up. He recognized this man vaguely as Kaze: a Hoshidan and the brother of Saizo, he believed. They hadn't talked much, but Laslow had seen him many times.

Most of the time being complimented by women for his charms, which made him jealous, but it was a jealousy that was easy to bite back when he saw how nice Kaze was.

"Ah... Kaze. Fancy meeting you here." he greeted passively, smiling his signature smile at the man, watching him hesitantly sit down as well. His hesitance must come from making sure that Laslow was okay spending time with a Hoshidan, which he understood. Kaze seemed like a man who tried his best to stray from unnecessary trouble.

"It's a surprise to see you here as well, Laslow." the ninja spoke back with that remarkably smooth voice of his. It was no wonder women flocked to him like they were headed south for the winter--swept hair, smooth voice, charm practically radiating from him. He knew he was repeating this thought in his mind, and figured he should stop thinking of Kaze like that before he made himself mad for no reason.

"Are you one of the people who helps grow this garden?" Laslow decided to ask before there was an awkward silence. Kaze seemed like a busy man, so he wasn't sure if he would even have time to do this.

But then again, he was here right now. Maybe he just misjudged him, or--

"Oh, no. I don't have the eye for these types of things. But I do enjoy admiring it."

"Oh, me too! I do wish I could make pretty things like this grow," he agreed, then lifted up the fallen indigo flower. He saw the ninja's eyes soften a little as he smiled.

"That one is quite pretty. I feel like it would suit you," Kaze commented easily, but it made Laslow's head rush a little. What did that mean?

Before he could actually consider what the other's words meant, he saw Kaze's arm in front of his face and felt his hair being tucked behind his left ear, making Laslow's cheeks feel warmer by the second. When Kaze retracted his arm, out of the corner of his eye, Laslow could see the color indigo.

"Is this...?" Laslow started, a little dumbfounded.

"It does suit you," Kaze confirmed calmly, smiling gently at him. Laslow looked away and willed his cheeks to stop burning. It was such an odd thing to do, he thought. Why did it make him feel so appreciated in a small way?

"I do thank you... though, is there a reason you did that?" he asked after a moment, finally averting his eyes back to Kaze.

"Not in particular... I just have an appreciation for the arts, and you are--"

"Okay, you can stop now!" Laslow cried, then continued when he realized that must be a little rude. "Th-That's too much... I appreciate it, but that's a little much to say!"

"Ah, okay, I'll stop if you want. Sorry." Kaze said, though as their conversation continued on, he only minimally kept to his words. Sliding in compliments about him every few sentences, Laslow wasn't sure what to do with himself. Kaze was so insistent on it while they talked.

(For a moment, Laslow considered that it was the ninja mocking him. Maybe he had caught him watching that one time, taking note of his actions as a pretty lady swooned over him? But it was only one time! No, but Kaze seemed too noble to do that. He would bring it up, or perhaps he was being nice enough to spare his feelings by not telling him he was seen.)

"Speaking of, there was something I was meaning to ask you, Laslow." Kaze said suddenly after Laslow had finished speaking of some activities the Nohrians usually did, mentioning two of his closest friends--Odin and Selena.

"Go on," prompted Laslow.

"I was wondering. Have you met my brother, Saizo?" he asked, which Laslow didn't entirely expect. At the same time, he wasn't sure why, but in that moment he felt a vague disturbance in the peace awfully nearby.

"No, not yet. But he is a retainer of Lord Ryoma, no? He's having a meeting with Lord Xander tomorrow, so we'll both be seeing each other outside their meeting door tomorrow." Laslow replied, Kaze nodding as he spoke.

"Indeed. I just wanted you to know this: he's not as harsh as he seems. Please don't judge him fully based on his cold exterior. I swear he's a warm person," he explained, catching Laslow a little off-guard again. But he just nodded in understanding.

"I understand. Don't worry, I've been told I'm good at seeing the best in people!" he chuckled, winking playfully with his words. He saw Kaze pause for a moment before chuckling as well, making Laslow smile.

"So I've seen. I'm glad that's so, I think you'll need it when you meet him. Not that he's a bad person, but, you know." Kaze said but looked to the sky before Laslow had a chance to say anything. "I believe I have to go now. I only came here to take a little break, so I have other things I must do."

"Oh, me too. Don't worry about it!" Laslow waved it off as he watched the ninja stand, offering Laslow a hand. Even though he hadn't been planning on getting up, he took the hand anyway so he didn't come off as rude in a way.

"Well, it was very nice talking to you," Kaze spoke formally now and stood up straight as their conversation was coming to an end.

"Gah, you too! I do hope we meet again, Kaze." Laslow cleared his throat and hummed, holding himself in a formal manner as well.

