Work Text:
The sun was beginning to set in the smoke-filled sky as the Order of Heroes hastily set up a campsite. The clearing they’d found was littered with broken branches and overturned stones, but it would have to do. Moments before, they had been in the heat of battle with the armies of Múspell; despite their confidence that their route was secure, Laevatein and Laegjarn had easily surrounded them. Something wasn’t right, and the tension in the air was high as Kiran and their allies met in the center of camp.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” Alfonse pondered. “Zacharias was certain that our path would be safe. He wouldn’t give us faulty information, would he?”
“No way!” Sharena exclaimed. “Zacharias is our friend! He wouldn’t ever betray us.”
Hríd, their newfound ally, cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, we may have to consider the possibility. We were utterly surrounded; someone led the generals directly to us.”
“Whoever it was, it wasn’t Zacharias,” Anna spoke up. “He’s a trusted ally.”
“Then...who was it?” Ylgr asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Alfonse sighed. “That is something we must determine immediately.”
Silence hung in the air for a tense few seconds before Kiran spoke up. “Well, it won’t do well to keep debating this right now. We’re all worn out from the recent battle.”
“Kiran is right,” added Fjorm. “We need to rest, and there are many Heroes that require medical attention.”
“Let’s disperse for now, then,” Anna decided. “We’ll contemplate this later.”
As the others headed off to attend to their duties, Kiran put a hand on Alfonse’s shoulder. “Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” they asked, before adding, “In private?”
Alfonse nodded. “Of course, Kiran. What do you–”
“Hey! Where are you two sneaking off to?” Sharena interjected, putting her hands on her hips.
“W-well, I…” Kiran stuttered, looking towards the ground as a blush grew on their face.
Alfonse frowned. This wasn’t how they usually were around him and his sister; could something be going on?
“Come on, out with it!” Sharena insisted.
“Okay, but don’t tell anyone else, alright?” Kiran said, blushing even more.
They went over to Sharena and whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was, it caused her to let out a high-pitched scream of excitement. “Okay, okay, go go go!” she exclaimed, pushing them back towards Alfonse. Before Alfonse could say anything, Kiran took his hand and tugged him towards the woods.
“Okay, we should be out of earshot here,” Kiran said as the two entered a small clearing. Two tree stumps stood in the middle of the charred area, and Kiran sat on one and gestured to Alfonse to sit on the other.
“What was all that about?” Alfonse asked as he sat down.
“I’ll tell you later,” Kiran replied. “But first: I think I know who the traitor might be.”
Alfonse blinked in surprise. “Really? Who?”
Kiran sighed. “Well, I don’t know who in our camp it is, unfortunately,” they said. “But do you remember when we first met Loki?”
“Loki?” Alfonse asked. “Of course. Why?”
“She took the form of Commander Anna,” Kiran explained. “Who’s to say she can’t take more forms than that?”
Understanding dawned, and Alfonse nodded. “So you think that she’s disguised as one of us?”
Kiran nodded. “Like I said, I don’t know who. But I think that’s her plan. The real version of whoever she’s pretending to be must be trapped in some dungeon somewhere…”
Alfonse grimaced. “A terrifying thought. I hope it’s not Sharena…”
“Me too,” Kiran replied. “But we have to consider every possibility.” They stretched and rolled their shoulders back, then turned back to Alfonse. “Still, though, I’d like to keep this a secret even from her and Anna. The more people who know about it, the greater the chance of Loki finding out we’re onto her.”
Alfonse sighed. “I agree with you, but how are we supposed to find out? We can’t keep running away from camp to have these secret meetings. Soon they’ll start to think we’re the traitors.”
Kiran blushed, wringing their hands together. “About that...I think I have a way to keep talking in secret without being discovered.”
“Oh?” Alfonse asked. “What is it?”
Kiran’s face grew even redder, but they didn’t say anything. Alfonse frowned and leaned forward, placing his hand on their shoulder. “Kiran? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, it’s just…” Kiran sighed before speaking again. “I told your sister we were together.”
