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“Uuungh...” Flannel felt his face heating up as Kamui's fingers scratched near the base of his ears, running through the fur that sat on his jaw. She had always been good at grooming and petting him, but now that they were... together... she knew all of his weak spots.
They were currently sitting on her bed up in her loft, the princess sitting against the pillows as he leaned forward into her touch. He normally managed to resist Kamui better than this, but they hadn't had any time together for most of the week due to numerous missions that had come up. Flannel would absolutely deny that he missed this sort of attention, but when they only saw each other in common areas, there was no way he'd like her treat him like this. Everyone else would see just how... docile she made him.
Kamui's fingers moved to his mane of hair, and he felt himself relax even further, letting his forehead come to rest on her shoulder. Here he could smell her scent, warm and comforting, and he was unable to resist tucking his nose into her neck.
“Hey, are you sniffing me?” Kamui chuckled, her hands slipping down to the back of his neck and starting to kneed the muscles there. “I probably stink to your nose, huh, being a filthy human.”
"W-What?! No!” Flannel whipped his head up to look at her, and saw that she was smiling cheekily. “... you smell good. Really good...”
Kamui just laughed and took advantage of his face being accessible again to rub at his cheeks.“You're so cute~”
“Oi, don't tease me!” Flannel grumbled, but he let her pull him closer, and he felt her breath pass over his lips--
-–when a sound outside caught his ears and he pulled back quickly. Kamui looked at him in surprise until she heard a knock at the door. “Who's there?”
“It's Suzukaze, milady.” The Hoshidan man let himself in and gave a small smile when he saw the two of them sitting by each other. “Oh... if I'm in the way, being in your room, feel free to throw me out.”
“We... w-we weren't doing anything!” Flannel spluttered, standing up and going to where his boots lay. He didn't really feel like hanging around while Kamui talked and... touched the other man. “A-anyway, I'll let you two catch up. It's not like you'd need me here, so...”
“Flannel...” Kamui started, but sighed and smiled at him. “Thank you for coming up. I'll see you soon?”
“O-Of course...” He replied, turning away and walking past the shinobi to get to the door. “See you later.”
“I love you.”
Flannel's ears and tail twitched as he looked back and saw her standing up, Suzukaze now by her. His face burned as he replied, “... y-yeah... I, um. You... too. Take care!” He spun around and left quickly, pretending that he didn't see Kamui's face drop slightly as he did so.
He didn't see Kamui next until the next day at midday meal. Flannel was collecting his meal from Luna at the main bench, and was looking for a spot to sit when he heard her laugh across the room. He moved closer and saw her patting Odin's arm as he took his empty plate away. He watched him leave, holding back a small growl in his throat when he heard her voice again.
“Flannel! Come sit here!” The happy look she was giving him was much warmer than what she had directed to the sorcerer earlier, so he felt his tail flick in happiness. Which of course made him feel self-conscious, so he quickly went to the seat next to her and sat down. “It's good to see you.”
“You too,” He murmured, glancing at her sideways before picking up his spoon to start eating his soup. Since he was sitting on Kamui's right, his free hand was next to her, so once she finished her own meal she gently brushed it with her fingers. Flannel blushed and took hold of it, but he moved them to rest on his leg, so that they were hidden under the table.
They talked about nothing in particular, but after a while Kamui started to tease him, making his ears twitch and his face heat up. The look she was giving him was full of affection, which he both loved and hated, so he found himself saying “D-Don't look at me like that... it's embarrassing...” as he looked away and scratched his neck
Kamui was silent for a long moment, which caused him to look back at her; she had a smile on her face still, just... a little smaller than before. “Alright.” She said softly, squeezing his hand before letting go and moving to stand up.
“O-Oi, wait, I...” He went to grab her arm, but she had already picked up her plate.
“I need to go talk to Leon about the intel Zero bought in last night,” She said, still smiling down at him. “I probably stayed out here with you too long, and he's going to lecture me about punctuality now... but I'm happy I saw you.”
“Me too... um,” Flannel waited for her to reach out to him again, run her fingers through his hair, try to kiss him... anything, but she just waved and moved to put her dirty dishes away. She didn't even say 'See you soon', or 'I love you'. Not that he wanted her to say things like that in public, but... normally she did.
He watched her go, not sure why he felt disappointed rather than relieved.