"Hm! Me too." he agreed, before turning around and vanishing. Laslow smiled to himself. He was happy that he had met Kaze here, even if his intentions were to spend the free time alone. They had a nice chat, if not a little biased on the... complimentary side (he felt so appreciated the whole time, but it was very embarrassing!). He had noted that Kaze wanted to feel more at home with the Nohrian army, as Corrin wanted the Hoshidans to and vice versa, so he thought about helping with that.

As Kaze walked towards the hallway entering the castle, he saw his brother standing near the door with his arms crossed. He had expected this, knowing he had been watching them the whole time.

"He really is a nice person, you know. He's not just a pretty face, brother." Kaze said, mostly factually but with a hint of disappointment. He knew how his brother felt about the other retainer but hadn't talked to him so far with the excuse of him being Nohrian.

"I didn't say anything," Saizo grunted back, keeping the blank front on his face. Kaze just sighed and opened the door.

"At least try to get to know him tomorrow is all I ask."

Chapter Text

Laslow was awoken by too many loud knocks on his door. Someone was enthused to see him, guessing by how his door was being knocked on a mile a minute. He glanced out his window. The sun was barely up, what would someone be doing at his door at this hour?

"Please give me a minute," he wailed, which thankfully made the knocks stop. He stared at the ceiling before groaning. He really didn't want to get up right now. His schedule was pretty full today and he'd appreciate the extra sleep.

"This better be an emergency..." he muttered, standing up and stretching. He yawned quietly before walking to answer the door, opening it half-way and peeking his head around it to cover his minimally-covered body. "Hm?"

"Laslow!" and there was the culprit of waking him up way too early. Keaton--his tail wagging and hopefulness in his eyes. Laslow blinked and rubbed his eyes, coming out from behind the door now that he knew it wasn't a royal or Niles. (Niles was always something to fear if anything was out of place.) He was wearing a pink dress shirt he wore only to sleep, and it was long enough that it covered his smallclothes--the only other clothes he was wearing

"Keaton? What is it that you need?" Laslow sighed, but still, let curiosity lace his question to let him know he wasn't going to turn him down immediately. As tired as he was, he wasn't going to deny his friend whatever it was he needed just because he wanted to sleep. Keaton seemed fine enough with this

"I want to hang out with you right now, Laslow!" he exclaimed, earning a little shush from Laslow. He wasn't hurt by it, seeming to realize how early it was too. After Laslow progressed his words, he just looked at him oddly. "Why now?"

"Well, you're always with Lord Xander before I get to you, but I figured if I came really early that we'd have time!" he explained, proudness clearly evident in his voice. Perhaps he had just thought of it, or had tried it times before and came too late. Which made sense, Lord Xander got up early and Laslow would always be there for the first ten minutes of his day before switching to Peri (referring to their carefully-set-up timetable).

"Ah, well, don't you... think this is..." he began but watched as Keaton's ears slowly dropped down throughout his sentence, which he had come to learn means sadness. He sighed a little, leaning against the door a little and biting his lip. He... supposed he could survive the busy day with a little less sleep, to be with his friend.

"Alright, alright. We can hang out for a little bit, but let me get dressed, okay?" he said, then watched as Keaton's ears perked up quicker than he could register. He noticed Keaton pause and was about to ask what was wrong before being nearly pummeled in a hug from the wolfskin. By "nearly", he meant if Keaton hadn't wrapped his arms around his middle and kept him there, he would've fallen over.

But that didn't change the fact that he was still bent back a little, and Keaton was bending over him a little, and this was too intimate. "K-Keaton! Please, give me space..." he whined after he registered the moment, and realized that he was still extremely only in his shirt and smallclothes.

He felt Keaton let go then yelped as he was pulled forward to be saved from falling on his back. "Oh! I'm sorry! Everyone tells me to mind personal space, but it's especially hard to do that with you!"

Laslow froze right as he was properly stood up, and noticed Keaton seemed shocked too. Then he winced as the wolfskin just about screeched, "Ah! I mean... I'm gonna wait outside! Meet you at the garden!" before bolting off with the door closed behind him.

Laslow scratched his head and gathered himself before starting to get ready for the day. 'Has Keaton always been like that? Maybe a little, but... hm.'

___________________________________________

As Laslow was properly dressed for the day, he hoped his clothes wouldn't get too dirty during their play session, especially since he had to guard the door for an important meeting not too later that day. Nevertheless, he opened the door to the garden and let it close behind him as he looked around.

Keaton didn't seem to be around, but he appreciated the time to look at the gorgeous garden. Nohr was always known for being shrouded in darkness and such, but when it could produce things like this, including the flower field he had visited yesterday--well, Laslow just had to hesitate whenever he heard that. He walked closer to the center of the area to truly get a good look.

"Laslow!" he heard being yelled across the garden before he felt his connection to the ground waver a little and Keaton jumped and wrung an arm around his neck from behind--not harshly, but enough to make him stumble and have to regain his ground.