Alfonse’s heart just about stopped.
“Wait, you mean together like...like dating?” Alfonse asked, a blush of his own flooding his face.
Kiran nodded. “It was the only thing I could think of! But...if we keep it up, we can keep leaving camp together without raising suspicion.”
Alfonse sat back on the stump, staring intently at the ground. Sure, he was close with Kiran—closer than he’d ever intended to get—but dating was another matter entirely. It wasn’t that they were unattractive; that was exactly the opposite of what Alfonse thought. It was simply…
He didn’t know how long he could keep this up until his real feelings emerged.
“If you don’t want to, we don’t have to.” Kiran’s voice broke him out of his trance, and he glanced up at them. Their blush hadn’t gone away, but they were looking at him earnestly.
Alfonse shook his head. “No, no. It’s alright. It’ll just...take some getting used to, is all.”
Kiran smiled at him, and he felt his heart swell at the sight. “Good,” they said, standing up. “Now, let’s get back to camp. I expect Sharena’s probably told someone by now, and I’d like to control the damage if at all possible.”
They offered Alfonse their hand, and he took it before standing up as well. As they walked back to camp together, Alfonse looked down; they hadn’t let go. His heart began to race as they squeezed his hand and smiled at him.
This was going to be a lot more difficult than he thought.
The sky was painted a dark, rusty orange as Alfonse left his tent the next morning. The smoky clouds covering the sky allowed only the faintest rays of sunlight through. It was as though the entire realm of Múspell was draped in an everlasting twilight. Charred leaves and burnt twigs snapped under Alfonse’s feet as he made his way to the center of camp.
Kiran, having woken a while ago to attend to their morning duties, was waiting for him. They had discarded their long white coat in the heat, instead favoring a lighter, sleeveless ensemble. Alfonse flushed at the sight of their bare shoulders; he’d only rarely seen them without their coat.
Shoulders, Alfonse thought. Just how infatuated am I?
Kiran turned to him and smiled as he approached them. “Morning, Alfonse,” they greeted, their voice cheerful despite the somewhat dour circumstances.
“Good morning, Kiran,” Alfonse replied. “Are you well?”
“Yes,” Kiran answered. “I’m still not entirely used to this heat, but I’ll push through.” They reached for his hand and took it, startling Alfonse slightly. “Anna wanted me to come get you,” they explained. “She wants to talk to us. Sharena too.”
Alfonse nodded, trying his best to maintain his composure. “Of course. Lead the way.”
As Kiran led him towards Anna’s tent, he couldn’t help but notice the hushed giggles and glances coming from some of the Heroes. Alfonse felt his heart beat faster as he tried his hardest to stay focused.
So Sharena had told everyone. Just as Kiran expected.
“Ah, good, you’re here,” Anna greeted as Alfonse and Kiran entered the tent. “I wanted to talk to the three of you about this traitor business going on.”
Sharena sighed. “Can it really be true? All of us are such good friends!”
“It’s like Prince Hríd said, Sharena,” Alfonse said. “We have no choice but to at least consider it.”
Anna nodded solemnly. “As for who it is, I can’t fathom it would be any of us. The Order of Heroes runs a tight ship; it would be very difficult or even impossible not to notice by now if one of us had other intentions.”
“I can’t imagine it’s Princess Fjorm, either,” Kiran stated. “Not after we saved her life like that.”
“Then that leaves Prince Hríd and Princess Ylgr…” Anna concluded.
“I can assure you it is neither of them.”
Fjorm entered the tent, drawing the attention of the group. “The royal siblings of Nifl made an oath before Múspell invaded. We swore to defeat Surtr, no matter the cost.”
“So breaking that bond would be unthinkable for any of you?” Anna asked.
“Indeed,” Fjorm replied.
Sharena smiled. “I thought so! Everyone from Nifl seems so devoted to our cause, there’s no way they’d betray us! Right, Alfonse?”