A few days later, he was helping Nyx pick berries from the bushes that had been cultivated within their barracks when he felt someone watching him. It was a heavy, oppressing feeling, and his fur was standing on end as he turned around to see who it was. It was Princess Camilla, a sweet smile on her face as she looked down at him. “Flannel, how goes the harvest?”
“Uh... yeah, it's... uh, good.” He quickly stood up, still not feeling comfortable in the situation. The elder princess had rarely gone out of her way to talk to him, so something must be up.
“That's good to hear~ Do you have time to take a small break? I'd like you to come take a walk with me.”
He really didn't want to, but he clearly didn't have a choice here. He looked to the sorceress but the look Nyx was giving him held no pity. “S-Sure, milady...” He passed his basket to her and followed the eldest princess of Nohr.
Camilla didn't seem to have any destination in mind, and she was talking about insignificant things. Flannel only got more and more on edge as they continued, and when Camilla finally asked after Kamui, he stuttered out, “S-She... she's good, yeah.”
“That's good to hear... when was the last time you two were together?”
“Um...” He had just noticed that she had led them to behind the large library, which was in a corner of the barracks. They were currently hidden from everybody. “We talked briefly this morning, when that shipment of stock came in...”
“... and before that?” Camilla's smile hadn't budged an inch, but he felt animosity rolling off of her.
“I... I saw her in the mess hall the afternoon before... for a bit...” He got out, trying to work out what she was getting at. Was she annoyed that he was together with her sister?She hadn't look that pleased when she first found out, but since then she hadn't said anyth--
Flannel found himself backed against the cold stone wall, Camilla's axe up against his neck. “L-Lady Camilla?!”
Her smile had grown wider, but it had turned fierce. “Flannel, do you love my sister?”
“W-Wha... I...” He fought against his usual reaction of deflecting and stammered out, “I-I... of c-course I--”
Camilla leaned closer, her hair brushing against his chest. “Really? I wouldn't have guessed from the way you act.”
“Hey, what do you mean by that?” He growled, for a moment forgetting the blade against his throat. “She's the most important thing to me, I'd do anything for her!”
“How about you start showing her that you feel that way, hm?” The woman pressed even closer, her bust pushing against him but he barely noticed as the axe finally drew blood.
“'Show her that I'... but... I do...” Flannel held as still as he could, though he could feel his ears folding back at her words.
Camilla sighed and leaned back slightly. “Every time I see the two of you in public, I see Kamui looking up at you in pure adoration, whereas you're doing everything possible to avoid doing so in return. You avoid her touch, you deflect her affectionate words. A man in love should revel in such attention, and would be spending every spare moment of his time in his lover's company. Or is this normal courtship for Garou, to wear down their partner until they beg for any sort of acknowledgement?”
“No... no, that's...” The axe had been pulled back, but Flannel stayed up against the wall. He dropped his eyes, staring at the woman's feet. “That's not what we do... I just...”
Camilla raised her hand to his chin, forcing him look her in the eye. “Just what?”
“I'm... not good with... that sort of thing. But I do... love her...” He felt his face heat up and his ears droop even further. “I don't mean to reject her like that... I love her. ”
Camilla held his gaze for a long time before finally dropping her hand. “Good. Go show her that you do. Or else we may have to have another chat.” She gave him one last smile and sauntered away.
Flannel let out a huge breath and slid down the wall, putting his head in his hands. Camilla had a point, he wasn't great at being affectionate in public. He just... being a Garou, his body would broadcast how he felt to those around him. His tail would wag when he was happy, and his ears would drop when he was sad. If he was among his people in the mountains, everyone would know to look away and ignore those tell-tale signs in such situations, but he couldn't help but think that the humans would just stare. And if they did that everyone would see just how Kamui made him feel, and he was a little defensive about it. Because he really, really did love her. He loved her smile, her hands, and her scent. He loved how she reacted to his touch, and the sounds she would make. But... he wanted to keep it to himself.
He idly rubbed at his neck, finding that the cut was already crusting over and finally stood up. Flannel shook himself and walked to his lodgings to clean up; he wanted to go see Kamui right now.
When he got to the tree loft it was empty, so to keep himself from getting too nervous he started to clean up. Flannel changed the sheets on the bed, sorted through the books on the table and put away any loose clothes he saw. As it got darker outside, he moved to the fireplace and set it up. Kamui still wasn't back, so he sat down on the bed and tried to read one of her books. He'd grabbed a tactics book, however, and it was heavy reading. Flannel closed his eyes to rest them...