"Keaton," Laslow greeted back exhaustedly, already unsure how long he would be able to keep up this morning. But he figured he was a little used to Keaton's wildness in the long run, and just lifted a hand up to scratch behind Keaton's ears. He smiled as he noticed the wolfskin's leg bouncing, but stopped scratching when he started talking.

"I found a little metal stick someone dropped! It might've been part of a sword, but it's so dulled out I can't tell." Keaton lifted up what was certainly a metal rod of some sort as he spoke, and Laslow brought his hand down to take it when it was offered to him.

"Fetch?" he suggested and flicked his eyes up from the object to see Keaton smiling broadly. "Fetch it is."

Laslow threw the stick way out to the bushes surrounding the garden and laughed lightly as Keaton scrambled and went at a booming speed to retrieve it. He had no problem treating Keaton a little different from others, as long as Keaton was okay with it. He didn't see him as some kind of pet at all, it was just fun to do it.

Keaton came back with the stick and Laslow threw it back, and that happened a few times. One of the times, though, Laslow stopped and wondered something he had to ask.

"Say, doesn't the metal hurt your teeth at all? I remember I also threw a pot lid for you before and a few times you caught it with your teeth," Laslow mused, watching as Keaton stood up and tilted his head.

"Oh! Well, my sharp teeth protect me since I mostly don't feel it. They're big, see?" he responded and opened his mouth wide, indeed showing how big his fangs were. They weren't huge but they were bigger than most of the other teeth lining the inside of his mouth.

"I see," Laslow hummed, before simply continuing their game. There was always something new to learn about Keaton to him, and it was one of the things that interested him the most about his friend.

After about the fifth throw, Laslow lost momentum and simply tossed the metal stick to wherever and let fate take the figurative wheel. But he watched as it bounced off a bench that Keaton had ran to, flying over his head and making him flop on his back in an attempt to catch it. It had Laslow laughing, but he had to double over when he saw the fierce look donning Keaton's face as he jumped up and hopped over a decorative rosebush to pick up the stick, which had just landed on the ground. He had even slid on his knees to pick it up in his adrenaline rush.

Laslow nearly dropped to his knees himself. He had seen Keaton do some crazy stunts to catch either object or animal, but never something so silly.
He held his head low as he laughed, holding a hand over his mouth as he started to feel guilty for laughing. He heard Keaton brush himself off and walk over to him, and that's when he lifted his head to apologize.

"K-Keaton, I'm--" he started, but stopped when he noticed how close Keaton's face was to his, the expression he was wearing looking as if he had just discovered something new. 'Didn't we just talk about this earlier?' he thought, and was about to say so when he saw Keaton leaning in and his eyes sliding shut and 'wait, wait, wait!'

"Keaton, wait!" he gasped, stumbling back and falling straight onto his bottom in his shock. He stared down at the ground before looking up to see Keaton's hand covering his mouth with his eyes wide in shock. 'Did he just? Was he about to? Was Keaton about to...'

"Laslow, I-I'm so sor-sorry!" he cried, quickly grabbing Laslow's arms and pulling him up before stepping back and rubbing his arm. "I-I'm sorry, f-for..."

"It's okay!" Laslow swiftly cut in, but he blushed and fixed his gaze somewhere else completely before he settled a hand on Keaton's shoulder. "I just... I don't know about that, Keaton. Er, give me time to think about that?"

Laslow had no idea was to truly say or do. Keaton had definitely just tried to kiss him. A part of him appreciated that his friend thought of him highly enough to even try to do that, but he had no idea what it meant. Did it mean Keaton liked him or was it something a wolfskin did to certain people?

"I'm sorry," Keaton began and Laslow felt guilt-tripped from the way his ears and tail drooped even though he knew it wasn't intentional, "I saw you laughing but you l-looked really pretty and I couldn't help it!"

'Pretty?' Laslow pondered and felt his face heat up. He had never heard anyone come on to him anywhere near this strong, let alone a male and let alone Keaton, and he just had no idea how to deal with it. Keaton still looked sad and Laslow was still in shock and panicking and he had to solve the situation soon.

Laslow stepped forward and hugged Keaton, patting his back for lack of a better action. "We'll... we'll see, okay?" he spoke airily, but he was really uncertain about what he was doing. But he sighed in relief when he saw Keaton's tail lift back up and begin to wag.

"Classic Laslow, you always know just what to say! Okay! I'm going to go catch something not gross to impress you!" Keaton decided loudly before letting go of Laslow and running off to the opening of the garden behind Laslow. He turned just in time to see his ears high and a bounce to his walk.

Laslow sighed once again felt the urge to fall to his knees. Instead, he brushed his fingers through his hair and looked to the sky. "I've never thought about courting Keaton before." he mused

"But is it really true I've never thought about courting a man before?"

He stood there for a few more moments before walking back into the castle, assuming it was near the time for Lord Xander's meeting with Lord Ryoma.