Alfonse hesitated for a brief moment before nodding. “I have no doubt.”
In truth, he had every doubt. But he could hardly tell that to Sharena, much less Fjorm. Much as he hated to think so, Loki could be posing as either one of them. Any sign of suspicion could prove fatal.
As he thought to himself, his gaze fell to Kiran, and then again to the hand clutching his. It was then that he realized that they hadn’t let go of his hand since they entered the tent, and he couldn’t help the blush that began to cover his face. Kiran seemed to notice, and they turned to face him, keeping their fingers interlocked. “Alfonse? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Kiran,” he replied, meeting their gaze and smiling to reassure them. “It’s just the heat.”
Kiran smiled back at him, and he felt himself calm down. At least, he was calm before Sharena let out a less than subtle “Aww!” towards them. Alfonse cleared his throat and straightened. “My apologies,” he managed to say.
Anna laughed. “You’re fine, Alfonse. We’re pretty much done here anyway; we have to get ready to ship out. You’re all dismissed.”
“Thank you, Anna,” Kiran said. They turned back towards Alfonse and smiled. “I’m gonna go get today’s party of Heroes together. I’ll see you when it’s time to march, okay?”
Alfonse nodded. Kiran let go of his hand, and he was just thinking of how much he missed their hand in his when they stood on their tiptoes and gently kissed his cheek. They then waved goodbye to the others and left the tent before Alfonse could even respond.
He couldn’t respond anyway; he was entirely stunned. When he heard Sharena and Anna giggling at him, he made some hasty excuse about feeding the horses and practically sprinted out of the tent. He slowed to a stop a few feet away, then raised his hand to the place where Kiran had kissed him.
Kiran had kissed him.
He sighed; even though he knew they hadn’t really meant it, he couldn’t help but fixate on it. He looked over to where Kiran stood talking to a few of the Heroes. They seemed to be getting into an argument with Michalis, and Celica was doing her best to mediate. Kagero stood silently off to the side with Nephenee, who seemed uncomfortable.
Alfonse couldn’t help but smile; even though Kiran was almost always angry with Michalis, Alfonse knew it was because they cared about him. They cared deeply about all of the Heroes. It was one of the things he admired most about them.
Even though this isn’t real, he thought, I still find myself cherishing every moment of it.
Kiran wiped the sweat off their brow as they led Alfonse towards a fallen tree. The battle that day had been brutal; as they neared the sanctuary where the Rite of Flames took place, more and more of their enemies had met them at every turn. The group had then decided to break for the night after they were almost overwhelmed by a battalion of fliers. Coupled with the sweltering heat, the Order of Heroes was losing morale fast.
Of course, it didn’t help to know that one of them was working against them all the while.
Kiran sat down on the fallen tree and Alfonse followed suit. “Are we far enough?” he asked, glancing back in the direction of camp.
“I think so,” Kiran replied. “Sorry for pulling you out of your conversation like that.”
“It’s alright, I think Maribelle will forgive me,” Alfonse replied. “It was mostly...relationship advice anyway.”
Kiran’s face flushed. “Really? What was she saying?”
“She was telling me how to court you properly, actually.” Alfonse laughed softly. “Apparently, I should be writing you many more letters and kissing your hand a whole bunch. I may take some of her advice.”
Kiran smiled, then looked to the ground. “For the pretend romance, right?”
Alfonse’s face fell, but he quickly regained his composure. He couldn’t afford to get his feelings involved; he couldn’t attach himself. “Right. For the pretend romance.”
Besides, it wasn’t as if Kiran actually liked him back, right?
Kiran cleared their throat. “Anyway, I think I have an idea of who Loki’s disguised as.”
“Really? Who?” Alfonse asked, the blush steadily fading from his features.
“I think it’s--”
The snap of a twig suddenly caught their attention. More footsteps followed, getting closer by the second. Trying to think of something to do, Alfonse didn’t move until Kiran tugged on his shirt.