… and felt a warm hand sliding through his hair. Opening his eyes, he saw Kamui leaning over him, a soft smile on her face.
“Ah, Kamui! You're back... No, I wouldn't do something stupid like fall asleep while waiting for you...” He sat up, rubbing at his eyes.
“Mm-hmm, of course not... I didn't know you were coming up here today, how long were you waiting?” She sat down next to him, and looked around the room. “It must have been a while; look at all you've done in here. I'm sorry I took so long to come up.”
“I-It was nothing,” Flannel said, looking her over. She looked happy to see him, but also surprised... because he was here on his own accord? “Hey... so, uh. I haven't seen you much recently. Are you... okay?”
“Huh? Oh...” Kamui bit her lip and looked away. “I'm fine, I just thought I should give you some space.”
“Space? What for?” Flannel leaned forward, trying to catch her eye.
“Well... I know I'm always bothering you, teasing you in public and making you uncomfortable. So, I've been trying to rein it back a bit... Save it for when we're alone.”
“... oh.” He shifted his position so he was facing Kamui directly, and took the hand resting on his arm into both of his own. “Well, we're alone now, so...
She looked back at him, eyes wide for a moment before she smiled brightly. “Ehehe, you're right.” Suddenly her hands were in his hair and scuffing it up.
“O-Oi, don't touch me like that!” He pouted, but smiled as she laughed and smoothed his hair back. Before he knew it he was back in a half-doze, her hands moving right to his weak spot and rubbing along his ears. He leaned into it, closing his eyes. “Hmmm... tell me about your day?”
She started to talk, and while he was listening attentively Flannel soon found himself falling further and further into her touch, eventually finding himself lying in her lap. His hands lightly gripped at the curve of her hips while Kamui's fingers combed through his hair, occasionally slipping down to trace the edge of his jaw. Gods, why didn't he spend more time here? He could happily spend an entire day with Kamui, being petted and groomed and listening to her beautiful voice... he really was so lucky. He should let Kamui know that he did care more often, just like Camilla said. When she started to trace the tips of his ears he pressed his face against her stomach and sighed, the words coming out so easily for once. “I love you.”
The touches stopped as Kamui stiffened above and beneath him. “... what?”
Flannel forced himself to sit back up and look into her wide eyes. “I l-love you.” He hated that he stammered but he was pleased that he said it directly to her.
She stared at him for what seemed like ages before her eyes began to fill with tears.
“Hey, hey! What... what's wrong?!” Flannel cupped her face, wiping the tears away as they fell.
She laughed and smiled at him, but still her eyes shed water. “I'm sorry, I... I'm being silly.”
“Tell me, please! Don't cry,” Flannel pleaded, feeling a whine trying to escape from his throat.
“I know... I know that you love me, but... sometimes,” Kamui sniffed, bringing her hands up to cover his own, “Sometimes I wish that you were more comfortable showing it. It's your personality, I know this... I think it's cute that this sort of stuff makes you flustered, and I tease you about it, but... still...”
Flannel pressed his mouth to hers to stop her words, feeling his heart twist with them. Camilla was right, he had been a terrible partner to Kamui, the person whom he had promised to protect and care for. He pulled back and licked at the tear tracks on her face, running his hands over her shoulders. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I've hurt you this badly... I'm the worst!”
“No, you're not... Flannel, it's not your fault,” Kamui tried to say but he kissed her again, trying to put all of his feelings into it. He dragged it on as long as he could, until he had to pull back for breath. He felt his own eyes start to tear up but he refused to let them fall.
“I'll tell you every day... so you never doubt it again...” He panted, pushing her hair back to cover her face in kisses. “I love you! I adore you... I cherish you...” She clung to him, still crying and smiling, and eventually he tipped them over and proceeded to whisper those words over her entire body. Once they were fully bare to each other, and he was over her and she surrounded him, Flannel chanted in her ear “I love you, I love you,” and Kamui pulled him closer and returned every one.
The next time he saw Kamui in public, Flannel took a deep breath, walked right up to her and kissed her on the forehead. His face was beet-red, and Kamui was looking at him in surprise, but otherwise no one else paid him any attention. As he slowly relaxed, Kamui slipped her hand in his, and he squeezed it before smiling down at her. The expression she had was so damn cute that he could barely stand it. He would get better at this whole affection thing, just to see her like this more often... although he'd still prefer to keep it to himself.