“Sorry about this.”
Before Alfonse could ask “About what?”, Kiran pulled him forward towards them. Their lips collided, and Kiran placed one of their hands on Alfonse’s chest. In his surprise, it took Alfonse a moment to respond, but once he realized what was happening, he closed his eyes and began to kiss them back. Kiran ran a hand through his hair, holding the back of his head. Alfonse gently took hold of their waist and pulled them closer into his chest.
He almost forgot that there was someone approaching them.
“Excuse me, Prince Alfonse, but--Oh!”
Alfonse opened his eyes as Kiran hastily broke the kiss, and he turned to see a very flustered Hríd standing a few feet away from them. Alfonse blushed and ran a hand through his hair. “Y-yes, Prince Hríd?”
“My apologies for...interrupting you,” Hríd replied. “Commander Anna asked me to tell you that she has the report from the scouts ready for you. That’s all.”
“Thank you,” Alfonse said. “Tell her I’ll be there...soon.”
Hríd cleared his throat. “Of course. I’ll, um, leave you to it.” With that, he turned and left.
Alfonse shifted uncomfortably as he turned back to Kiran. They were straightening their clothes as they smiled sheepishly at him. “Sorry,” they said again. “It was the first thing I thought of.”
You don’t have to apologize, Alfonse thought. Instead, he said, “It’s alright. What was it you were saying before?”
“Right,” Kiran stated. “I think Loki has disguised herself as Princess Ylgr.”
Alfonse nodded. “Why do you think that?”
“Well, for starters, when we first met her, she knew me by name,” Kiran explained. “I never introduced myself to her, yet she called me by my name in our first conversation with her.”
“That is strange,” Alfonse remarked.
“There’s more,” Kiran continued. “Earlier today, she asked me a lot of questions about Breidablik. Questions about its inner mechanisms, how it’s powered, things like that. Things that a child shouldn’t know about.”
Alfonse nodded. “There can be no doubt, then. It is her.” He paused for a moment, then put his hand to his chin in thought. “There’s one thing that’s bothering me, though.”
Kiran tilted their head in confusion. “What?”
“Why would Loki be so...obvious about it?” Alfonse mused. “If deceiving us was really her plan, she wouldn’t have been acting so outwardly suspicious.”
Kiran crossed their arms. “Perhaps there’s more to her plan, then?”
Alfonse thought for a moment, then turned his gaze to Kiran. “Maybe she intends to sow discord in our ranks. Turn us against each other so that, when we face Surtr in battle, we are disorganized.”
“And if she can turn into anyone, that means that anyone in our camp attempting to accuse someone is suspect,” Kiran concluded. “That’s...not comforting.”
“Indeed.” Alfonse glanced back in the direction of camp. “Perhaps we should have some sort of code. A signal, to ensure that we’re ourselves when we’re together.”
Kiran smiled. “That’s a good idea. What, though?”
The two thought for a while before Alfonse took Kiran’s hand, startling them out of their trance. “How about this?” Alfonse suggested, lightly tapping his index finger three times against the back of Kiran’s hand. “It’s subtle, and no one will think twice about us holding hands since we’re...well, together, right?”
Kiran’s face flushed again, and they held Alfonse’s hand a bit tighter in response. “Yes. Together.” They tapped his hand with their finger in the same way he did, then let go. “Now we should get back to camp. I don’t want Prince Hríd thinking we’re doing anything–”
“Right,” Alfonse interrupted, standing up straight. He dusted off his tunic and exhaled, then turned back towards Kiran. He offered them his hand, and they took it, standing up.
They made it a few feet before Kiran spoke up. “Alfonse?”
Alfonse stopped in his tracks and turned towards them. “Yes?”
They were blushing again. “I’m...sorry about kissing you so suddenly. Really.”
“It’s fine, Kiran,” Alfonse said, smiling at them. “You did what you had to.”
Besides, I’d let you do it again. And again...and again.
Kiran sighed as they stared at the night sky from where they sat near the crackling fire. The skies of Múspell were so clouded with smoke that you could barely see any stars at night. It was a stark contrast to the night sky in Askr that they’d become accustomed to.
A small commotion by Fjorm’s tent stirred them from their thoughts. They stood and looked over, seeing Fjorm as well as Hríd and Alfonse talking frantically. Concerned, Kiran headed over to investigate, quickly making sure that Breidablik was at their waist like always.
“Summoner,” Hríd stated as Kiran approached them. “We have identified the traitor. It’s Ylgr.”
“I can’t believe it,” said Fjorm, her expression one of sadness. “How could our own sister betray us?”
“I think there’s more to it than that, however,” Alfonse interjected.
Fjorm frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I began to have my doubts when Ylgr first met Kiran,” Alfonse explained. “She knew their name, even though they’d never met.”
“I see,” Hríd said.
“But it wasn’t a mistake,” Alfonse continued. “It was a prank, meant to sow chaos and unrest in our ranks. And that gave me an idea of who it was.”
Kiran paused at this; hadn’t they discussed this before, together? Then why was Alfonse talking as if he figured it out by himself?
“You should have told us sooner,” Hríd stated. “I must find Ylgr at once.”
“Wait,” Alfonse replied. “Something else is troubling me.”
As he spoke, Kiran nonchalantly took his hand.
“What is it now?” Fjorm asked.
“Prince Hríd, you are quite quick to act upon these suspicions,” Alfonse said. “I am unsure that we can rule you out as a suspect as well.”
Kiran tapped their index finger three times against Alfonse’s hand.
“We’ve seen your trick before. You can assume whatever form you wish.”
There was no response.
“That’s enough!” Kiran shouted, tearing their hand out of the false Alfonse’s. “You are not Alfonse.”
“What?!” Fjorm exclaimed. “How can you be sure?”
The false Alfonse frowned. “Kiran, what do you–”
“Do you think I don’t know the man I love?” Kiran asked, unsheathing Breidablik and pointing it towards the doppelganger. “Drop your disguise. Now!”
“Kiran!” a voice cried out from across camp. It was the real Alfonse; he ran towards the group with Sharena and Anna following close behind.
The false Alfonse rolled his eyes, then his form shifted. In a flash, Loki stood before them and smiled coyly at Kiran. “You’ve finally figured it out, then,” she mused, taking a few steps back. A few soldiers emerged from the woods to flank her. “And it was so much fun causing you strife…”
“You’ve had more than enough fun, Loki,” Anna said, raising her axe. “It ends here.”
Loki laughed. “Oh, will it? I think my fun’s just begun!”
She raised her staff and sent a beam of magic flying at Sharena, who quickly parried it. Hríd began to engage two of the soldiers nearest to him, while Anna and Sharena advanced towards Loki. Alfonse drew closer to Fjorm, who was unarmed, and drew his sword to protect her from an incoming axe wielder.
Kiran hastily began to give orders as fast as they could, but a bolt of lightning from a nearby mage took them off guard. They fired a beam from Breidablik at the mage, but the mage dodged, and the next bolt of lightning struck Kiran in the stomach. Their cry of pain got Alfonse’s attention, and he leapt forward and swung at the mage decisively.
The battle was over almost as soon as it had begun; Loki was cornered against a tree, pinned there by Sharena’s lance. “Very good, very good,” she laughed, twirling her hair in her hand. “A performance that spectacular deserves a reward.”
She reached into a pocket in her outfit and pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper. “The only way to reach Surtr in time to stop the Rite will be through a secret entrance. This map shows the way.” She tossed the map towards Kiran, who was kneeling on the ground. “Take it.”
“If you fight for Surtr, why would you give this to us?” Kiran asked weakly, clutching their wound.
“I may fight for Surtr now, but I have my own role to play,” Loki answered. “Besides, what’s life without a little drama?”
She chuckled and placed one hand on her hip. “And with that, I believe my part in this has come to an end. I can’t wait to see how you fare against Surtr...Well, toodles!”
With a snap of her fingers, she disappeared. That was the last thing Kiran saw before they collapsed.
Kiran’s eyelids fluttered open to see the roof of the medical tent. They tried to sit up as carefully as they could, but a jolt of pain from their abdomen stopped them short. They groaned, rubbing their eyes with one hand as they looked around the tent.
Judging from the light coming from outside, it was mid-morning; no other patients were in the tent, and Priscilla stood by the supply table in the corner. She looked up when she heard Kiran stirring and smiled gently. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”
“I’ve felt better,” Kiran answered.
Priscilla laughed as she approached them. “Understandable. That hit you took yesterday was a rather nasty one.” She placed a hand to Kiran’s forehead, then examined their eyes closely. “Fortunately, you seem to be in good shape. A day of rest and you’ll be back to normal.”
Kiran shook their head, finally sitting up straight. “I can’t afford to rest. Not when Surtr’s about to perform the Rite.”
“I think that’s a conversation you’ll want to have with Prince Alfonse,” Priscilla suggested. “I’ll fetch him.”
She left the tent, returning a few moments later with a very worried Alfonse. He sighed in relief when he saw Kiran before sharing a few words with Priscilla. She nodded and left the tent again, leaving Alfonse and Kiran alone.
“Thank the gods you’re alright,” Alfonse said, pulling a nearby chair towards the edge of the bed. “When you collapsed, I didn’t–I wasn’t–”
“Hey,” Kiran interrupted, reaching towards him. “It’s okay, though. I’m fine, see?”
Alfonse took their hand as they placed it on his knee. He tapped his index finger three times, and smiled when they tapped his leg in the same way. “How long will you need to recover?”
“Priscilla says I need a day, but we don’t have that,” Kiran answered. “We need to advance. Surtr is–”
“No,” Alfonse interrupted.
Kiran frowned. “Alfonse, we can’t–”
“If you’re injured and get hurt in the fight with Surtr, you might die, Kiran,” Alfonse stated. “And we can’t lose you. I can’t lose you.”
“But if we don’t move now, Veronica and Ylgr will die!” Kiran countered. “I will not allow that.”
“You’re not the prince,” Alfonse said. “If we lose you, we lose the war, Kiran. I will not allow it.”
He sighed, grasping Kiran’s hand. “When you fell yesterday, I felt so... powerless, ” he continued, his voice significantly softer. “I thought you were gone. I can’t go through that again.”
He leaned closer to Kiran, cupping their cheek in his other hand. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Kiran,” he whispered. “Please rest.”
Kiran placed their hand to the one on their cheek, but said nothing. Alfonse brushed his thumb across their cheek, gazing into their eyes with a tenacity they’d never seen before. They pressed their forehead against his and whispered, “Are you still pretending?”
“No,” he whispered back. “This is real.”
“Good,” they replied. “Neither am I.”
Kiran closed the distance between them as their eyes slowly closed. Alfonse gently held Kiran by the waist as they put their arms around his neck. They pulled him closer, deepening the kiss, and ran one of their hands through his hair. This kiss was different than the one before; this time, Alfonse didn’t have to worry about not being able to let go.
After a long moment, Kiran broke the kiss and opened their eyes to meet Alfonse’s. “I love you,” they whispered. “I have for a while now.”
Alfonse smiled. “Me too.” He pulled Kiran into an embrace, and they held him tight. “That’s why I need you to rest.”
Kiran sighed. “Well, since it’s you who’s asking...alright. But first thing tomorrow, we head out.”
“Of course.”
Alfonse pulled away from Kiran and kissed them again, then stood to leave. Kiran leaned back against the headboard and smiled.
“Hey.”
Alfonse turned around. “Yes, Kiran?” he asked, gazing lovingly at them.
“At least we don’t have to tell your sister again.”